Lotus F1 Team
Current Lotus driver Romain Grosjean says his move to the new Haas team for 2016 is a 'calculated risk', due to the outfit's association with Ferrari.
Grosjean admits that racing for Formula 1's new team in 2016 is a risky approach but cited its partnership with Ferrari, which has a vacancy for 2017, as part of his decision for making the move.
"Life is a risk. Driving an F1 car is risky, racing is risky. I spoke with Guenther [Steiner] and Gene [Haas] - sure they didn’t tell me all the details about their project at the beginning, but it was good enough for me to sign with them," he explained.
"I could imagine that they will surprise - and an American team in F1 is big in itself. And with the Ferrari partnership it is a calculated risk."
Lotus, which has signed Jolyon Palmer as Grosjean's replacement, has not yet concluded its potential Renault deal and has endured financial struggles across the second half of the campaign.
Grosjean fears that the Enstone outfit may struggle for a couple of years as it attempts to rebuild for the future.
"It will be difficult - also with the delay, that the team has to take not knowing about the future," he said.
"Look back: the 2014 season was a disaster, then we fought our way back in 2015 - then I believe it will be a tough season for them again in 2016 and 2017, and probably they will bounce back in 2018. And then who knows what happens?"
