Grosjean retains podium hope in Bahrain

Ahead of this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean says Lotus is still aiming to finish on the podium at every race it goes to.

Grosjean has finished third in Bahrain in each of the last two races, on both occasions finishing behind race winner Sebastian Vettel and previous team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. Despite Lotus enduring a tough start to the season, Grosjean has been buoyed by his first race finish last time out in Malaysia and says the target remains to finish in the top three this weekend.

"It's a good track and I'm happy to go back there," Grosjean said. "I'm especially looking forward to the first night race at a circuit I like. Twice I've raced there in Formula 1 and twice I've been on the podium. So that's a good record! We were not very successful in the pre-season tests, but hopefully there will be some more updates and performance from our side.

"I'm sure everyone is going to work hard even though there are just a few days before Bahrain. The race finish at Sepang is a big encouragement. No matter what the challenge, we are aiming for podiums and strong performances wherever we go."

And Grosjean admits he is looking forward to the race in Bahrain even more having completed the race at Sepang, saying it was a crucial step for Lotus.

"It is essential. To make major progress we need more days like Saturday and Sunday in Malaysia, where we learned a lot about the car. There are some encouraging signs. We know we have a lot of work ahead, but we also know which areas to work on. We will try new things in Bahrain and I'm confident the car will be better."