Romain Grosjean to partner Räikkönen for 2012 - Romain is confirmed at the Renault/Lotus team for next year
Published by Christine
This is F1Minute - Romain Grosjean to partner Räikkönen for 2012.
The second seat at the currently Renault but soon to be Lotus team has been claimed by GP2 champion Romain Grosjean. The French driver won the 2011 GP2 series, alongside duties as Renault’s third and reserve driver. He has also previously driven for the team in 2009, replacing the outgoing Nelson Piquet Jr for the final seven races of the year.
In 2012, he will partner returning F1 champion Kimi Räikkönen and relishes the challenge, saying: “There’s a big grin on my face at the prospect of getting behind the wheel of next year’s car, and I feel very privileged to be given this opportunity. To be racing alongside a former world champion and someone who is hungry and returning to Formula 1 will be a great experience.”
Meanwhile, team principal at LRGP, Éric Boullier added: “Romain has shown a lot of maturity in the past twelve months... we are confident that drafting him into one of our driver’s seats will help us in our rebuilding process.” Boullier also thanked Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov for their hard work, but both drivers are now left without seats for next year.
