64 replies to this topic

[MustangSally]

 

While everyone is testing, spare a thought for those left on the sidelines.

 

Romain was on a roll, but the chances of that continuing look minimal. Meanwhile, his friend and patron Eric has jumped ship and left him stranded.

 

Pastor could have taken his sack of money to several teams, but unaccountably he picked the most uncertain career future of all time at Lotus. (Think Nicholas Todt should have warned him?)

 

And all that was before the iffy Renault engine problems appeared.  Sadly, they both seem to be in totally the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

Many F1 drivers have disappeared due to the fickle finger of fate and these look like two more candidates.

 

Another fine mess?

[Risil]

Thanks to the aforementioned sack of money, Pastor will return. If Lotus don't make the grid, perhaps before the end of the year. I would expect Grosjean to be back too, simply because he's one of the best drivers going. There are plenty of 'maybe' talents but few who have put together a run of results like Romain's in the second half of 2013.

 

Like the picture btw.

Edited by Risil, 02 February 2014 - 22:23.

[Watkins74]

When it comes to people who I feel sorry for in this world. Maldonado and Grosjean don't even make the list.

Edited by Watkins74, 02 February 2014 - 22:22.

[fabr68]

I think they are both happy to still be in F1

[BillBald]

It was my understanding that Maldonado did not want to go to Lotus, but his backers insisted.

[Superbar]

I see Romain and Eric, but where is Pastor?

[BillBald]

I see Romain and Eric, but where is Pastor?

 

The resemblance is uncanny.

[MustangSally]

It was my understanding that Maldonado did not want to go to Lotus, but his backers insisted.

 

Yes, that was a very strong rumour . . . echoed by JA and others.

 

A fateful weekend, when both Lotus and Sauber claimed to have signed Maldonado  -  and Pastor, reportedly, said that he didn't trust the guys at Lotus. (No surprise there.)

 

Given the political opposition to PDVSA's funding in Venezuela, it is hardly going to look good if they spend another 30m on a bankrupt team with duff engines. This could easily be Maldonado's last time around.

[teejay]

"how many cars can we take out into T1 from the back of the field"

 

?

[DanardiF1]

I hope Pastor is thinking '**** that Williams is looking pretty good...'

[InSearchOfThe]

I hate to be a hardass when it comes to these two, but they're both lucky to even be in F1. Grojean still has a lot prove imo.

How some people rate him as one of the better drivers is beyond me. I still can't get over all of the crashes in '12. If he has a consistant season, even with the engine problems, and keeps PM in check, over the long haul we'll see at the end of the year. With EB at McL RoGro's safety net is gone. Adversity build character so time will tell. I wish him luck. As for Pastor, the way I see it, he's only there because of his backers. His one off win was a fluke.He's holding up a seat from someone more deserving. You know he's one of those guys the top dogs hate to race. Never quite sure what he'll do or why. So to me, they both have alot of work to do this year.They'll be fighting with STR for 9th place.

[Jimisgod]

Given the Renault engine issues.

 

Edited by Jimisgod, 03 February 2014 - 03:00.

[f1RacingForever]

I'm sure Pastor is still happy because despite the financial situation, Lotus have better prospects then other teams willing to hire him. Grosjean will just be hoping to continue his good form from last season.

[Mat13]

We all know the only reason Maldonado is still even in F1- money. Ok, we all see pay drivers at the low end of the grid and always have done, but I can't sympathise with him at the moment.

[emmanuelrubi]

I expect to see PM thats to his duffle bag for at least a couple of more years, probably if Lotus is doing wrong he will stay with them for another year and if Lotus is still wrong probably he will hit Sauber or another midfield team or if F1 is really BS he will end up at McLaren (hope he doesn't), i don't know though how more waste of money will the people of Venezuela will tolerate to spend in someone who ends barely fighting the points.

 

As for RG i really like that guy he is pretty humble and have potential, still i don't rate him as one of the top 8 drivers on the grid right now if he keeps a good performance given a good car to do so i definitely see him fighting for a place in McLaren now that papa bear Boullier is there.

 

Since we don't know yet how everything can chance this season and most of us are expecting to see lotus fighting for points instead of podiums we think RG and PM are in a worry but nothing is written on stone, what stop us from thinking that Lotus could give the surprise and be the new Red Bull and see Pastor Maldonado as the new WDC.

[DanardiF1]

I expect to see PM thats to his duffle bag for at least a couple of more years, probably if Lotus is doing wrong he will stay with them for another year and if Lotus is still wrong probably he will hit Sauber or another midfield team or if F1 is really BS he will end up at McLaren (hope he doesn't), i don't know though how more waste of money will the people of Venezuela will tolerate to spend in someone who ends barely fighting the points.

 

As for RG i really like that guy he is pretty humble and have potential, still i don't rate him as one of the top 8 drivers on the grid right now if he keeps a good performance given a good car to do so i definitely see him fighting for a place in McLaren now that papa bear Boullier is there.

 

Since we don't know yet how everything can chance this season and most of us are expecting to see lotus fighting for points instead of podiums we think RG and PM are in a worry but nothing is written on stone, what stop us from thinking that Lotus could give the surprise and be the new Red Bull and see Pastor Maldonado as the new WDC.

 

McLaren do not need his money. No big team does and that's why he'll never drive for one, he's not worth it on merit. Plus on Grosjean's side even if he has his best bud Boullier at McLaren they have a quite neat chain of promotion ready, as it'll be likely that if Jenson's got a couple of seasons more in him that Vandoorne will be ready by then to jump straight in just like Magnussen. Grosjean if he is looking higher up the grid should really be looking at who will fill Raikkonen's seat at Ferrari when he either calls it quits again or goes off the boil (his pace certainly isn't as searing as it once was). It could be argued that by the end of last year Grosjean was fractionally better than Kimi overall.

 

And what stops us from thinking that: Lotus are broke and simply cannot compete pound for pound against Ferrari, Mercedes, RBR and McLaren. They are going to have to downsize to stop living beyond their means.

[teejay]

Grojean might be thinking "Wonder if Eric can get me in to replace Jenson for 2015"

[DanardiF1]

Grojean might be thinking "Wonder if Eric can get me in to replace Jenson for 2015"

 

Like I just mentioned above... if Magnussen progresses well enough, Stoffel Vandoorne will take Jenson's seat IMO (and I think Jenson has more than just one season left in him). McLaren are investing heavily in both drivers and it'd be silly to waste that. Jenson is there to lead the team and help bring Magnussen up to that level, and then once JB (sadly) finishes his time there, Stoffel can then jump in.

[Andrew Hope]

I imagine they're probably thinking "****, neither of us have done anything stupid on a race track in over a year, so why is everyone still ******* on us like we took out half the grid in Brazil?".

[Shiroo]

I imagine they're probably thinking "****, neither of us have done anything stupid on a race track in over a year, so why is everyone still ******* on us like we took out half the grid in Brazil?".

 

Andrew, the amount of reasonable posts from you is just too damn high. Love your posting 

[GoldenColt]

I doubt Maldonado has ever thought about anything... would explain his actions on and off the track.

[eronrules]

both of them are probably welcoming the lack of testing ... since they're both DAD's now.

 

 

come to think of it, LotusF1 is the only team with 2 dads in it, yet their houses are breaking apart ... much like in real families, crisis, economic situation, cheating and all that stuff. 

[Andrew Hope]

Andrew, the amount of reasonable posts from you is just too damn high. Love your posting 

 

Well that's nice of you to say buddy. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

[sopa]

Maldonado must develop his ability to view the big picture and long-term consequences, because he is making the mistakes Alesi did. He got fed up with Williams having a bad car, but it looks like Williams might be better than Lotus this year. Lol. I think in 2013 it was hard to see, how a team, which can barely score points, could become better than a team, which is regularly scoring podiums. But that's radical rule changes for you. And Maldonado forgot 2012, when Williams had a very good car. I don't know, what was he thinking, but Williams 2012-13 must have told him very clearly that you can't make knee-jerk decisions based on a single season. Everything can change quickly.

 

As for Grosjean, he is now getting the insight of how Button felt in 2007. Isn't Grosjean also something like 27 years old like Button in 2007? Any way, the second half of 2006 was very promising for Button, he scored lots of points, only to be nowhere in 2007 and wonder, what the hell to do to climb out of the death trap the career had fallen into. It is certainly an uncomfortable situation for Grosjean, a make-or-break career situation. He either disappears after this, or climbs out of this and becomes stronger than ever before. Certainly that's how Button was viewed in 2009-11, very mature and maximizing all opportunities he got.

 

But a promising driver having suddenly a bad car isn't anything new - say, Kubica had one in 2009. I think what these situations force you to re-consider your career options and see more critically, what you can do to get into a better and/or more stable team.

 

I think Hulkenberg can count himself lucky. It looks like finally he made the right decision instead of questionable steps in sideways.

Edited by sopa, 03 February 2014 - 08:23.

[DS27]

Maldanado may be thinking I must look up what Karma means in the dictionary

[sopa]

I expect to see PM thats to his duffle bag for at least a couple of more years, probably if Lotus is doing wrong he will stay with them for another year and if Lotus is still wrong probably he will hit Sauber or another midfield team or if F1 is really BS he will end up at McLaren (hope he doesn't), 

 

To be honest, if the Lotus experiment goes badly, PDVSA may get fed up of financing F1 and this may well be the doom for Maldonado's career.

 

PDVSA-Maldonado wanted a better team to get more value for their money. Now they have pumped 30M € into Lotus as well as still allegedely paying for the broken Williams contract. Then if it turns out the Lotus money goes into paying debts, which they did not want to happen, and the team goes into bankruptcy; And they still have to pay the Williams money without getting exposure...

 

...yeah, I can see some people in PDVSA HQ's thinking "okay, had enough of this money-burning F1 rubbish. Let's find better value for marketing money."

[SenorSjon]

PDVSA pays in terms and not until the first race I have understood. But testing-wise, they didn't miss much. The Renault powered teams had a very bad week.

[aditya-now]

 

 

While everyone is testing, spare a thought for those left on the sidelines.

 

Romain was on a roll, but the chances of that continuing look minimal. Meanwhile, his friend and patron Eric has jumped ship and left him stranded.

 

Pastor could have taken his sack of money to several teams, but unaccountably he picked the most uncertain career future of all time at Lotus. (Think Nicholas Todt should have warned him?)

 

.....

 

 

Another fine mess?

 

 

 

How wise was Nico Hülkenberg in the choice he made, how unwise Pastor Maldonado (indeed, how unwise Pastor was in leaving the Williams Team in the first place!)

Edited by aditya-now, 03 February 2014 - 08:58.

[sopa]

Yes, that was a very strong rumour . . . echoed by JA and others.

 

A fateful weekend, when both Lotus and Sauber claimed to have signed Maldonado  -  and Pastor, reportedly, said that he didn't trust the guys at Lotus. (No surprise there.)

 

Given the political opposition to PDVSA's funding in Venezuela, it is hardly going to look good if they spend another 30m on a bankrupt team with duff engines. This could easily be Maldonado's last time around.

 

Yeah, PDVSA's F1 future could be in doubt. And it may be right that it wasn't Maldonado, who wanted to change teams, but PDVSA. Which shows that there were/are people in the company, who before big rule changes didn't fully grasp, how can F1 and its pecking order really work. Though I do remember Maldonado getting frustrated at Williams late in the season, so I got the impression he wanted to leave as well.

[Jackmancer]

I think Lotus will be fine, and Grosjean and Maldonado will be podium contenders in some races.

[TimRTC]

Actually from this picture it looks like Romain might be planning to ask Pastor to move in with him, or at least change his Facebook status to 'in a relationship'...

 

[kraduk]

Like I just mentioned above... if Magnussen progresses well enough, Stoffel Vandoorne will take Jenson's seat IMO (and I think Jenson has more than just one season left in him). McLaren are investing heavily in both drivers and it'd be silly to waste that. Jenson is there to lead the team and help bring Magnussen up to that level, and then once JB (sadly) finishes his time there, Stoffel can then jump in.

 

Id hold fire on jenson, he will go either two ways this season I suspect. With all the extra torque, it will either suit his style very well, or not. If not I suspect he may call it quits within a year or so, but if hes in the running for the WDC which isnt complete fantasy, expect him to go on a fair while longer

[kraduk]

I suspect both of them may be thinking 'i'm getting bored sitting on this white throne'

 

With regard to Pastor being forced to Lotus: what's the chances his backers were playing a screwd move to give them an early exit strategy?

[krapmeister]

Actually from this picture it looks like Romain might be planning to ask Pastor to move in with him, or at least change his Facebook status to 'in a relationship'...
 

If Pastor 'gets his man' then I've got first dibs on Romain's ex-wife...

[Slackbladder]

I imagine they're probably thinking "****, neither of us have done anything stupid on a race track in over a year, so why is everyone still ******* on us like we took out half the grid in Brazil?".

 

Luckily the Williams last year was so rubbish, Maldonado never got the chance to mess up the front runners.....

[joora]

Well, seeing all the havoc with the Renault engines, I don't think Lotus has missed much, they will get enough data from Renault on how to approach modifications in packaging to better suit Renault engine cooling. They will be almost levelled in terms of testing mileage compared to other Renault teams when they start in the next test.

 

Regarding Maldonado and his money sack, he had a good hunch to go to Sauber instead of Lotus, but now he is stuck with them, and I think another frustrating season is ahead of him. I think he will be crying for the Williams days before the half of the season comes.

[Nemo1965]

I imagine they're probably thinking "****, neither of us have done anything stupid on a race track in over a year, so why is everyone still ******* on us like we took out half the grid in Brazil?".

 

A fair and balanced post but let me balance this balance further. It is true that both Grosjean and Maldonado crash less often... but that is also, IMHO, because the difference in grid positions. Earlier, both Mal and Gros were between place 5 and 12, a place where the start is most difficult and you have to be most alert not to crash. First because of the constantino-effect at the start, which is most troublesome midpack, furthermore because you are surrounded by experienced, aggressive but not the most experienced drivers in F1.

 

Grosjeans car past season has gone forward. Better drivers around you, less difficult and less busy starting area.

 

Maldonado's car past season has gone backward. Worse drivers around, but also worse cars, less busy starting area.

 

So I am not yet convinced that both drivers improved results (in matter of: not crashing) is completely caused by improved behaviour.

Edited by Nemo1965, 03 February 2014 - 14:11.

[rhukkas]

Probably wondering if there is a money back guarantee.

[Burtros]

A fair and balanced post but let me balance this balance further. It is true that both Grosjean and Maldonado crash less often... but that is also, IMHO, because the difference in grid positions. Earlier, both Mal and Gros were between place 5 and 12, a place where the start is most difficult and you have to be most alert not to crash. First because of the constantino-effect at the start, which is most troublesome midpack, furthermore because you are surrounded by experienced, aggressive but not the most experienced drivers in F1.

 

Grosjeans car past season has gone forward. Better drivers around you, less difficult and less busy starting area.

 

Maldonado's car past season has gone backward. Worse drivers around, but also worse cars, less busy starting area.

 

So I am not yet convinced that both drivers improved results (in matter of: not crashing) is completely caused by improved behaviour

 

Grosjean was causing chaos near the front in 2012. By the end of 2013 he was turning similar starting positions into regular podiums. Your claim that their starting positions have helped them out last year is totally wrong I am afraid.

 

All threads like this show is how some people are simply incapable of reforming their opinions of a driver. The dude with the Stewart car in his avatar is another. Did you both sleep through 2013?

 

Both deserve their seats on the F1 grid IMHO... neither deserve the situation that Lotus finds itself in.

[onewingedangel]

I'm hopeful that Nicholas Todt is eyeing up Team Enstone as a potential ART-Honda F1 Team.

[InSearchOfThe]

. The dude with the Stewart car in his avatar is another. Did you both sleep through 2013?

 

 

The jury is still out on Grojean. Half of a decent season does not make a top driver.imo

RG is the team leader this year, and with no Kimi, Boullier, or Allison there we'll see what he's made of.

Yes it's a pisser that Renault may be on the back foot this year. Timing is everything, and time is running out on them both.

I'd like to see RG prosper. He did show signs of improvement. Let's see how he handles things. If his arc rises I'll be the first to congratulate him.

[Bloggsworth]

At least the engine in the simulator works...

[emmanuelrubi]

Even i really don't like PM i think most of the people are expecting him to be trashed by RG or to crash at every race, who knows maybe this will be his best year yet in F1.

[l8apex]

I'm sure they are thinking that they would be better off with a different engine and that it would be nice to be in a team with a stable budget.

 

It's really a shame that we didn't get to see Grosjean and Hulkenberg go head to head in a quality Lotus.  Those two seem to be the fastest two guys added in the last two or three years.  It would have been nice to sort out who is quicker of those two.

 

I wouldn't miss Pastor, but like others have said ... as long as the PDVSA checks keep clearing, he will be on the grid.  

 

Grosjean has some real talent, hopefully he keeps racing smart this year and stays out of trouble in what is likely to be a slower and less reliable car than he has had for the previous few years.  Hopefully he can trash Pastor and impress on on occasion or two to keep his name in the hat for another team ... because if Lotus doesn't take home a strong team championship position ... they may be out of F1 next year.

[aditya-now]

.... It is true that both Grosjean and Maldonado crash less often... but that is also, IMHO, because the difference in grid positions.

 

Earlier, both Mal and Gros were between place 5 and 12, a place where the start is most difficult and you have to be most alert not to crash. First because of the constantino-effect at the start, which is most troublesome midpack, furthermore because you are surrounded by experienced, aggressive but not the most experienced drivers in F1.

 

Both Romain and Pastor were the crash kings of F1 - they did a lot of bad to other drivers, particularly in 2012. Now it might be indeed them being on the receiving end with their own careers crash-landing.

 

What's going on with Renault worries me deeply, a great team is being destroyed in the matter of a few months.... Basically every single decision and move has been going in the wrong direction recently for Enstone.

 

What's going on with the two former hotshoes? Karma is a bitch, I would say....

[taran]

First because of the constantino-effect at the start, which is most troublesome midpack, furthermore because you are surrounded by experienced, aggressive but not the most experienced drivers in F1.

 

 

Constantino effect?

 

Perhaps you mean the concertina effect?

[HeadFirst]

I have seen no reason to believe Pastor is capable of thought.

[Clatter]

Luckily the Williams last year was so rubbish, Maldonado never got the chance to mess up the front runners.....

True, but he did the best he could in Monaco and Belgium.

[ElDictatore]

I imagine they're probably thinking "****, neither of us have done anything stupid on a race track in over a year, so why is everyone still ******* on us like we took out half the grid in Brazil?".

 

Didn't Pastor almost ran off Bottas at Suzuka in the last lap on purpose?

Either way, especially Grosjean matured a lot. Too bad that Lotus really appears like a sinking ship.

[Dolph]

 

While everyone is testing, spare a thought for those left on the sidelines.

 

Romain was on a roll, but the chances of that continuing look minimal. Meanwhile, his friend and patron Eric has jumped ship and left him stranded.

 

Pastor could have taken his sack of money to several teams, but unaccountably he picked the most uncertain career future of all time at Lotus. (Think Nicholas Todt should have warned him?)

 

And all that was before the iffy Renault engine problems appeared.  Sadly, they both seem to be in totally the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

Many F1 drivers have disappeared due to the fickle finger of fate and these look like two more candidates.

 

Another fine mess?

 

 

They are thinking: It could be worse, I could be driving for Sauber, FI, Williams, Caterham, Marussia, Toro Rosso or be out of F1 alltogether.

 

And if you are REALLY interested here is a quote from Romain's Twitter:

 

Romain Grosjean ‏@RGrosjean Jan 28

Watching pictures from Jerez ! Always exciting to discover new cars, new helmet designs ! #f1 #2014