Romain Grosjean believes his first grand prix win is possible in Valencia

The Franco-Swiss driver admitted that circumstances will play a big part in whether he can do so and that the priority will be for the Lotus team to score heavily to improve its championship position whatever happens.

"It might be the one, or the next one might be the one, or the next one again," he said of his chances of winning in Valencia. "It depends on circumstances and a lot of things.

"If I was starting the race without thinking of winning, it wouldn't be right, but I'm not focused on only winning the race.

"If I can, I will do it but if we cannot I will take the points, the podium or whatever we can get. Every point is important for the championship. There is a chance to score good points and that's the main objective."

Grosjean is upbeat about his race pace. He was pleased with qualifying fourth despite having topped Q2 and being tipped by some for a run at pole position.

But the Lotus has often been strong on race day, particularly in the hot conditions expected for Sunday's grand prix, and Grosjean emphasised that the car's race set-up is strong.

"When you go for pole position in Q2, you think you are going to be one of the guys to beat in Q3," said Grosjean. "But [Sebastian] Vettel managed to find the extra pace, and [Pastor] Maldonado as well. We did more or less what we did in Q2 and that was our limit.

"The race pace looks good from Friday, which is interesting for the race. We have to discuss some of the strategy, but with our race setup we were able to get a good qualifying lap."