An emotional Romain Grosjean admits he “cried on the last lap” of the Belgian Grand Prix after securing his first podium since the 2013 United States GP.
The Lotus driver drove brilliantly to put himself in contention for a podium finish, but was unable to pass Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in the closing laps of the race.
A penultimate lap puncture for Vettel promoted Grosjean to third, ending a positive weekend with a “wonderful” result.
“Today’s result is wonderful,” he said. “It’s good for the team and for myself of course.
“Yesterday’s good qualifying result put a smile on my face but today was an unbelievable race. Everything came together when it mattered during those 43 laps.
“I drove with my heart today and pushed 100 per cent throughout the race. I did some great overtaking manoeuvers and was really pushing to catch up and hopefully overtake Sebastian Vettel – of course it was bad luck for him to have had the tyre issue at the end.
“We were really trying to go for the podium this afternoon and I felt very emotional during the last lap of the race! It’s a great feeling today.”
Deputy team principal Federico Gastaldi hailed Grosjean’s race amid a tough time for the team which saw their cars impounded amid ongoing financial troubles.
“What an amazing job from Romain today and we all thank all the hard work of everyone at Enstone and here at the circuit in Belgium.
“It’s no secret that it’s been a tough season for us in some ways, but we certainly know how to pick our moments to bounce back.”
