Grosjean views the agreement between Lotus F1 and Mercedes favorably
Romain Grosjean's contract with Lotus comes to an end at the close of the season. The team wants to keep him, and the announced partnership with Mercedes should encourage the Frenchman to extend his time in Enstone.
After the confirmation of the partnership between Lotus and Mercedes starting next season, Romain Grosjean did not hide that his desire to continue the adventure at Enstone had been kindled.
Without a contract at the end of the season, the Franco-Swiss driver did not hide his frustration on several occasions throughout the year while driving a reluctant Lotus E22 equipped with a Renault engine that lagged behind the Mercedes engine.
The brand with the diamond has endured the driver’s fits of anger several times this year, in Bahrain or in Singapore. Hence, the change of engine supplier for 2015 appears as a chance to move forward and return to a satisfactory performance level, while the future of the Geneva native is not yet fully decided.
« This makes things really more attractive, » said Romain Grosjean to Autosport. « It’s not a bad place to be. It’s not one of the top four teams, it’s not a team that’s going to be world champion, but it’s probably a team that can make a good car, and be where Williams is this season. They were nowhere last year, and with a good engine and a good car, they’ve been at the front this year, so that could be the case here. »
« We know that Mercedes has the strongest power unit on the grid; we know they will probably maintain a good advantage next year, so that will help Lotus a lot. » An advantage that could, however, become increasingly tenuous both due to the changes allowed by the technical regulations during the offseason and also over the course of the next season if the process of repealing the engine freeze comes to an end.
The announcement of the supply of the Mercedes V6 turbo hybrid engine was accompanied by news of a partnership with Petronas for fluid supply (oils, fuel). However, aside from PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil company closely linked to Pastor Maldonado, already renewed for 2015, Lotus is sponsored by Total, associated with Romain Grosjean and a historical partner of Renault. This situation is not problematic for driver number 8: « I think they understand. There are discussions, obviously, but the relationship goes beyond just a sponsor sticker. It’s a long relationship, and we want to continue, so even if it’s not Total fuel in the car, it doesn’t mean I won’t be a Total driver. »
Maldonado hopes for an automatic improvement
On the other side of the garage, Pastor Maldonado views this engine supplier change positively: It’s a great help, not just in terms of power, and not just because we will automatically be faster than this season – as it’s more than half a second from one engine to the other – but also in the way we work around the engine.
« It will be very good because you have more leeway to play with the power unit and the aerodynamic aspect of the car. It’s still a bit early, we have to keep moving forward and working, but hopefully there will be a good step forward next year, » he concluded, also quoted by Autosport.
