Team Lotus names Razia, Valsecchi, and Teixeira as reserves for 2011

In recent seasons, the roles of third drivers have lost much of their appeal to drivers since private testing is now banned once the season has started. However, they are still of interest to smaller teams, who see them as a significant additional source of income. This is how Team Lotus has just appointed a third driver (Luiz Razia) and two reserve drivers (Davide Valsecchi and Ricardo Teixeira).

For the first two named drivers, it is not a big surprise since they are part of the Team Air Asia in GP2, as Tony Fernandes has established a training and support structure for drivers to access Formula 1, similar to what Red Bull or McLaren have done.

This may appear as a consolation prize for Davide Valsecchi since he was in contact with HRT for a race seat for a long time, even conducting tests for the Spanish team. However, they reportedly were too demanding regarding his financial expectations compared to the financial means of his sponsors. Therefore, they will contribute their support to the Anglo-Malaysian team.

As for Ricardo Teixeira, although he is officially named for the first time within the organizational structure of a Formula 1 team, this category is not entirely unknown to him since he has already been approached by Williams without it leading to a significant commitment. Just like Pastor Maldonado with PDVSA, the Angolan can rely on the support of his country’s national oil company (Sonangol) to open doors in Formula 1, as his sporting results are currently not very impressive, having never experienced the joys of victory in Formula 3, GP2, or Formula 2.

With the participation of RacingBusiness.fr