Grosjean baffled by handling issues and second crash

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Haas F1 Team's Romain Grosjean was disappointed and perplexed following a qualifying session which left the Frenchman in 15th position after he hit the wall at Turn 10.

Grosjean's mishap came after he spun and damaged his car yesterday. Enduring a second crash only reinforced the Haas driver's bewilderment.

"I don’t know what’s going on, to be fair," he said.

"Yesterday we had issues, we were struggling. I spun the car and crashed yesterday and ended up doing the same again today. That’s not my style of driving, to do that twice in two days.

"There’s something not quite right, so we really need to analyze what it is. We’ve been trying to resolve the problem. It was qualifying and I was pushing at 200 percent. It’s just been a weird weekend all along."

Obviously, Grosjean's quandary has eroded his confidence as he expressed in unequivocal terms, which in turn will determine a cautious approach to his race.

"Confidence is shit! Close to zero… when you spin once at high-speed and the second time you spin under braking, how do you gain confidence?

"We are looking at data to see what we can do, checking the car after the crash to see the damage and then in the race hopefully the first few laps are good and I can build from there. Clearly I won’t attack the first few laps.

"The first few laps are always slower than normal but I hope the feeling will come back and I can drive the car as I would.

"Right now I am just looking at data and thinking ‘OK braking 15m later, just go for 15m’ but it isn’t like my body is telling me ‘that’s the braking point, that’s the minimum you should carry’, it is almost like I need help in every corner. There is no corner where I am fast."

Grosjean excluded however any embedded problem within the VF-16 chassis, while reversing set-ups has equally been proven ineffective.

"Initially in the year, something felt wrong with the chassis. It doesn’t feel like it because it is not every corner.

"A few corners it is fine and the next it won’t be good, once it will be T3 then it will be T10 and then T22.

"It is just not every time the same place we have the same problem. Mechanically we tried forwards and we tried rearwards but it doesn’t change the world.

"In the race, we'll just have to make it as good as we can."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.