Grosjean to aid rebuilding process

Eric Boullier

Lotus Renault GP team boss Eric Boullier believes that Romain Grosjean will play an important role in helping the outfit move back towards the front of the Formula 1 grid, with the Frenchman being revealed as the squad’s second driver for 2012.

The news comes soon after 2007 Champion Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen announced his decision to join Renault, meaning the team will compete with a brand new driver line-up for the upcoming campaign.

"I’m delighted that Romain Grosjean will side Kimi next year," said Boullier. "Romain has shown a lot of maturity in the past 12 months both through his GP2 Series victory and his development as third driver with us.

"We were impressed when he drove for us in first practice in Abu Dhabi and Brazil. We are confident that drafting him in to one of our seats will help us in our rebuilding process. I would like to thank Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna for their contribution to the team’s performance this year and I wish them all the best for the future."