Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus 2012 Qualifying - 11th, 2012 Race - 2nd “
Obviously, it was a good race for us as a team last year. It was my first podium for Enstone, and we had a good fight all the way. We took a gamble during qualifying, and it didn’t work out well for us. This meant we missed out on the top ten, but we managed to use our tyres pretty well in the race and we ended up fighting for the top step of the podium, which is always a good thing. “I like (the Sakhir circuit). I’ve had some nice races there and picked up some good points although I’ve never won. It’s a little bit different from others we visit and it’s quite nice to be out there in the sand! Wherever you look around the track you can just see sand in the distance and you notice it in the paddock too. It’s a circuit where I’ve never won before, so maybe this year I’ll change that. “It is not easy to find a good set-up as you do experience the track surface changing over the weekend and sometimes the wind can affect the balance of the car too. It’s one of the more tricky places to get the car exactly right, but at least you don’t often have to worry about rain!”
Romain Grosjean, Lotus 2012 Qualifying - 7th, 2012 Race - 3rd
“I have good memories after a strong race there last year that’s for sure! Our car worked well and we seemed to like the heat so it’s a race I’m looking forward to. We should see some consistent weather too, which always helps when you are trying to set up the car for the weekend. “I would be lying if I said the car is exactly where I want it and we are having quite an adventure to get the set-up and feeling from the car how we want it. This is very frustrating for a driver, as you want your car to be obedient - to do what you want it to do - and to do it in a consistent manner. Certainly, we’re not the only team who are having a difficult time early in the season, but it’s something we really want to get on top of as quickly as possible. I’m spending a lot of time with my engineers and we’re all working hard to make improvements. “(Bahrain is) a track I knew from before Formula One and it has characteristics that I like in a circuit; some big braking into certain corners, some good change of direction with the double-left in the middle of the race track and it all flows quite nicely. Last year we got a good balance with the car and were able to make use of the E20 being kind to its tyres. The E21 shares that characteristic, so let’s hope we have more of the same this year.”
Amen to that!
