Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsHaas F1 Team

Grosjean to leave Lotus for Haas

Romain Grosjean will leave Lotus at the end of the season to join the new Haas F1 Team, F1i has learned.

During Thursday's press conference ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, Grosjean said he had made a decision on his future but declined to reveal where he would be racing next season. With a number of seats already confirmed, Grosjean's most likely destinations were to remain with Lotus - which will imminently be taken over by Renault - or move to Haas.

A senior source close to Grosjean confirmed to F1i in Singapore on Sunday that the Frenchman would join Haas next season, with the newcomers having been keen to secure a driver with current F1 experience. Team owner Gene Haas told F1i in Monza he would only sign a driver from another team if he was leaving "a sinking ship".

Renault Sport F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul admitted to Canal+ on its show 'The Grid' that it was a shame Renault had not factored retaining Grosjean in to its takeover negotiations at Lotus.

Grosjean is set to partner Esteban Gutierrez at Haas, with Ferrari placing its test and reserve driver in the team as part of its close technical partnership.

The move to Haas allows Grosjean a chance to impress Ferrari from closer quarters having been linked with a move to Maranello in recent years.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.