Relaxed Grosjean ready to get back to work

As much as he enjoyed a relaxing holiday with his family, Lotus F1 driver Romain Grosjean is clearly keen to get back to work at Spa next weekend.

After three weeks of mandated rest with absolutely no Formula One-related activity allowed, the 29-year-old driver is sounding very chilled and happy with life.

"It’s great having the shutdown as it’s a valuable time in the season to allow us all to recharge our batteries," he said this week, adding that he'd been spending his time "mainly relaxing with my family.

"My son Sacha celebrated his second birthday and I’ve been able to have a great time with all of my family at the beach so I’m in very good condition heading to Spa."

The last race in Hungary at the end of July is now so distant in his mind that he says he can barely remember it.

"The thing about the summer shutdown and the break we get is that when you come back, the last race seems so long ago, even if it was just a few weeks ago. Fortunately we did all our debriefs after the race otherwise I think I’d struggle!

"It was an interesting race and we worked so well as a team to score a strong result after a poor start and even a penalty," he noted, as the events started to reload back into his memory after the summer break. "It was quite a memorable race!"

He is determined to relish this chilled-out moment, because he knows that it's going to be a non-stop hard and gruelling run from here to the end of the season with few chances to recharge his batteries.

"We’ve got just two European races left then we’re back to the long-haul and jet-lag so to get this time to relax mentally and physically is very beneficial."

And as for getting back to work, he can't think of a better place to be heading than Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix.

"What a fabulous race circuit!" Grosjean enthused. "Spa as we all know is one of the best tracks we go to, if not the best of them all.

"As a driver it is like a dream circuit with elevation change, quick corners, medium speed technical corners and some good straights for overtaking. It’s a circuit with a soul.

"I always enjoy racing here, as do most of the drivers. What I find memorable about Spa is not only the track but also the beautiful surroundings in the Ardennes forest."

While he undoubtedly loves racing at Spa, Grosjean has not always had such a great time racing here, but he did taste victory here in his first outing in the GP2 Series.

"I won in the GP2 Series in 2008 which was a fabulous feeling and I’ve certainly missed the Spa podium since then," he said, although he did manage third place in both 2010 and 2011 and also won in his only Auto GP World Series visit to the venue in 2010.

However his track record hasn't been so good in Formula One, with his first Grand Prix in 2012 very short-lived indeed after he triggered a first corner multi-car crash that earned him a one-race ban that left him on the sidelines the following weekend at Monza. Since then, the Frenchman managed to finish in the points in 2013 but last year suffered power unit issues that saw him retire three-quarters of the way through the race.

"I’ve always had good pace but my best result in F1 so far there is P8. I don’t see why we can’t improve on that this year."

Catch up with F1i's breakfast date with Lotus F1's deputy team principal Federico Gastaldi

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