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Lotus F1 Team Principal Eric Boullier has admitted to being disappointed after learning of Raikkonen’s decision to leave the team to join Ferrari from 2014.
In an interview with the Lotus F1 team website, he said there was no bitterness to the Finn leaving the Enstone based team. When asked, he said, “Not at all. Two years ago, when we decided to sign him, quite a few people thought we were crazy. And what happened in the end? We’ve been working with an amazing racer, who scored points for the team 27 times in a row, won two races, put motivation at a very high level at Enstone, and got on very well with his team mate. Now, it’s time to think about the future.”
Boullier’s also aired his disappointment over the development: “Of course this is a disappointment to all of us, and we’re sure you will agree that Kimi has been nothing but brilliant since he joined us. In the same breath, Enstone has once again proven its pedigree; providing him with two great cars and making his return to Formula One a success. It’s been a win-win situation right from the beginning.”
Despite losing their star driver for next season, the team remain focused on doing their best in the remaining seven races. Team boss Boullier said, “We still have seven races together and our aim is to provide both him and Romain with the best machinery possible. There’s still a tough fight out there and we’re still pushing to improve on last season again with P3 in the constructors’ championship.”
Commenting on their line up for 2014, “We are currently in discussion with a few people and will make a decision shortly,” he said. “We are in the privileged position of being the most desirable team on the grid with a seat available, so we are therefore in no rush to announce anyone without establishing what will be the best for our team and the future.”
Speculation doing the rounds are linking Sauber driver Nico Hulkenburg alongside Grosjean for 2014. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa has also been linked to the seat after confirming that he will leave the Italian team at the end of the current season.
