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Current GP2 champion Romain Grosjean (France) has been confirmed to partner former F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen for Lotus Renault team in 2012. This marks Romain Grosjean’s comeback to Formula 1 after two years. He had already raced for Renault on seven occasions in 2009 wherein Fernando Alonso was his teammate. This leaves Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna, who drove for the team last season, without a drive for 2012.
As expected, Grosjean was thrilled at hearing this pleasant news. He was quoted saying,
“There’s a big grin on my face at the prospect of getting behind the wheel of next year’s car. Returning to Enstone [Renault's base] as a race driver feels like coming home. I will not disappoint.”
Left in the lurch: Petrov and Senna
Incidentally, it was Vitaly Petrov’s arrival in 2010 that closed the doors for Grosjean’s short F1 career. He comes back to take back his seat in the Renault team, which is being backed by the Lotus Group.
Romain Grosjean had a forgettable debut season in Formula One. Coming in as a replacement for Nelson Piquet Jr. midway through the 2009 season, Grosjean failed to impress the team. He did not even score a single point in the seven races that he drove. His best finish was thirteenth at the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix. He ended up being 23rd in the driver’s championship table and hence couldn’t secure a drive for 2010.
Grosjean wasn’t deterred by his failure. Time was in his side. Being just 23, he decided to start from the bottom. He participated in FIA GT1 world championship, Le Mans 24 hours and Auto GP in 2010. In the very next year, he started racing in GP2, which is considered to be the feeder series for Formula 1. At the same time, he also served as the test driver for Lotus Renault. He won the GP2 championship and thereby he has earned his spot in Lotus Renault for 2012. He has a tough job at hand partnering 2007 F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who is also making a comeback to F1 after two years. When asked about being the teammate of former F1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, Grosjean said,
“To be racing alongside a former world champion – and someone who is hungry and returning to Formula 1 – will be a great experience. I’m sure it will help raise my level of performance too.”
On his return, Grosjean said that he has become a complete driver at present. He was quoted saying,
“I feel that my successful season in GP2 Series has helped me mature a lot. I am a much more complete driver than I was last time I was competing in this sport.”
Swiss born Romain Grosjean, who has a dual nationality (France and Switzerland), won the GP2 championship in 2011 and was also the test driver for Renault during the same period.
Romain Grosjean (R) with Eric Boullier, Team Principal, Lotus Renault
“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”
Eric Boullier,
Renault team principal.
Lotus Renault have been making big time changes. They have replaced both their current drivers with former drivers. Their poor showing in 2011 season in which they finished 5th – just a point ahead of Force India, is said to be reason behind this major upheaval. Whether this would work for them or not would be known only when 2012 season starts.
