Romain Grosjean

[tyranical]

Has been confirmed as Renaults second driver :S

Firstly that means petrovs out, secondly im not sure I understand their motives as they already gave him a chance and he was rubbish, he's gone away and won another gp2 title but not sure much will have changed especially with Kimi as a benchmark.

Thirdly grosjean over petrov doesnt appear to make much financial sense given the amount of investment russia can provide and the inaugural russian grand prix that is in the works.

[llewop]

It does seem a strange choice

There would have been good arguments for either of Petrov or Senna ahead of him, even if part of it was financial, especially with Petrov.

Maybe they don't need a paid driver so much next year, they might have a big sponsor coming on board to keep Kimi in ice-creams...

another thought; maybe he'd be easier to drop in the event that Kubica does actually get fit enough to drive? Otherwise it does look like they've turned their back on Kubica, for the moment at least.

[norman156]

Linky from Autosport: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96698

[Redlake27]

I think it shows Lotus to be a serious team.

Grosjean has had a better record than Petrov or Senna in junior formula. The team know enough about him from Friday benchmarking and his 2009 foray, when his benchmark was Alonso.

Kimio and Romain? Seems much more inspiring than the fleet of paydrivers they have flirted with recently.

[robmlufc]

Thats a strong team, RG is a fast driver.

[CampDavid]

He was half a secnod, on average away from Alonso when he subbed for Nelson. Given that it was his first drive, he was well on the back foot and thrown in, I think that's a decent effort.

[belleair302]

Funny how he is managed by the same chap who owns the Lotus Renault F1 team!! Genii Capital finance the team via Luxembourg, Gravity Sports Management is financed by the CEO of Genii who also back Renault and have Gerard Lopez on the board.....and he own the F1 team!!! It was never in doubt.

[chevronb37]

Grosjean has one of the best CVs of recent years. He was looking good for the GP2 title before going up to F1 (watching him juke it out with Nico would've been great), he's not got 2 GP2 Asia titles, GP2, Auto GP and a couple of FIA GT1 wins to his name. Can't see how he could've done more. By all accounts the 2009 Renault was a bit of a pig and he was within spitting distance of Alonso. I think he's a class act and certainly deserves a place on merit above Petrov. I think this has the makings of a really interesting driver pairing for next season.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

I still miss Bob

[rallycross]

His cv may be good but he's just another product of modern F1 driver development programs, does he have anything interesting to say?

Would add moreinterest to the grid having Senna or even Petrov in the car than this guy.

[robmlufc]

rallycross said:

Would add moreinterest to the grid having Senna or even Petrov in the car than this guy.

Why?

[Tjw85]

I think Lotus have sneaked under the radar and got themselves potentially one of the strongest driver line ups on the grip for 2012. They've suprised everyone, as most people expected them to plod along next year with Petrov/Senna. As mentioned earlier, it shows intent on their side. Having followed Grosjean from early on with his battles in F3 euro series with Buemi, Kobayashi etc.. He is a class act. His times from Brazil on Friday showed up both race drives i seem to recall.

[Henry Fiddleton]

Echo'ing the above- he is indeed a class act, and the team have a very fast line up.

Sutil would have been a good side kick to Kimi, but the team didnt like quick Nick who is similar.

At last a decent driver.

[TXWRX]

He did seem very confident at the end of the season that he had a seat already, i suspect originally it was going to be Grosjean and Petrov but then they've done the deal with Kimi and decided Grosjeans Total links are more important than the russian sponsors Petrov can bring. I think Senna also hurt Petrovs chances, if he had dominated Senna he may well still be there.

Grosjean probably did get a seat too soon with the whole Piquet debacle and it will be good to have a french driver that has a chance of making a real go of F1, whats certain is the lineup of Raikkonen and Grosjean is a lot more interesting than Heidfeld Petrov that started this year! Raikkonen Kubica would be even better of course, really hope Kubica gets back in a car

[JMC1]

You have to say they have gone for speed not cash

[snorkel sucker]

BBC suggest there may be a link with the renewal of sponsorship with Total

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/161051...

But, that said, his record is mighty impressive:

2005: French Formula Renault champion
2007: Formula Three Euroseries champion
2008: GP2 Asia Series champion
2010: Auto GP champion
2011: GP2 Asia Series champion
2011: GP2 Series champion

If Lotus get their car in the right place, they could be up there in 2012. They seem to stagnate in 2011, which was not expected after their 2010 season. Kubica was a big loss to them - their 2012 lineup should inject some venom into their performances I think.

[Fire99]

JMC1 said:

You have to say they have gone for speed not cash

and dare I say you have to admire them for it.

[KrazyIvan]

This may be a master stroke from Lotus, but it could easily blow up in there face by mid season, if they cant give there line up a car that can fight with the Mercs all through the season, and not just the first few races like 2011

[JxT]

Fire99 said:

JMC1 said:

You have to say they have gone for speed not cash

and dare I say you have to admire them for it.

He brings more cash than Petrov or Senna these days apparently. But he's been very good when allowed in the car for FP1 sessions, he will do well.

[Allyc85]

This guy was initially thrown in at the deep end in 2009 but has been bloody fast in everything else he has driven before and since then.

Personally im looking forward to seeing how he has progressed