Grosjean can’t explain Haas’s Friday form, Norris says it’s track-specific

Romain Grosjean had no explanation for Haas’s form after producing the surprise of Friday by setting the fifth-fastest time.

“Pinch me!” said Grosjean after his unexpected practice performance. He is yet to score a point or qualify higher than 13th so far this year.

Asked why Haas appeared to be so much more competitive at the Circuit de Catalunya, Grosjean said: “In all fairness I don’t know. And I think no one really knows.

“It’s the same car it was since the beginning of the year. We’ve made some good set-up work [at] Silverstone and so on.

“At Silverstone the performance was really good, but it was power-sensitive. Here it’s maybe a little bit less. Sixth and first practice, fifth in second practice, the long-run pace was pretty good so we’re really happy with that.

“There’s some more work we can do on the car to bring it even more to my liking, but generally, what a day.”

Grosjean’s team mate Kevin Magnussen believes their car is particularly well-suited to the Spanish track. The team performed well at the circuit last year in pre-season testing and the race, but struggled at other venues.

“The track, maybe, I think it just suits us a little better,” said Magnussen. “I’m pretty positive and happy about today.

“It’s going to be much harder tomorrow. It’s not going to look like this in qualifying, but hopefully we can get a little further than we have in qualifying so far this year and then have a good race with that.”

Lando Norris concurred with Magnussen’s view. The McLaren driver said Haas’s Friday performance wasn’t completely unexpected because of their past form at the circuit. “I think Haas always do very well here for whatever reason, more than a lot of other tracks,” said Norris.

“It’s a surprise to see them as quick as they were. But at the same time, we weren’t not expecting it, in some ways. This is the track they normally perform well at.”

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