Lotus F1 wants to keep Grosjean for 2015

The Lotus team took advantage of the weekend at Hockenheim to confirm the presence of Pastor Maldonado in 2015. The Venezuelan could remain as Romain Grosjean’s teammate; at least that’s what Federico Gastaldi, the deputy director of the British team, would like.

In statements reported by the official Formula 1 website, the Argentine expressed confidence in being able to retain the French driver, even though he knows that the current difficulties faced by Enstone are a problem: Romain has been part of the Lotus family for years, even since his time in GP2. Let’s be honest, Romain as a top, top driver is not happy with the season and it’s felt by everyone in the team, obviously.

Despite everything, no official announcement is expected regarding Grosjean’s situation: « We cannot confirm anything for now, the timing will be right when we are both comfortable to confirm something. » However, Gastaldi assures that the Geneva native wants to stay: « All I can say is that Romain certainly intends to stay in Enstone and continue what has been a superb partnership and working relationship. »

These statements are important at a time of a possible change of engine supplier. Indeed, Romain Grosjean is linked to Total, an oil company strongly tied to Renault, and the switch to a hybrid unit provided by Mercedes had raised several questions about his future with the black and gold team.

On his side, the driver with number 8 had indicated at Silverstone that nothing was certain for 2015: « You always think about the future. I’ve been with Lotus for a little while now and I know the team very well. On the other hand, I always want to win races… so everything is open. »

The main rumor involving a team change would place the Franco-Swiss driver at McLaren F1, where he could reunite with Eric Boullier, his former manager and team director at Lotus, who is now the competition director in Woking. Grosjean had also sought to temper these rumors: « It’s not because Eric is there that things are that simple. » Indeed, currently, according to *L’Equipe*, the Frenchman has not yet been genuinely approached for 2015. Lotus seems to be the only option at the moment.

Finally, Gastaldi also commented on the confirmation of Pastor Maldonado for 2015: “It’s the renewal of vows with a difficult honeymoon, if you will. Gérard Lopez and I spent time with Pastor in Hockenheim, where we sat down and discussed the future, which was very positive. Pastor is an integral part of Enstone’s future, and it was somewhat logical for both parties to confirm that he had a multi-year agreement and would be in one of our cockpits next season.”