Grossjean and Hulk at Lotus 2014

[Scott]

Practically official...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/111129

[vintly]

Hope it happens, and it'll be a great match if so - hard to call who'd come out on top over the season.

We really should have some pre-season predictions logged so we can refer back to them come November.

[cosworth151]

They could be a good team if the funding stays stable.

[Jericoke]

They could be a good team if the funding stays stable.

Enstone has been able to accomplish a lot given how unstable ownership and management has been over the years.  The people running the daily operation of the team have got to be amongst the true heroes of F1.

I think they deserve credit for convincing Kimi to run for them despite not being paid.  They also deserve credit for seeing the potential in Grosjean that a lot of other people (myself included) had dismissed, and then bringing out that potential.

Quite frankly, if I were to invest in an F1 team, there really is no other team that provides value like Enstone does.  Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and RBR might have the best personnel money can buy, but Enstone has something more special than that.

[John S]

Sorry to be a party pooper but I'm not convinced that signing another midfield driver is going to get Lotus the wins that they crave in 2014. They lost James Allison to Ferrari early this year, then they started to fall back from the wins they enjoyed at the start of the season - the two facts cannot surely just be coincidence.

Alain Prost, in an interview on Sky F1, mentioned the big hurdle all drivers must jump - namely their first win. He says when a driver manages to break his duck he moves to a different level, there's not a question in his mind that he can win again - it's simply when. Similarly a team can never really know if they are running a winning driver until he makes the top step, and that last little bit to move from podium place to No 1 proves impossible for many.
 

Boullier is not necessarily brave in keeping Wrecker Romain at the team, he's the boy's manager after all, oh and Grosjean brings a nice fat dowry from Total each year. 

[Jericoke]

Sorry to be a party pooper but I'm not convinced that signing another midfield driver is going to get Lotus the wins that they crave in 2014. They lost James Allison to Ferrari early this year, then they started to fall back from the wins they enjoyed at the start of the season - the two facts cannot surely just be coincidence.

Alain Prost, in an interview on Sky F1, mentioned the big hurdle all drivers must jump - namely their first win. He says when a driver manages to break his duck he moves to a different level, there's not a question in his mind that he can win again - it's simply when. Similarly a team can never really know if they are running a winning driver until he makes the top step, and that last little bit to move from podium place to No 1 proves impossible for many.
 

Boullier is not necessarily brave in keeping Wrecker Romain at the team, he's the boy's manager after all, oh and Grosjean brings a nice fat dowry from Total each year.

Come now, neither Alonso nor Schumacher were race winners before joining Enstone, and yet brought the team 4 championships.  Not to suggest that Hulkeberg (or Grosjean) are as good as Fernando or Michael... but I don't think that can be categorically denied either. 

If the team is ready to move to the top step (I concede, a big if, given the competition), then Hulkenberg and Grosjean are certainly as good as any other choices available to Enestone to take that step with them.

[vintly]

Romain was never a wrecker in my view, a bit careless maybe. He's been smacked over the head for long enough. Yes Belgium 2012 was scary, and wow has he paid for that. Having the paddock and pundits comment that he should go for peripheral vision eye tests must have been galling - what nonsense. Anyway, his maturity in dealing with the situation, under all that fire, and his ability to still have great speed have surely proved what a valuable asset he is. Calling him 'Wrecker' is very 2012...

[Scott]

Romain was never a wrecker in my view, a bit careless maybe. He's been smacked over the head for long enough. Yes Belgium 2012 was scary, and wow has he paid for that. Having the paddock and pundits comment that he should go for peripheral vision eye tests must have been galling - what nonsense. Anyway, his maturity in dealing with the situation, under all that fire, and his ability to still have great speed have surely proved what a valuable asset he is. Calling him 'Wrecker' is very 2012...

100%    He's learned, now time to give him a break.

[John S]

Calling him 'Wrecker' is very 2012...

You may be right that he has overcome his appalling 2012 record, however I was responding to Jeri's assertion that the team was brave to retain him for 2013. Quite a legitimate use of the epithet in that context I would say. 

[cosworth151]

Having the paddock and pundits comment that he should go for peripheral vision eye tests must have been galling - what nonsense.

I agree, but for a different reason. Modern F1 helmets and cockpit design pretty well prevent any peripheral vision.

[Jericoke]

Calling him 'Wrecker' is very 2012...

You may be right that he has overcome his appalling 2012 record, however I was responding to Jeri's assertion that the team was brave to retain him for 2013. Quite a legitimate use of the epithet in that context I would say. 

I knew what you meant 

I still think that Grosjean has outperformed expectations, and that we can thank Enstone for adding one more 'promising' F1 driver to the long list we have on the current grid.

[Irisado]

I agree that Grosjean is now a much better driver, and has gained a lot of confidence, especially in the second half of the season.  It was his drive from 17th to 3rd in the race before last which really sealed it for me.

I think that Hulkenberg's first win is just around the corner, given a good car, so he and Grosjean make for an exciting pairing next season.  I just hope that the Lotus is fast enough to deliver on track.