Pre-season wet testing will be "very important" - Grosjean

Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean says that collecting data from Pirelli's wet weather tyre during the pre-season test will be vital. The new 2017 wet tyre will increase the risk of aquaplaning due to them being fatter and wider.

If mother nature fails to interfere, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will be artificially watered on the final day of the opening test on March 2. Grosjean is scheduled to take the VF-17 around the track that day, and says it will be a very important day.

"It's going to be very important," said Grosjean. "When I was told by [team boss] Guenther [Steiner] that I was going to be doing the wet day, he said, 'Obviously looking at your Brazil performance we need to put you on the Wets'.

"I was like, 'Thank you, Guenther. That's very kind of you.' On the serious side though, I think it's going to be really important to analyse and see how the Wet tyres are going to work.

"Pirelli's been doing quite a lot of work on them. They're wider, and they're going to be trickier with aquaplaning. We need to prepare for every eventuality in terms of maps and setups to be ready for wet sessions."

The Frenchman has also so far enjoyed working with new team mate Kevin Magnussen, who moves to the American team after one year at Renault.

"From every team I've been with so far, the data and everything has been open and that works pretty well, especially for a new team and especially with a new car," said Grosjean. "It's going to be great to have him on board. He brings good experience from McLaren and Renault that'll be very valuable." 

Fergal Walsh