mahbx.com
From our seat it's been a posit🎃ive start🌺 to the season, but how about your from your seat?

Romain Grosjean
[laughs] Pretty much the same! We missed two opportunities in the first two races to s🌠core good points but after that we've made most of the things pretty much as good as we could. Learning to work with my new engineers as well. Here, everything has been going in the right direction.

mahbx.com
I guess there must be a plus side to being into position to miss opportunities after las🃏t year...

Romain Grosjean
Yeah, last year, we had one opportuni🌊ty coming it was passed by fast and if you miss it then you have zero points all year long. This year, we had a problem before the start in Melbourne, we had a few prဣoblems in Malaysia, but after that, races are coming, the car is there, you can play with the strategy you can try to maximize it.

mahbx.com
Everyone k🔥nows how good the Mercedes engine is,𒀰 but how much improved in the Lotus chassis this year?

Romain Grosjean
It's more the chassis than the engine to be fair. Of course, we do have the best power unit on the grid. We put it in the car af൲ter a year of experience so that everything was straightforward. Other than last year, it was not ready, plus it was new technology, so there🎶 was a lot of development going on. To me the biggest difference is the chassis. From day one, you know, it was a good baseline. Last year from day one, I knew there were problems from there.

mahbx.com
You've suggested previously that the car reacts how you expect it to when you apply changes - how important is it꧂ to have that predictability now?

Romain Grosjean
On a single lap, you can always play with an unp൩redictable car, but over a race, it's just too hard to control. You cannot drive it the way you want, you're just trying to change the issue rather than solve the probl🌟em of handling and set up.

mahbx.com
Ho🎃w much untappe💟d potential is there to the Lotus E23?

Romain Grosjean
I think, let's hope, let's see what these upgrades will do. Another thing in the pipeline is coming hopefully soon. It could do a big difference to our lap time. Let's see what we've got now. We've got ideas of what is coming. And then we just need to fit it into the car and see what it bring꧅s.

mahbx.com
Despite the difficulties, how much did you learn from yourꦅ tough 2014 season?

Romain Grosjean
To be fair, lots. It was very different to everything I like ﷺdoing. It's keeping the frustration down and being for the first time a team leader in a difficult situation, so I've learned how to learn what I've done right, what I've done wrong, how to improve myself,ℱ how to drive the car that I don't understand that I can't set it up the way I want. I've learnt a lot.

mahbx.com
Does it benefit your mental strength?

Romain Grosjean
It wasn't driving 🦂skill, the car was just doing whatever it wanted to. It was reacting to problems rather than trying to understand and build your weekend or your lap.

mahbx.com
Has it made you a better driver?

Romain Grosjean
It has certainly, yeah. I h❀ave more tools in my hands to play with.

mahbx.com
Are podiums for Lotus in the offing this year?

Romain Grosjean
Not now. The problem is that Ferrari has improved a lot, so it makes three steps of the podium all taken 🔴by cars. But I think if we can keep fighting as we do, why not try to chase Williams. Then it can be a good y💞ear.

mahbx.com
As a driver that has competed with the same team, bu🍃t through various eras, how have you seen it evolve?

Romain Grosjean
What matters to me is that people working in the team are proper racers ꧅and they want to try and win races and do the best and that's what the focus on. Of course, you don't have this super-constructor, yo⛦u don't have the money of Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull. But as well we are doing a good job.

mahbx.com
How proud are you of the tea♏m and how it is functiౠoning on a smaller budget now?

Romain Grosjean
When we had a problem with 2013 when the employees were not paid and they were coming out of the race and they were there doing the pit stop, t🐎hey were doing everything they could to make the car faster, it's the spirit of this team🌼 and the strength of the people. They're a really good group of people and they deserve to win races and to have more.

mahbx.com
Does it that 🎉give you additional motivation to reward them?

Romain Grosjean
It does. As long as you see tꦉhat people you 𓆏are working with are racers and the only goal is to go faster and faster and to improve, you know they are doing their best... That's what you want to see.

mahbx.com
Fernando Alonso says he doesn't think drivers get enough say in F1 matters anymore - is that an opinion yo෴u agree with?

Romain Grosjean
I think there are always place for i🌱mprovement. Of course, we've always trying to use the GPA to give our vote, so I think if we stick all together then we have more power.

mahbx.com
You're now the only Frenchman in F1 and there hasn't been a French Grand Prix for some years... have you noti🧔ced a dip in interest in your home nation?

Romain Grosjean
No. people recognize me more and more. It's quite nice to have support and just a quick word saying 'c'mon, we're behind you, we're with you, pushing, cheering you', ♓it's always nice. Seeing the flags in the grandstands you know, the French flag is for you or there's other stuff for you which is nice. I'm just doing my best so for myself, my team... my wife is happy too!