Boullier: “Grosjean did a very good job”
The Team Principal of Lotus Renault GP gives a positive assessment of the Franco-Swiss tests but indicates that the decision for a possible appointment in 2012 is up to the Board of Directors.
While Virgin has still not confirmed Charles Pic’s appointment for the 2012 season, France also places its hopes of seeing a French driver on the starting grid of a Grand Prix on other candidates, foremost among them being Romain Grosjean, who took part in his second Friday morning free practice session in Brazil, replacing Vitaly Petrov.
Interviewed by Julien Febreau from the newspaper L’Equipe, Eric Boullier gave a positive assessment of the tests conducted by Grosjean: “Romain did a very good job on Friday morning until he encountered a clutch problem, so I think he had the speed, his feedback was good, and the team likes working with him. I can’t say more than that.”
Many believe, however, that these tests were decisive for the choice of drivers in 2012 and, while the Franco-Swiss driver outperformed his two rivals one morning in Abu Dhabi and Brazil, Eric Boullier indicates that no decision has been made: This is part of the evaluation we decided to conduct, so we will see. He did it positively, now it will be reported to the board of directors and then we will see.
However, the reigning GP2 Series champion and former holder of the team with the diamond, faces competition from two drivers opening potential markets for investors and manufacturers involved, in countries less severely affected by the crisis than Europe: « It is true that as a global sport, we are looking for sponsors in new countries, notably those of the BRIC – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and more recently South Africa -, where there is clearly some economic expansion, unlike Europe which is in crisis. »
The fate of the Frenchman will also depend on the future of Robert Kubica. The announcement of the Polish driver’s unavailability for the start of the season is currently being contested by his entourage, and Eric Boullier acknowledges that he still needs to sit down with Daniele Morelli to discuss and assess the future situation, reaffirming that it is a decision for the board of directors now […], and as soon as they convene, they will decide.
