The leaders of Lotus will have explored every corner of the paddock and beyond to find a solution that would give them a chance to beat Ferrari in the race for third place in the Constructors’ Championship.<\/p>\n
Among the candidates mentioned, we can find Davide Valsecchi (third driver of the team) or Nico H\u00fclkenberg (blocked by his contract at Sauber). One of the latest leads was even… Michael Schumacher. This was confirmed by Sabine Kehm, his press officer, to the German newspaper Bild<\/b>: \u00ab There have been some requests in the past. Michael would still be fit enough but he has a new life. I don’t find it strange that people ask the question. Many people have changed their opinion about Michael because of Nico Rosberg’s performances compared to Lewis Hamilton. Michael was driving as well as Nico, just like Nico is driving as well as Lewis. \u00bb<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, a second return of the seven-time world champion, while it would have been a huge marketing coup for the Enstone team, was doomed to failure. Indeed, since his second retirement, he has taken on an ambassador role for Mercedes. There would be virtually no chance that the star-branded company would release its former driver while it is in direct competition with Lotus.<\/p>\n
The agreement finally reached with Heikki Kovalainen is ironic for more than one reason. Indeed, it required Lotus to come to terms with Caterham, even though both parties had been involved in lengthy legal proceedings over the use of the Lotus name in F1. However, relations have since calmed, and the two parties have reached an amicable agreement to allow Lotus to have a driver with experience driving a 2013 single-seater car.<\/p>\n
\u00ab It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to join Lotus for the last two races of 2013. I would like to thank Tony Fernandes and Caterham for letting me take advantage of it. We’ve seen this year that the E21 is a car that can win races and finish on the podium, so I will do my best to achieve the best possible results, \u00bb comments Kovalainen.<\/p>\n
The Finnish driver will therefore have to quickly regain his footing to be competitive right away and rise to the level of Romain Grosjean at the peak of his form with three podiums and a fourth place in the last four Grand Prix: \u00ab Getting into the car so late in the year when you haven’t participated in races throughout the year will be a challenge, but I know the team well, so I have no concerns, \u00bb assures the Finn.<\/p>\n