Romain Grosjean says he knows a Formula 1 points finish in 2018 “will come”, as he bids to end his drought at this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Grosjean has been Haas’ top-scorer since its F1 entry in 2016 but has not scored across the 12 Grands Prix since last season’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Team-mate Kevin Magnussen, meanwhile, has scored 31 points in that period, including all 27 of Haas’ points in 2018.
Grosjean was set for points in Australia until a pit stop issue while bodywork damage derailed his prospects in Bahrain, and he crashed out while running sixth in Azerbaijan.
Grosjean qualified strongly in Spain but triggered a multi-lap pile-up on the opening lap while the subsequent penalty hampered his chances in Monaco, on a weekend where Haas struggled.
Grosjean crashed out of Q3 in France and sustained a penalty for making contact on the opening lap with Esteban Ocon, the result of which dropped him to 11th.
When asked about his motivation to end his drought, Grosjean said: “You don’t want to focus on that but it’s been a long stretch.
“Looking at the performance of the car we could have been doing it a lot of times but it is painful. It will come.”
When asked how the current run of form compared to his difficult spell in 2012, when he was suspended for one event after a sequence of incidents, Grosjean dismissed the suggestion.
“To be fair they were harder in 2012,” he said.
“I was being criticised by other drivers badly, drivers that I respect. It was creating big problems, safety things that didn’t go right.
“Some were fully my fault, some were a bit more borderline but anyway, I think it was a tougher time than it is right now.
“It’s not easy right now and obviously we want more for the team but if you look at all the races, some I could have done much better and some others it’s just circumstances.”
Discussion about this post