Monday, December 23, 2013

Comparing the 2014 teammates: Lotus

I have compared Ferrari's and Red Bull's drivers earlier so now it's time to continue with Lotus.
Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado side by side and head to head. Some say it will be a disaster and some say that these to guys can bring a lot of points to Lotus. We shall wait and see.

Personally I think that Grosjean will be better than his teammate even though Maldonado is a race winner. Last year he won the Spanish Grand Prix. Grosjean has never won a race in Formula One.

The most interesting fact is that this will be the first time Grosjean is driving with somebody who isn't a world champion.



Let's begin comparing! I'll start with Romain Grosjean. First I will write the year and then the teammate and how it went.

2009 - Fernando Alonso. Grosjean replaced Nelson Piquet Jr. because Flavio Briatore wasn't satisfied with his results. Grosjean on the other hand didn't do that much better. He had even worse results and didn't get a seat for 2010. Alonso won him in every race he finished.

2012 - Kimi Räikkönen. Grosjean got a second chance and was now better than in 2009. He had just won the GP2 series and was hungry for good results. But unfortunately for Grosjean's sake Kimi Räikkönen mopped the floor with him. Grosjean got 96 points and Räikkönen 207. Over twice the amount more than Grosjean. Only Alonso and Räikkönen got twice as much as their teammates in 2012. Was it because they were so good or because their teammates were just that bad? You be the judge.

2013 - Kimi Räikkönen and Heikki Kovalainen. Kovalainen drove in two races but it was pretty clear that he was a bit rusty or he had very bad luck. Grosjean won Kovalainen in the first race but in the second he retired. Räikkönen on the other hand won Grosjean in 11 races and would have won more but retired twice and didn't race in the last two races. Even though Räikkönen was again better it didn't mean that Grosjean had a bad season. Compared to 2012 it was a great year and he got better all the time. I wish him well and good luck.



Then Pastor Maldonado. He has always driven for Williams just like Grosjean has always driven for Lotus / Renault. It shall be interesting seeing him in another team. Let's continue...

2011 - Rubens Barrichello. Maldonado lost because he got 1 point and Barrichello got 4. Not a good year for Williams.

2012 - Bruno Senna. The only time that Maldonado actually was better than his teammate. He even won a race for Williams so 2012 was much better for them.

2013 - Valtteri Bottas. 2011 all over again but this time he lost to a rookie. 4 points to Bottas and only 1 to Maldonado. He stated to the media that even though he lost to Bottas it was his best season ever. He made it very clear that Bottas is not a regular rookie but a professional with just a little experience.

So both Maldonado and Grosjean have driven in three seasons but only Maldonado has once been better than his teammate.

Next comparing will be between the two Force India drivers and it will be in a few days.