Grosjean relying on guesswork in Mexico after little Friday running

Romain Grosjean says he will need to rely largely on guesswork heading into the remainder of the Mexico Formula 1 race weekend after completing just three laps on Friday, with a tyre blowout sidelining him early in FP2.

Grosjean sat out FP1 so that Ferrari junior Antonio Giovinazzi could get some track time in the Haas VF-17 car, with the tyre issue in second practice coming after he had completed just three laps, causing damage to the rear of his chassis.

Grosjean relying on guesswork in Mexico after little Friday running

Romain Grosjean says he will need to rely largely on guesswork heading into the remainder of the Mexico Formula 1 race weekend after completing just three laps on Friday, with a tyre blowout sidelining him early in FP2.

Grosjean sat out FP1 so that Ferrari junior Antonio Giovinazzi could get some track time in the Haas VF-17 car, with the tyre issue in second practice coming after he had completed just three laps, causing damage to the rear of his chassis.

"The car was very on the nose on the lap I did," Grosjean said of the incident. "I really struggled with the rear end. Initially, I didn’t know what was happening – if we had too much aero balance or just didn’t get the setup right.

"I had that spin that I wasn’t expecting, and then I saw the tyre flying apart. I don’t know which came first, the eggs or the chicken, but it felt pretty strange on that lap."

The lack of running on Friday has left Grosjean cornered for FP3 in Mexico, needing to squeeze in as many laps as possible in the hour-long session, but he is not feeling good about his chances.

"We need to get some laps tomorrow, but we’re never going to get a long run," Grosjean said.

"Clearly you shoot yourself in the foot when you’ve got a Friday when you don’t drive in FP1 and FP2. Again, we’ll try to do our best for tomorrow.

"I believe we’ve got two sets of ultrasofts to prepare for qualifying in FP3. From there, we’re just going to guess what we need for the race."

Read More