Lotus owner Gerard Lopez has backed Romain Grosjean, amid speculation the Enstone based team could replace the beleaguered French driver. Having seemingly overcome his 'first lap nutcase' troubles of 2012, 27-year-old Grosjean is now back in the wars with a ten-place grid penalty for Montreal for his Monaco crash with Daniel Ricciardo. In the wake of the Monaco controversy, team boss Eric Boullier answered "not yet" when asked if Lotus might consider replacing Grosjean with GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi.
He and team owner Lopez, however, have also defended Grosjean. "The first (Monaco) accident in practice was our fault," Lopez told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. "The tyre pressures were wrong and we did not tell him. The second crash was comparable to Massa's -- we believe both were distracted by a car coming out of the pits. From that, he was under pressure for the rest of the weekend. The speed was there," said Lopez, adding that hurried repairs meant Grosjean's car was "not really perfect" for the race.
And Lopez said the crash with Ricciardo was caused by frustration. "Romain is not a guy who can drive behind for so long, especially when he knows he could be so much further forward," he said.
He said Lotus continues to believe in Grosjean, but smiled as he likened him to a talented football player "who is constantly getting stupid injuries". "He's super fast in anything with four wheels -- he would be quick with a shopping cart. He is a natural talent and there are not too many others like him; Hulkenberg, Bianchi but I can't think of many others," said Lopez.
Meanwhile, Grosjean said he believes his ten-place penalty for the Ricciardo crash is "quite harsh". As for his mixed 2013 season so far, he said: "On paper it's not as good as we would have wanted it to be, but I'm happy with all my performances so far except for Monaco." (GMM)
Order the latest Lotus merchandise here!
Lopez compares Grosjean with injury-prone football player
- Published on 03 Jun 2013 11:59
-
0
- By: Rob Veenstra
.
Trending news
-
Hamilton Retirement Rumours Knocked Down: He Is Staying at FerrariReports circulating on social media this week suggested Lewis Hamilton was planning to announce his retirement at the...
12 May 2026 18:10 -
McLaren Reportedly Want Sainz Back If Piastri Leaves for Red BullCarlos Sainz could be heading back to McLaren. Spanish media are reporting that the current Williams driver, who has ...
12 May 2026 21:19 -
Mekies Confirms Red Bull Are Looking for a New Race Engineer for VerstappenRed Bull have addressed the departure of Gianpiero Lambiase publicly for the first time. Team principal Laurent Mekie...
12 May 2026 20:20 -
Russell Is Not Worried About Antonelli: "Momentum Changes Constantly in a Championship"George Russell is 20 points behind Kimi Antonelli after four races and watching his teammate win three in a row. He i...
12 May 2026 19:14 -
Hadjar Confident: "Next Year We Will Win Races With Red Bull"Isack Hadjar has had a difficult start to his Formula 1 career in terms of results, but his belief in where Red Bull ...
12 May 2026 17:09
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
Test calendar
Circuit de Catalunya - Winter testing
-
Jan 26
I. Hadjar
- 1:18.159
-
-
-
Jan 27
M. Verstappen
- 1:19.578
-
-
-
Jan 28
A. Antonelli
- 1:17.362
-
-
-
Jan 29
G. Russell
- 1:16.445
-
-
-
Jan 30
L. Hamilton
- 1:16.348
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 11
L. Norris
- 1:34.669
-
-
-
Feb 12
C. Leclerc
- 1:34.273
-
-
-
Feb 13
A. Antonelli
- 1:33.669
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 18
G. Russell
- 1:33.459
-
-
Feb 19
A. Antonelli
- 1:32.803
-
-
Feb 20
C. Leclerc
- 1:31.992
-
-
World Championship standings 2026
Pos
Driver
Team
Points
Pos
Team
Points
Related news
Give your opinion!
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Spain
-
Bahrain
-
Bahrain
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
-
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia
Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
Driver profile
- Team -
- Points -
- Podiums -
- Grand Prix -
- Country France
- Date of b. Apr 17 1986 (40)
- Place of b. Geneve, France
- Weight 71 kg
- Length 1.8 m
3 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Romain Grosjean
Team profile
- Team name Lotus F1
- Base Enstone, United Kingdom
- Daniel Ricciardo 3
- Kimi Räikkönen 7
- Romain Grosjean 8
- Kimi Räikkönen 9
- Romain Grosjean 10
- Pastor Maldonado 13
- Pastor Maldonado 13
- Kevin Magnussen 20
- Nico Hülkenberg 27
- Jolyon Palmer 30
- Esteban Ocon 31
- Carlos Sainz jr 55
- 65,124 comments on Lotus F1
- 16 members have this team as their favourite
- Tweets about Lotus F1
Replies (0)
Login to reply