Lotus confirm Grosjean will stay at Lotus for 2015

Lotus confirm Grosjean will stay at Lotus for 2015

It has been announced this morning that Lotus has confirmed Romain Grosjean will partner Pastor Maldonado at the team next season.

Grosjean has raced at Lotus since 2012 but in the past few months has been waiting on confirmation of his position at the team in 2015. After a breakthrough year in 2013 with six podiums and 132 points, he has struggled this year in an uncompetitive car, but is confident the arrival of Mercedes engines in 2015 will boost the team’s competitiveness.
In a statement this morning, Grosjean is happy to remain with Lotus for the 2015 season and believes that the team's future is looking good.

Grosjean stated the following:-
'It’s fantastic for me to be continuing with Lotus F1 Team for 2015 and it’s superb to have the support of everyone at Enstone. It's no secret that we’ve had a really tough season this year, but the team has remained focused and we’re all determined to return to regular points-scoring in 2015.

'I have been spending a lot of time recently at Enstone and I’m feeling very positive about the potential of the E23, which should represent a return to form for the team. We have one race left in 2014 so I’ll be pushing to do the best job possible in Abu Dhabi before my focus switches fully to 2015.'

It is clear that Grosjean is happy to remain at Lotus for the 2015 season despite having a difficult season this year. But he believes that Lotus have the potential to move forward for the future and feels confident about his and the team's chances of further success in the future while also ensuring that he remains focused on getting the best result that he can in Abu Dhabi this weekend.

In his own interview statement to the press this morning, Lotus Team Principal Gerard Lopez said Grosjean had proved himself worthy of a new contract this season. Lopez said the following:-

'It is with great pleasure that we can formally confirm that Romain Grosjean will continue with Lotus F1 Team alongside Pastor Maldonado next season. You really learn something about a driver when they have the chips against them and Romain has delivered impeccably in 2014 despite the very big challenges he has faced.

'We know that Romain will always get the most out of the car at his disposal, which is why we can’t wait to harness his potential with Mercedes-Benz power in 2015.'

As Lopez says himself he is really happy that he can formally announce that Grosjean will be staying with the team for next season. Even though Lotus and Grosjean haven't had the best season so far, I do believe that Lotus have made enough steps for the future to convince Grosjean to stay and I believe they have been very lucky to retain his services.
As I am sure that Grosjean will have been contacted by a few teams looking to try and gain his services but Lopez and the Lotus team have been able to secure a deal with him and this will only bring the team consistency as they head into the winter to work on the 2015 with a driver that they know can deliver if he has the opportunity to do so.

But despite that, Lotus have a great driver under their disposal alongside their Mercedes engines for 2015 and for me personally, Lotus have simply got to deliver a car worthy of Grosjean's talent and use the advantage of his talent and also of the Mercedes power unit as best as they can. For me if they don't deliver in 2015 or at least improve on their performance this season, they could lose Grosjean at the end of the 2015 season to another rival who can offer him the chance of a car worthy of his talent and calibre.

But I think most pundits and fans knew deep down inside that Grosjean would stay at Lotus for 2015 at least and give the team in my opinion their final chance to show that they can deliver on the track. Lotus over the past few seasons have shown that they have everything required to be successful and I believe that has been a key factor for Grosjean staying with the team for next season.

Lotus have been very lucky to keep Grosjean and simply need to reward his commitment and faith in the team with a car that will enable him to show just why many believe he is a talent of the future and rightly so.

Sarah Jones