Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsLotus F1

Grosjean aims to shake-up Sochi on second visit

Having confirmed that his plans for 2016 lie elsewhere, Lotus driver Romain Grosjean is focussing on the shorter-term aim of success in Sochi next weekend.

"It would be fantastic to shake up the order again and get a really strong result - honestly what we’re always trying to do," said Grosjean, who confirmed on Tuesday that he had signed for the new Haas F1 Team for next season.

The inaugural Russian Grand Prix last year wasn't a kind one for either Lotus driver, with both Grosjean and team mate Pastor Maldonado finishing a lap down and outside the points. But buoyed by their double points success at Suzuka a week ago, Grosjean believes that it will be different this year.

"We struggled massively for grip last year, but we’ve got a softer tyre allocation from Pirelli, the performance of which we should be better equipped to maximise," he pointed out.

"It will be a good exercise for us to see if we can give a better performance than our first Russian Grand Prix.

"It’s a pretty decent circuit and it will be interesting to see how it’s matured. Certainly the track surface will have changed and it will have settled somewhat.

"It’s a pretty cool track actually with a useful number of straights and some big braking. You’ve got turn three which is just about flat out which is good fun. The corners flow well together with the final section a bit more tight and twisty.

"Looking outside of the driver requirements, the facilities are really nice and the paddock is a friendly size so it’s a good one to work in."

Asked what the advantages of coming to a circuit for a second time, Grosjean quipped that just not getting lost on the way in to the track in the morning was a good first step.

"We know what to expect, what the track is going to be like, we know the set-up and what’s needed for a good race. I think it could well be a strong race for the E23."

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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.