F1 News, Reports and Race Results

We have to sort out our problems, says Haas' Grosjean

It's fair to say that Romain Grosjean was not a happy driver at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

His Haas F1 VF-17 was beset by braking issues throughout the weekend in Baku, leaving Grosjean fuming. But a few days on and he's over the evident frustration, and determined to make progress next week in Austria.

"I think it’s important that we sort out our problems and get back to a decent level," he said. "I think there were some positives from Baku, as there always are. There were some negatives, of course.

"We’ll work on the things we can improve and I’m hoping for a better result."

Grosjean explained why the braking issues were proving so difficult for the team to get on top of in 2017. He said it was a mix of aero balance, mechanical balance and brake balance.

“It’s a combination of all three," he said. "You cannot take one apart. Aero and mechanical balance go together, and the brake balance fine-tunes the car. It’s very difficult to remove one.

"It’s definitely a snowball effect. When you lose, let’s say the aero balance, then you try to compensate with the brake balance going rearward, then the mechanical balance going rearward.

"Nothing is then putting load on the front tyres and, therefore, you’ve got front-locking.

"It’s about finding the right balance, not putting too much on things, but finding the right compromise. You’re never going to get a full, perfect lap with the car balance."

Grosjean added that he was eager to return to the Red Bull Ring next week.

"I’m very much looking forward to going back to Austria," he said. "We had a good race there last year. I’m hoping the car works well and it should be a fun track to drive.

“The first time I raced the Red Bull Ring was in Formula 1 in 2014," he recalled. "It’s a track I quite like. I’m very much looking forward to it.

"I like going there, and the surrounding area looks a lot like Switzerland.

"It’s a funny place to race being in the middle of the mountains. The circuit is very short. The lap time is almost like Monaco. There are some overtaking opportunities.

“I quite like the middle sector. There are medium- to high-speed corners. The track, in general, has two very different parts.

"You’ve got turn one and turn two, which are very similar. Both are 90-degree turns with big braking and long, straight lines. You’ve then got the second part, which is more flowing.

"The last couple of turns are the same as you go up the hill and then down again. It can be pretty tricky, but if you get the grip under the car and a good balance, it can be a lot of fun to drive."

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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.

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