Beyond the numbers: Interview with di Grassi

By no means you can say that Lucas di Grassi is enjoying an easy debut season in Formula 1. But in a new team and with a more experienced team-mate, it is hard to grab attention. Edd Straw looks beyond the numbers

Chances are, lap 34 of the Singapore Grand Prix was one of the rare occasions that you took any notice of the black-and-red car number 25. Following a safety car restart, its driver, Lucas di Grassi, briefly held up Mark Webber exiting Turn 7, creating the circumstances for the clash between the Red Bull driver and Lewis Hamilton a few seconds later.

It was the highest-profile moment in a tough maiden season of F1 for a 26-year-old who, outside of his native Brazil at least, has probably generated fewer column inches than any other driver this season. Unlike his fellow stragglers, he doesn't have a grand prix pedigree, a famous name or seat-hopping shenanigans to draw attention to his progress as he has plugged away in profoundly trying circumstances.

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