Romain Grosjean's decision to leave Lotus caught the team by surprise and has left it on the back foot in search of a replacement.
As reported by F1i in Singapore, Grosjean will join Haas next season as he seeks to open up future opportunities to race for Ferrari. Deputy team principal Federico Gastaldi admits he was only made aware of Grosjean's decision on Sunday and told F1i it has left the team without a replacement lined up.
“No, we have to start looking now," Gastaldi said when asked if there had been talks with other drivers.
"We obviously had Romain and Pastor [Maldonado]. Romain has been with us for seven years on the Gravity program. For me personally and I’m sure for the whole team it will be sad to see him going because he’s been part of the family. He has developed himself in the right direction. He’s smart, he’s quick, he’s committed and he has a strong head.
“Now we have to start working to get another driver.”
Lotus reserve Jolyon Palmer has made nine FP1 appearances for the team this season - with Grosjean the man to make way on every occasion - and Gastaldi says he is in the frame to be promoted to a race seat.
“[Palmer] could perfectly be an option. He is our driver and we just need to see what he wants to do. But I only found out last Sunday when Gerard Lopez was in Singapore and now we have to see the timing, we have to see the final documentation, what Romain wants to do. He obviously is still with us until the end of the season.
"If you ask me about Jolyon, he could be perfectly the second driver. He’s a very good driver, he doesn't need any presentation. He’s the GP2 world champion, for me he’s a fantastic driver, he’s smart, he’s a fantastic marketing tool, he’s young. Why not?”
However, Gastaldi stopped short of naming Palmer as the favourite to replace Grosjean.
“For us we cannot dance faster than the music. This is a board decision, we need to sit with him, we need to see now also what he wants to do and the options. He also has a contract with us until the end of the next season.
“We were not expecting that Romain would leave us but it’s life. He’s entitled to do it if he wants to, he’s a free man, so now we have to see how we put together all the bits and pieces.”
F1i understands Kevin Magnussen is also an option for Lotus, but is awaiting news of Jenson Button's future at McLaren.
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