ART frustrated despite podium

The French team had struggled at the first round of the season in Bahrain, but Lucas di Grassi took two podium finishes at the weekend to move into fourth place in the championship.

However, the Brazilian believes that he could have finished higher in both races.

"It was very good to secure my first podium but we expected even better," said the Brazilian.

Di Grassi felt that he lost out in the first race because of ART's position in the pitlane, and he struggled with the handling of his car in Sunday's race after locking a front wheel at Turn 1.

"I got held by Nakajima when I was exiting the pitlane and it cost me two positions, and I had to push hard to overtake Lapierre and Senna," he added. "I pushed a bit too much and the rear tyres were destroyed at the end.

"Race two was good, except I braked too hard at the first corner and I flat-spotted my tyres, and the balance of the car was not good for the whole race."

The Brazilian is looking forward to the next round of the season at Monaco, and he believes that the team will have an even stronger showing on the tight street circuit.

"I'm happy with my first two podiums, but I hope we'll do better in Monaco," he said. "I love street circuits, like Macau where I won in F3."

Team boss Frederic Vasseur also felt that the team could have achieved more in Spain, and he is hoping everything will come together for the team next time out.

"It's good to be back on the podium but also frustrating because we should have done better," he said.

"We were competitive in Bahrain but could not secure big points and it was the opposite in Spain. Let's hope we have both in Monaco."