Hypersofts like 'driving in the wet' - Grosjean

  • Published on 27 Oct 2018 13:46
  • comments 3
  • By: Fergal Walsh

Romain Grosjean says that driving around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on hypersoft tyres was like "driving in the wet". The pink-walled tyre offered little grip to the teams on Friday in Mexico City with the tyre degrading rapidly after only a couple of laps.

The high track temperatures and low grip surface made for a tricky day of running, which left a jumbled classification order at the end of FP2. Both Mercedes and Ferrari struggled, while Red Bull revelled and saw its closest competition come from the Renault team.

"I think it was raining at one point," Grosjean joked after the opening day in Mexico. "It was very, very difficult. Over one quali lap it is always a decent tyre, but whenever you want to do a long run, you do three laps, and then it is like driving in the wet."

Grosjean's teammate Kevin Magnussen also suffered from the tyre difficulties. Despite setting 35 laps during the second session, the Dane ended up as the slowest driver. The Haas racer stated that the biggest task was simply trying to stay on the road.

"The tyres were very difficult," he said. "I didn’t get a lap on my hypersofts until the last lap of the run which by that time I couldn’t go faster any more. We are not last but we are certainly not as competitive as we want to be. On low-fuel it’s one story but on high-fuel it’s a completely different story.

"You’re just driving around, trying to stay on the road. You’re not racing, you’re trying to get around the lap rather than trying to go fast because you don’t have any grip. You might as well be driving in the dry on wet tyres. I don’t know why it’s so bad on this track but it’s certainly a big problem."

Replies (3)

Login to reply
  • So it sounds like the hypers are tyres you really wanna stay away from during the race as a driver.

    • + 0
    • Oct 27 2018 - 14:10
    • Hepp

      Posts: 200

      Doesn't matter for him. Super sticky ultra durables just end up in the gravel anyway.

      • + 0
      • Oct 27 2018 - 16:06
    • That burn was almost as cruel as French children's songs (seriously, ever read the lyrics to alouette? Thats so messed up!).

      • + 0
      • Oct 27 2018 - 18:30

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team -
  • Points -
  • Podiums -
  • Grand Prix -
  • Country France
  • Date of b. Apr 17 1986 (37)
  • Place of b. Geneve, France
  • Weight 71 kg
  • Length 1.8 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar