Despite looking safe to keep his seat for 2013, Lotus is making Romain Grosjean wait. The team rates the Frenchman's raw speed very highly, but he has had a tumultuous season. The final chapter was in Brazil, where he crashed both in qualifying and the race. "At the moment we are having a few days or a few weeks of consideration," team boss Eric Boullier is quoted by RMC Sport. "This season, there were not terrible things and not great things. But we're not going […]

American multinational Mastercard could be set to return to Formula One, according to the latest rumour from Brazil. Russia's f1news.ru reported that Mastercard - having sponsored Lola's stillborn F1 effort in 1997 and then Jordan between 1998-2001 - has now agreed a trackside sponsorship deal with Bernie Ecclestone's company FOM. The news follows American giant Coca-Cola's decision to sponsor Lotus from next year with its energy drink Burn, and the return to the calendar of a US grand prix. Asked how it feels to have […]

Kimi Raikkonen, undoubtedly F1's most laid back driver, reportedly skipped Thursday's proceedings at Interlagos. Normally, drivers attend media and sponsor functions, meet with their engineers and walk the circuit at grand prix venues on the day before the official practice action kicks off. But according to the Finnish MTV3 broadcaster, 2007 world champion Raikkonen was on Thursday still holidaying in Los Angeles, in the wake of last weekend's US grand prix in Austin, Texas. Meanwhile, Lotus team boss Eric Boullier denied reports the 33-year-old has […]

Lotus has ended a long period of speculation by announcing that Coca-Cola is entering Formula One as a sponsor. It had been rumoured that McLaren could secure the deal, but in fact Lotus said Coca-Cola, the iconic soft drinks brand, will place the logo of its Swedish energy drink Burn on its 2013 car. Like reigning world champion Red Bull's market-leading drink, Burn is a high sugar, high caffeine energy drink involved in extreme sports marketing including snowboarding, skiing and skateboarding. "We are proud that […]

Romain Grosjean has admitted he is yet to sign on the dotted line for 2013. Early this week, as publications mused the likely shape of the 2013 grid, it emerged there could still be question marks about Lotus' next lineup. On paper, the team is expected to keep the Eric Boullier-linked fellow Frenchman Grosjean, who is strongly backed by important team sponsor Total. And Kimi Raikkonen's 2013 contract has already been announced. But Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said Raikkonen's place could actually be in […]

Kimi Raikkonen's triumph in Abu Dhabi was important for more than just giving the Finn and Lotus the winning feeling. Turun Sanomat newspaper reveals that boss Eric Boullier is so new to winning as a constructor in F1 that he had no idea what to do before mounting the podium for the team's trophy. "I was a little lost with the protocol, but fortunately Fernando Alonso was helping and advising what I had to do," smiled the Frenchman. But as well as learning the winning […]

Romain Grosjean's future is secure, after a good race in India on Sunday. That is the claim of Lotus team boss Eric Boullier, following a tumultuous period for fellow Frenchman Grosjean, whose career has been in doubt due to his multitude of early-race incidents on his return to the sport in 2012. Boullier told RMC Sport after the Indian grand prix: "Romain did a great race, doing what was expected of him. "He did a good start. He was able to fight and win places. […]

Lotus' budget has held Lotus back in the second half of 2012, Kimi Raikkonen has admitted. Still a mathematical contender for the championship, Finn Raikkonen confessed to the MTV3 broadcaster that he can no longer keep up with F1's fastest cars. "We are constantly trying to improve the speed of our car," he said, "but the others have more money and people to develop and that's where the differences are," he said. "The good news is that despite that we have managed to fight well […]

Sir Jackie Stewart has once again offered to become struggling Romain Grosjean's coach. Earlier this year, when Lotus' French driver was first labelled a 'crash king' of the 2012 season, triple world champion Stewart offered to help the 26-year-old get to grips with the sport's psychological pressures. "I used to work with a coach and I don't feel that I need one today," Grosjean said in July. But three months later, immediately after serving a one-race ban for causing the Spa start-line crash and a […]

Eric Boullier was vague when asked if Romain Grosjean's constant first-lap crashes have endangered his future in Formula One. "Not for now," said the Lotus team boss, who doubles as the head of the Gravity company that manages the beleaguered Frenchman's career. After his Monza race ban, Grosjean was back in trouble at Suzuka when he incurred the furious Mark Webber's wrath for yet another first-corner crash. "Maybe we need two separate starts -- one for him, one for us," the Australian, having earlier slammed […]

Kimi Raikkonen has kept rumours about his plans for 2013 alive by insisting he is yet to agree to stay at Lotus. Team chiefs Eric Boullier and Gerard Lopez have recently said the 2007 world champion is definitely staying in 2013, due to a contract 'option'. At the same time, there have been signs that Lotus is an active player in the 2013 'silly season'. And Raikkonen is now quoted by Turun Sanomat newspaper in Japan: "I don't have any agreement for next season yet." […]

Stefano Domenicali has identified former Ferrari champion Kimi Raikkonen as a real threat for the 2012 title. It is Ferrari's new number 1, Fernando Alonso, who is comfortably leading the drivers' standings by 37 points after Monza. The Spaniard has been on the podium 7 times this year so far, including 3 wins. But, despite no wins at the wheel of his black and gold Lotus, Finn Raikkonen has had 6 podiums in the same period, and is now third in the standings behind Alonso […]