Lotus driver Romain Grosjean secured his first points since the Japanese Grand Prix on Formula One’s return to Mexico. The Geneva-born racer started outside the top ten, but capitalised on a first lap puncture for Sebastian Vettel and managed to leapfrog Carlos Sainz’ Toro Rosso to lead his teammate home to take the final point.
After the race, however, Grosjean lamented the appearance ofthe Safety Car in the second half of the race, which forced him onto the soft compound tyre, playing away from the strength of his Lotus E23.
“The car was good on medium tyres, less so on softs. The safety car meant it was too risky not to come in and that meant finishing the race on the soft compound. This weekend was all about finding the grip and the track was definitely improving massively throughout the race.”
Like many other drivers, the ten-time podium finisher paid tribute to the fans and the sport’s organisers for bringing Formula One back to the Mexican capital and, although many were far from complimentary about the grip levels on the two week old track surface, the Haas bound driver believes next 2016 will be a more fruitful experience.
“It was great to see so many people here today; they are huge F1 fans and so knowledgeable. It was a pleasure to race in front of them, especially in the awesome stadium area where everyone was so passionate.”
“I think next year will be even more fun to drive once the grip has improved.”
