The Lotus Formula One team will have an unchanged lineup next season after they announced that French driver Romain Grosjean will retain his place alongside 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen.
The confirmation came a day after Grosjean won the Race of Champions event in Bangkok, beating Red Bull’s triple champion Sebastian Vettel and seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher along the way.
«Romain is a great talent and we are pleased that he is continuing with us for a second season,» said team principal Eric Boullier in a statement.
«With the continuity of two exceptional drivers like Romain and Kimi we are well placed to build on our strong 2012 with even better results in the year ahead.»
Lotus finished the 2012 season as the fourth-placed team overall, with Grosjean taking three podium placings and ending the championship eighth overall, while Raikkonen was third in his comeback year.
The decision to stick with Grosjean was expected, although the Frenchman had an erratic season that included a one-race ban for causing a collision in Belgium that put Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso out of the race.
Alonso, who was lucky not to be hit on the head by Grosjean’s flying car, lost the title battle to Vettel by just three points – a fraction of those he could have expected to score at Spa.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald