Romain Grosjean glad he stayed quiet over Lotus F1 team pay issues

Speaking after revealing that he had finally been paid by the Enstone-based team, Grosjean confessed that last season's money troubles were a cause for concern at the time.

But he said he preferred to put personal interests to one side in support of the team, rather than going public in a bid to get paid.

That stance was different to Raikkonen, who spoke openly about the issue and then came close to not racing in Abu Dhabi because of his wages dispute.

"It was certainly not the way we wanted things to go," explained Grosjean. "I never opened my mouth in front of the media, because that was my own business, and that was my own personal thing.

"Kimi kind of launched the whole thing.

"It wasn't easy for the guys, and things have not been made right always, but on the other hand everyone stayed together.

"The team spirit has always been there, and even though things were not as good as we would have loved them to be, the results were still there. So everyone was keeping their head down and pushing hard."

A management shake-up at Lotus following the departure of Eric Boullier, allied to a financial restructuring, has left Grosjean convinced the team is in much better shape - even if it is facing some on-track struggles.

"At least we don't have the problems that we could face in the past - which is a good advantage especially in a tough situation," he said.

"We work as hard as we can together and, of course, when you come from two successful years and you get to a more difficult season, it can be quite different.

"But everyone is trying as hard as they can to get the car as good as we can to move forward, and not blame something he shouldn't.

"We are moving forward and staying forward, united, and at the end we are all in the same boat."