Romain Grosjean was left frustrated after Saturday in Shanghai, as the Frenchman had the complete opposite day to the Saturday he enjoyed in Melbourne two weeks ago.
Grosjean failed to get out of Q1 after Antonio Giovinazzi crashed at the final corner, meaning he had to back off around the final corner. The stewards deemed that he didn't slow efficiently and was handed a five-place grid penalty.
Grosjean hit trouble before that stage of qualifying, as he himself spun at the final corner. Despite avoiding contact with the barrier, he shredded his rear tyres: "The first lap was looking good in qualifying, then I spun on the last corner for some unexpected reason. We need to look if I went a bit too hard on the throttle on the exit.
"The second lap was actually really good. I was aiming for P10, but Giovinazzi crashed at the last corner and I couldn’t complete my lap. It’s just hard luck."
The Haas driver will start the race from the back of the grid after receiving a penalty, however, he does not agree with the decision that the stewards have made.
"So apparently I made no effort to slow down and didn't abandon the lap," he said. "The data shows a different point of view. I backed off before the corner, took the corner slowly.
"I didn't go to the pit because the engineer told me it was a single yellow flag so that could just be a spin and going again, I didn't know it was a crash. I lost one second and I was fully backed off before the corner, and after the corner."
Fergal Walsh
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Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
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