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Grosjean to partner Raikkonen at Lotus
Source: Agencies |
December 10, 2011, Saturday
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FRENCH driver Romain Grosjean will return to the Formula One starting grid next season as Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus teammate, the former Renault Formula One team announced yesterday.
The news completed the team's line-up and means both Lotus drivers will be making comebacks, with Grosjean dropped by Renault at the end of 2009 after seven grands prix as a replacement.
Raikkonen, the 2007 F1 world champion for Ferrari, has been competing in the world rally championship for the past two seasons.
The announcement left Russian Vitaly Petrov, who competed for the team this year along with Brazilian Bruno Senna, looking for options elsewhere.
"I am thrilled to be one of the team's race drivers in 2012," said Grosjean, who was born in Geneva but now lives in Paris, in a statement.
"There's a big grin on my face at the prospect of getting behind the wheel of next year's car, and I feel very privileged to be given this opportunity."
His contract was announced at the same time as a renewal of the team's sponsorship with French oil giant Total, which has backed Grosjean for more than six years.
Petrov, who had raced for the team for the past two years as Russia's first F1 driver, had a contract for 2012 but his manager had made clear in recent days that it was not a watertight agreement.
Renault boss Eric Boullier thanked Petrov and Senna for their contributions and wished them well while focusing on Grosjean's potential.
"Romain has shown a lot of maturity in the past 12 months both through his GP2 Series victory and his development as third driver with us," he said. "We were impressed when he drove for us in the first practice sessions in Abu Dhabi and Brazil. We are confident that drafting him in to one of our drivers' seats will help us in our rebuilding process."
Grosjean raced for Renault in 2009 as a mid-season replacement for Brazilian Nelson Piquet junior and won the GP2 support series this year.
The news completed the team's line-up and means both Lotus drivers will be making comebacks, with Grosjean dropped by Renault at the end of 2009 after seven grands prix as a replacement.
Raikkonen, the 2007 F1 world champion for Ferrari, has been competing in the world rally championship for the past two seasons.
The announcement left Russian Vitaly Petrov, who competed for the team this year along with Brazilian Bruno Senna, looking for options elsewhere.
"I am thrilled to be one of the team's race drivers in 2012," said Grosjean, who was born in Geneva but now lives in Paris, in a statement.
"There's a big grin on my face at the prospect of getting behind the wheel of next year's car, and I feel very privileged to be given this opportunity."
His contract was announced at the same time as a renewal of the team's sponsorship with French oil giant Total, which has backed Grosjean for more than six years.
Petrov, who had raced for the team for the past two years as Russia's first F1 driver, had a contract for 2012 but his manager had made clear in recent days that it was not a watertight agreement.
Renault boss Eric Boullier thanked Petrov and Senna for their contributions and wished them well while focusing on Grosjean's potential.
"Romain has shown a lot of maturity in the past 12 months both through his GP2 Series victory and his development as third driver with us," he said. "We were impressed when he drove for us in the first practice sessions in Abu Dhabi and Brazil. We are confident that drafting him in to one of our drivers' seats will help us in our rebuilding process."
Grosjean raced for Renault in 2009 as a mid-season replacement for Brazilian Nelson Piquet junior and won the GP2 support series this year.
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