‘Calm’ Grosjean impressing Lotus

Editor

Lotus have praised Romain Grosjean over his behaviour on and off the track in recent months…

Lotus have praised Romain Grosjean over his behaviour on and off the track in recent months.

The Frenchman copped a lot of flak from rival drivers and team bosses last season and at the beginning of this campaign as he was involved in one too many first-corner incidents.

However, Grosjean has put his head down and stepped up his on-track performances, finishing on the podium at the German Grand Prix and outqualifying team-mate Kimi Raikkonen in the last three races.

Trackside operations director Alan Permane believes his form may be down to the fact that he is a lot more relaxed these days.

“With Romain, certainly over these last few races, he really has come on a huge amount and most of that is outside of the car,” Permane told Autosport.

“He is noticeably more relaxed, more confident, happier out of the car. That translates to his driving.”

The 27-year-old finished third in Germany and followed it up with the third best qualifying display at Budapest, and Permane believes things are “boding well” for the second half of the season.

“It’s not just Hungary, Nurburgring as well,” said Permane. “In the last two races he’s done very well.

“He has performed well in and out of the car and has been a bit of a different guy.

“I said to him after Nurburgring, ‘I don’t know what’s going on but keep doing this’. He is working really well.

“He is calm, he is relaxed, he is not panicking about things and is qualifying and racing well.

“If he can keep that up, it really bodes well for the rest of the season.”