Romain Grosjean described the Mercedes power unit as “perfect” after his first day in the new Lotus E23.
Lotus endured a difficult season in 2014 as the old Renault power unit proved uncompetitive and unreliable, which played a major part in limiting the team to just 10 points. A switch to Mercedes is expected to provide Lotus with an automatic step forward and Grosjean admits he had no complaints following 53 laps in the car on the final day at Jerez.
“To be fair we did the debrief and they said ‘mid, low, high revs, how does it feel?’ and I just replied ‘it’s perfect’,” Grosjean said. “To me, downshift, upshift, drivability, everything is quite nice.”
Although a power unit issue ended his running early, Grosjean says he is encouraged by the all-round improvement at Lotus. Asked if he could feel the difference between cars, Grosjean replied: “Big time.
“Of course everyone was very much expectant to see our first feeling of the car. As much in power unit as well as in chassis everything has been going in the right direction. So that’s very positive. We did 50-something laps and I did enjoy driving all of them. We do have some more set-up items and small bits and pieces coming for Barcelona but in general it’s a very good starting point.
“The whole package feels better. Engine-wise we know we have the best one on the grid and yes things are working nicely. In terms of chassis as well it’s now the same story.”
Click here for the latest photos from the final day of the Jerez test
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