Lotus
Romain Grosjean: “It didn't feel too bad out on track, especially with a fresh set of intermediates, however there wasn't much point in completing a lot of laps. The main thing I learnt was that when they say everything is bigger in Texas they mean it; especially with the rain!”
Pastor Maldonado: “I only managed an installation lap today so it wasn't the busiest day I've ever had at the track. We had a gearbox issue as soon as I was on track so I didn’t even set a lap time. The rain was pretty impressive, but it’s not what you want when you want to be refining the set-up of the car and collecting data. It’s the same for everyone and we’ll be busy tomorrow if the weather improves.”
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “Today was a washout. Pastor suffered from a minor gearbox issue which we have fixed and Romain only completed a handful of laps in FP1. For FP2 we watched the skies and listened to the rain. We’re closely monitoring the weather forecasts for the rest of the weekend.”
Gerard Lopez, Chairman and Team Principal, Lotus F1 Team: “We are very pleased to announce that exciting British racing talent Jolyon Palmer is promoted to a race seat with the team for next season. We’ve seen Jolyon’s hard work and talent this season in the way he’s approached his third driver role and he is a really popular choice for the team. As well as having a great future ahead of him behind the wheel, Jolyon is an intelligent and highly marketable asset to the team. He deserves this opportunity, and everyone at Enstone is excited to see what he can achieve next year.”
Jolyon Palmer, 2015 Lotus F1 Team, Third and Reserve driver; 2016 race driver: “I’m obviously delighted that I’ll be racing in Formula 1 next year. Lotus F1 Team gave me a tremendous opportunity this season and I thank them for assisting my development to a level where they have put their trust in me for a crucial season in their evolution. I’ve enjoyed and learnt a lot from my year as Third and Reserve driver so I’m looking forward to putting this into practice as a race driver in 2016. I can’t wait for next season to get underway!”
