Following an incident-packed time at Enstone comprising of 83 races, Romain Grosjean completed his final outing for Lotus in Abu Dhabi, managing to recover from a grid penalty to finish within the points.
The Frenchman was demoted to the back of the grid, with a five-place grid penalty given as a result of a gearbox change in response to the issues which saw his E23 grind to a halt in qualifying.
Unfazed, Grosjean started on the soft compound tyre, opting for the contra-strategic approach which had also been adopted by Sebastian Vettel. A remarkably long opening stint saw Romain elevated to sixth place before a first stop in which he fitted a second set of the prime compound.
With the faster option tyre reserved for the final stint, Grosjean had to battle back into the top ten. Both Sainz and Kvyat were passed by the Lotus in the closing stages and Williams’ Felipe Massa narrowly avoided losing out on eighth place.
A two-point return for ninth marked an excellent recovery from Saturday’s disappointment. Grosjean edged ahead of Max Verstappen in the standings to secure 11th place and Lotus confirmed sixth in the constructors.
Taking to Twitter, he exclaimed;
Boom !!! More points in the bag
the best way to finish my time with @Lotus_F1Team ! Will miss the guys #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/Z51jj9mnxZ — Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) November 29, 2015
Ultimately, this weekend has served to optimise what has been an emotional rollercoaster for Grosjean during his time at Enstone, from the “first lap nutcase” tag endured during 2012, to the elation of the unlikely podium finish at Spa earlier this year.
“It’s been an emotional journey for me and I’m so happy to be able to reward everyone at Enstone with points in my final race for the team,” Grosjean stated post-race, in an interview featured on the official F1 website.
“I owe a lot to this team and it really feels like a family to me. I hope to be back one day in the future.”
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