MAY 26, 2012

Lotus knocking on door of Monaco win?

Lotus is being tipped as likely candidates to give F1 its sixth different winner in six races at the Monaco GP.

Lotus is being tipped as likely candidates to give F1 its sixth different winner in six races at the Monaco GP.

Romain Grosjean, a winner in GP2 at Monte Carlo, set the second quickest time in Thursday's mixed condition second free practice despite not running supersoft tyres, and team mate Kimi Raikkonen was quick on a damp track despite missing all of FP1 due to a steering issue.

Raikkonen did not return to the track after doing just an installation lap on Thursday morning, requiring the team to make changes to improve steering feel, not for the first time this year.

At a circuit where many consider the establishment of a rhythm and hence plenty of track time to be a prerequisite for success, Raikkonen's move was seen by some as surprising.

"He knew straight away, on the installation lap, that it was not what he wanted and saw no point in doing the session like that," confirmed team principal Eric Boullier. "Experienced drivers can do that, whereas a rookie may have continued into the session to verify his findings. Kimi knows his way around Monaco and is confident he will recover."

Grosjean, meanwhile, is quietly confident too.

"We are looking pretty good, it is probably our best first day," he said. "The car is improving and we are working well. We are getting there with our baseline set-up and it looks like Monaco is suiting the E20 well. I really enjoy the track and hopefully we can achieve something."