Despite the unhappy post-race outcome to his Italian Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean says that he is finally enjoying his season at Haas and is hoping that it won't be his last there.
Grosjean had finished in sixth place but was subsequently excluded from the results for a technical infringement. Even so, Monza had been another strong result for the Frenchman, who started his season with a number of unfortunate accidents - by no means all his own fault.
As a result, Grosjean didn't manage to score a point in any of the first eight races of the season. However, since picking up fourth place in Austria he's finished in the top ten on five out of the last six occasions.
It means that Grosjean is now back in with a chance of holding on to his seat at Haas for another season - something which had looked unlikely just a couple of months ago.
“I’ve worked on myself to understand why things were not going right before," he said when asked what had changed.
"The car is giving me a better feeling as well. I’m enjoying my time, and I’m hoping there will be more - and it keeps going.”
Grosjean's upturn in form together with consistent performances from his team mate Kevin Magnussen mean that Haas is now nipping at Renault's heels for fourth place in the battle for the constructors title.
"I was thinking we could try to go for fifth in the constructors’ championship," said Grosjean. "But fighting for fourth and having a good chance to go for it is better than I was expecting. I’m very happy with that.
“The team is performing very well," he continued. “Generally, the updates we’ve brought to the car have been working very well.
"It’s improving a lot year after year and race after race. We’ve got a great car everywhere. We can look forward positively to the end of the season.
“I will do my best and do my best for the team," he added. "You try to prepare as much as you can, but you don’t always know what to expect.
"We do all our preparation, we focus on our own work, we do our best, and we aim for points come Sunday."
Next weekend brings one of the most singular challenges of the season - the night race under the floodlights in a hot and humid Singapore.
“I do like the Singapore Grand Prix," said Grosjean. "I do like competing in the night. It’s pretty good fun. It makes some great footage, and clearly Singapore is one of the most beautiful races you can have by night. It’s pretty awesome.
“One of the big challenges is the heat and humidity, which is very, very difficult in Singapore. Another challenge is the race, as it’s usually about two hours long, and it’s a street circuit, so it’s very difficult.
"Mentally, it’s very difficult, as much as it is physical. It’s clearly one of the races where you need to be at your fittest in the season
"It provides something a bit different on the calendar. I’m very much looking forward to it and seeing what we can do there.”
Asked what it was about Singapore that made it may drivers' most eagerly awaited race of the year, Grosjean has no difficulty replying.
“Simple. We love a challenge. That’s why we race in Formula 1, and that’s why we drive these cars and race at over 300kph. We love it."
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