Romain Grosjean experienced a bizarre incident in Friday’s FP2 session when the engine cover of his Lotus E23 Hybrid simply blew up as the Frenchman was powering along the main straight at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The ensuing repairs meant Grosjean could only complete 14 laps in the afternoon after he had to sit out the morning running to let Lotus reserve driver Jolyon Palmer enjoy his third straight FP1 outing.
Describing the event to reporters afterwards, the 29-year-old admits he did not immediately realise the full extent of the damage.
“It’s just a small part of carbon that probably broke,” said Grosjean. “And the air went into the engine cover and it just made a big explosion.
“I saw it in the mirror. For some reason I was watching in the mirror at that time, so I saw it live. I went to the radio and said ‘I think I’ve broken something’. I thought it was a small panel initially.
“I drove on the lap quite slowly but the car was undriveable. I came back to the box and saw the TV footage. It’s more than a small part.”
Despite this unusual setback, Grosjean still managed to set the 12th fastest time in FP2, two spots and nearly two tenths ahead of team-mate Pastor Maldonado.
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