Lotus impressed with Grosjean in emotional weekend

Lotus deputy team principal Federico Gastaldi hails Romain Grosjean’s performance at Interlagos in what was an emotional weekend for the Frenchman following Friday’s tragic events in Paris.

Over 120 people were killed and many more injured in a number of attacks in the French capital. As a mark of respect for the victims, Grosjean started sporting the Tricolore on Saturday, while Lotus added the hashtag #PrayForParis on both E23s for the race.

For his penultimate grand prix with the Enstone-based squad, the future Haas driver delivered a spirited run from 15^th on the grid. Scything through the field, Grosjean crossed the line in ninth and was promoted to eighth after Felipe Massa’s Williams was excluded from the race.

“Romain kept his head in one piece (sic) after the sad situation in Paris,” Gastaldi told F1i. “We are all shocked, it’s just unbelievable the things that happened.

“He is a very professional driver and he came out of his emotions and performed in the best possible way. He drove very well, fantastically.”

Massa’s misery also elevated Grosjean’s team-mate Pastor Maldonado - who had finished 11^th on the road - into the points-paying positions. Prior to that, the Venezuelan had gone for a different strategy compared to what most of the field did, starting on the medium compound tyre and stopping only twice.

Maldonado drove a steady race but while he had managed to keep his nose clean across the past few events, the former GP2 Series champion was involved in a mid-race spat with Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson. The pair collided through the Esses, with Maldonado being handed a five-second penalty at his next stop.

Lotus trackside operations director Alan Permane labeled the FIA decision “harsh”, but Gastaldi offers a more measured response.

“Pastor is an aggressive driver, we all know that”, he commented. “Sometimes, there are unwanted mistakes. One thing is to have an opinion when this happens, but the drivers in the cars are the only ones knowing what happened.”

“I cannot complain. I am not entitled to complain, we just need to understand.”

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