Grosjean praised for 'textbook' display

Lotus has praised Romain Grosjean for a 'textbook display' in qualifying for the Korean Grand Prix.

Having said after Friday practice that he felt a top five grid slot could be possible, the Frenchman was able to go one better as he set the fourth quickest time in qualifying at the Yeongam circuit.

Mark Webber's grid penalty means Grosjean will actually start from third on the grid, and trackside operations director Alan Permane said he was impressed with the way the 27-year-old had approached the session.

"We're very happy with Romain's qualifying position after a textbook performance through all three sessions with everything going absolutely to plan," he said. "He soaked up the extra pressure to get through the first session using only the medium compound tyre and the benefit of doing that was having two sets of the super soft in the final session."

Grosjean himself refused to get too carried away after the session but admitted he was now in a solid position to chase a strong result on race day.

"Our aim was to be up there fighting with the Mercedes today and that's exactly where we were," he said. "The Red Bulls were always going to be quick, so to be reasonably close to them in terms of the times is not too bad.

"Gaining a place on the grid just because another driver has been penalised is not how you want to move forwards, but I've had to cope with it before myself and it's part of the sport. Of course, it will be an advantage for us as it means we'll start on the clean side of the track.

"Tomorrow will be interesting in terms of what effect the tyre degradation has, but our race pace looked strong yesterday so we're aiming for a good result."