Romain Grosjean didn’t have a good word to say about his car after Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, describing Haas’ VF20 as the “worst car” he had ever driven.
Oddly, Grosjean had hit the ground running on Friday, clocking in among the top six in both practice sessions, although the Frenchman admitted to being puzzled by his car’s surprising pace.
The bewilderment swayed in the other direction on race day however as Grosjean spent the afternoon battling the Williams and Alfa drivers at the tail end of the field.
A late pitstop and charge to try and secure bragging rights and a championship point for fastest lap came up short by over 2 seconds relative to Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas.
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F1i’s Driver Ratings for the 2020 Spanish GP
Grosjean remains one of four drivers who have yet to put a point on the board this season.
“This is hell,” the 34-year-old told L’Equipe. “Honestly, that car is undrivable.
“One of the worst races of my career. It was horrible. The car was nowhere from the first few laps
“I don’t know what happened between Friday and Saturday, and then Sunday, but it wasn’t the same F1 car.”
Grosjean’s car underwent an engine change on Friday evening, a swap that may have impacted its tenuous balance.
“On Friday, the car was top in the long runs, but also in the qualifying simulations. And then… it was maybe the worst car I’ve ever driven in my life,” Grosjean added.
Haas team boss Guenther Steiner appeared none too please with his driver’s ‘no holding back’ public criticism of his car.
“I am used to my drivers’ strong words. Of course some comments don’t help but I’ll survive,” said Steiner.
“What matters is to take a step back and analyse why we went from a performing car on Friday to a difficult car on Sunday. We lost two second a lap which is very strange.”
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