Lotus have revealed that they are near to reaching an agreement with Romain Grosjean that will see the Frenchman stay on as Pastor Maldonado’s team mate in 2015.
Grosjean, who has endured a frustrating 2014 campaign, finishing in the points on just two occasions, has spent his entire F1 career with the Enstone-based team, having made seven appearances for the then-Renault squad in 2009 before rejoining the team from the 2011 season onwards.
“Romain is in pole position for (a 2015 seat) and honestly it’s a case of us finalising a few details,” confirmed deputy team principal Federico Gastaldi. “We expect to have an announcement very shortly.”
Regarding the timing of that announcement, Grosjean, who has scored all eight of Lotus’s world championship points in 2014, joked: “Maybe we think it’s fun to keep the media speculating!
"Honestly, we’re very close to having something to announce but there’s no pressure on when we say something.”
Despite the fact that Lotus are poised to finish outside the top five in the constructors’ standings for the first time since 2009, Gastaldi is hopeful that the former world champions will enjoy a renaissance in 2015 thanks to a recently-announced switch from Renault to Mercedes power.
“That is the plan!” he said. “Obviously (switching to Mercedes) was something that was in the pipeline. Behind the scenes we realised it was time for a new direction and we are very happy we can finally confirm this publicly.
“Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains have already made a positive impression and we believe that they will be a key ingredient for future success.
"It has become obvious this year that they have the most competitive package on the engine side. Their strengths, allied to ours, will form a potent combination in 2015 and create a special E23 Hybrid package. The partnership also forms a key ingredient for the long-term future of Lotus F1 Team.”
(source: f1.com)
