Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsLotus F1

Grosjean revels in 'outstanding' qualifying performances

Romain Grosjean says his impending move to Haas and the financial problems at Lotus have not stopped him from producing "outstanding" qualifying performances.

The Frenchman made it through to Q3 at Suzuka on Saturday and will start from eighth on the grid having not expected to reach the top ten. It is the fifth time in succession Grosjean has reached Q3, coming a week after it became clear he would move to Haas and on a weekend when Lotus has been locked out of its hospitality unit.

Asked if the focus on his mental approach from earlier in his career helps him perform to his best when people are talking about his future, Grosjean replied: "It probably does, it’s a lot of work.

"It’s not a secret that I worked with a psychologist and dealing with all of that is what we do as well. I’m probably driving better than I’ve ever done; qualifying performances have been outstanding this year and I’m very happy with the way we set-up the car and the way we go in the weekends.

“So all of that helps me just to forget that we have to stand up and get changed in the garage! But it’s not the end of the world in the end. It reminds me of Formula Renault winter testing in the two litres, it’s actually good fun!

“It’s like I was 18 again! It’s good, I’ve lost ten years in one weekend!”

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AS IT HAPPENED: Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.