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Lotus’s trackside operations director, Alan Permane has said that Romain Grosjean has what it takes to lead the team next year after the driver’s recent upswing in form.
“I don’t see why not, quite honestly. Obviously it depends who he has as his team-mate, a strong character or who it is. But I don’t see why not. Now’s his chance – and he looks to be taking it, which is really good to see,” he said.
Grosjean, who was having a good run recently was forced to retire at the 37th lap in Singapore after his engine valve developed a leak.
Permane also said that Grosjean would’ve beaten outgoing Kimi Raikkonen if the problem didn’t occur.
“Without the failure, Romain would have beaten him. It’s great that we’ve got on the podium and it’s great for Kimi that he’s got on the podium. But I think we know that Romain would have beaten him this weekend without a problem. I think that’s good for team morale,” he added.
Raikkonen finished third in Singapore behind Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso after he revealed at the weekend that his decision of leaving Lotus was because of the team’s inability to pay his salary in time.
