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 2023

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 - 2023

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
3 - Mar 5
Bahrain
17 - Mar 19
Saudi Arabia
31 - Apr 2
Australia
28 - Apr 30
Azerbaijan
5 - May 7
United States of America
19 - May 21
Italy
26 - May 28
Monaco
2 - Jun 4
Spain
16 - Jun 18
Canada
30 - Jul 2
Austria
7 - Jul 9
United Kingdom
21 - Jul 23
Hungary
28 - Jul 30
Belgium
25 - Aug 27
Netherlands
1 - Sep 3
Italy
15 - Sep 17
Singapore
22 - Sep 24
Japan
20 - Oct 22
United States of America
27 - Oct 29
Mexico
-
Spain
3 - Nov 5
Brazil
17 - Nov 19
United States of America
24 - Nov 26
United Arab Emirates
-
Italy
-
Italy
-
Italy
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2023

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
3 - Mar 5
17 - Mar 19
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
31 - Apr 2
Australia Albert Park
28 - Apr 30
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
5 - May 7
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
19 - May 21
26 - May 28
Monaco Monte Carlo
2 - Jun 4
16 - Jun 18
30 - Jul 2
Austria Red Bull Ring
7 - Jul 9
United Kingdom Silverstone
21 - Jul 23
Hungary Hungaroring
28 - Jul 30
25 - Aug 27
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
1 - Sep 3
Italy Monza
15 - Sep 17
22 - Sep 24
20 - Oct 22
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
27 - Oct 29
3 - Nov 5
Brazil Interlagos
17 - Nov 19
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
24 - Nov 26
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

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

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar