Romain Grosjean says he does not need a driver coach, after Jackie Stewart said yesterday that he could help the Lotus driver in his preparation.
Three-time Formula 1 World Champion Stewart told AUTOSPORT that he felt Grosjean should consider using a driver coach and invited him to lunch in order to discuss some of the incidents Grosjean has been involved in this season, including a spin in qualifying at Silverstone. Asked about the offer at Hockenheim on Thursday, Grosjean said he feels this is unnecessary.
"You can always learn and I used to work with a coach, but I don't feel that I need one today – but it can change week to week," conceded the reigning GP2 champion, who has shown strong pace this season in comparison to Lotus teammate Kimi Raikkonen and has already recorded two podium finishes. "At the moment we are pretty happy with the way everything is going. I spun in qualifying in Silverstone and that was my fault, but I don't think we have been involved in many accidents this year."
The 26 year-old emphasized the importance of data analysis as part of the learning process, which he said diminishes the necessity of coaches in F1 by comparison with other major league sports.
"We have data and computers which is the best coach from the driving point of view," said the Frenchman. "I think other [athletes] have a coach to say, 'Give more lift or more slice,' but we have the computer and a teammate, so it is a bit different."
Grosjean also believes his driving will naturally become more comfortable as he settles in better at Lotus.
"Some teams like Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren have been working with their drivers for four or five years, and they know each other so when they go into the race they know where they want to start," he said. "When we start the race weekend we start with last year's data, but it wasn't you in the car."
The Frenchman believes that he had the pace to win at Silverstone, where he recovered to sixth a first-lap collision with Paul di Resta. A gearbox problem was later found on Grosjean's Lotus and he will take a five-place grid penalty at Hockenheim this weekend.
"In a perfect scenario we could have fought for the win – the car was quick and consistent in the race but then you could say that if you had a gearbox issue two laps earlier then I wouldn't have finished at all," he said.