Lotus, who are in the process of being taken over by Renault, have a 2016 seat up for grabs after Romain Grosjean signed for Haas
Friday 2 October 2015 16:02, UK
The Lotus team hope Renault's impending takeover means the "tasty drivers" left on the market for 2016 see their second seat as one worth having.
French car giant Renault has signed a letter of intent with a view to buying back the team they sold to Genii Capital in 2009 and on Monday stepped in to assist Lotus in their High Court case against HMRC by making a loan available to the Enstone team to pay the team's unpaid tax bill. The case has been adjourned until December 7 so Lotus and Renault can finalise the takeover deal.
Despite the prospect of the team returning to full works status, lead driver Romain Grosjean this week signed for F1 newcomers Haas for the 2016 season - leaving a vacancy at the team alongside Pastor Maldonado, whose contract renewal was announced earlier this month.
Should Renault duly buy back the team then Frenchmen Jean-Eric Vergne, currently a test driver at Ferrari, and Esteban Ocon, on the books of Mercedes, are thought to be the front-runners for the seat. Meanwhile, Lotus reserve Jolyon Palmer could also be in the frame, while neither of McLaren's young drivers, Kevin Magnussen nor Stoffel Vandoorne, yet have a seat.
"We know that we can now publicly say bonne chance to Romain who is headed to pastures new next year. He's been a real asset to us over the years so we'll certainly miss him," said Lotus deputy team principal Federico Gastaldi.
"We know we have Pastor confirmed for one seat and we know that there are quite a few tasty drivers available out there and we're doing everything to ensure that we've got a desirable race seat, which needs to be filled. What happens next is that there'll be a number of discussions in a number of places then at some point we'll have an announcement to make."
Lotus may likely wait until the Renault deal goes through before naming their second driver, although Maldonado's position has already been confirmed.
Renault have a long association with the Enstone-based team, having originally been an engine supplier to Benetton in 1995-97 before buying the team outright in 2000. Despite a phased withdrawal from team ownership from late 2009, Renault continued to supply engines to Lotus up until last season.
"It looks like we're engaged to be married again, which is interesting as we've had a few relationships together before!" added Gastaldi, whose time at the team dates back to their Benetton era.
"It's positive for the sport and it's positive for Enstone that a company with the history and prestige of Renault is looking to strengthen its role in Formula 1.
"It's true we've both experienced a few knocks over the years but we've also had some exceptional highs and that makes us all collectively exceptionally motivated to harness our resilience and show everyone what we can do."
