Di Grassi to replace Grosjean at Renault for Brazil?
is being speculated within the F1 paddock that Renault could be set to make its second driver change of the 2009 world championship campaign in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos next weekend – by replacing Romain Grosjean with home favourite and reserve driver Lucas di Grassi.
Grosjean was himself drafted in back in August to fill the cockpit of the #8 car following the mid-season sacking of Nelsinho Piquet, but in the five grands prix in which he has since competed, the young Swiss-born Frenchman has proven unable to crack the top ten on the grid – with a best starting slot of twelfth at Monza – and has taken the chequered flag no higher than 15th on race day, whilst over the same period team-mate Fernando Alonso has notched up a rostrum finish and 13 points. More often than not, the inaugural GP2 Asia Series Champion and former F3 Euroseries king has failed to break out of the initial Q1 qualifying phase.
Now, it appears, following the departure of his disgraced manager Flavio Briatore, the new top brass at Enstone are unconvinced the 23-year-old is the ideal candidate to partner Robert Kubica at the team in 2010, and German magazine Auto Motor und Sport reports that the intention is to give di Grassi the opportunity to state his case too. The Săo Paulo native finished second in the main summer GP2 Series in 2007 for ART Grand Prix and third in both 2008 and 2009 – firstly with Campos and latterly Racing Engineering – and will join Renault and Grosjean in the French manufacturer’s latest two-day F1 Roadshow in the Romanian capital of Bucharest this weekend.
Both drivers are set to thrill fans with a rubber-burning, tyre-squealing display of power at the wheel of last year’s R28 around a specially-created, 600-metre circuit along Libertatii Boulevard in the city centre on Saturday and Sunday. di Grassi will preview the event with a short demonstration run in Pitesti on Friday (9 October).
“I always enjoy Renault’s roadshows,” enthused the 25-year-old, “and the plans for this weekend sound great. It’s always special to drive an F1 car on the streets of a city because you are so close to the public, and it creates a very special atmosphere in the city.”
di Grassi to replace Grosjean at Renault for Brazil? - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Grosjean was himself drafted in back in August to fill the cockpit of the #8 car following the mid-season sacking of Nelsinho Piquet, but in the five grands prix in which he has since competed, the young Swiss-born Frenchman has proven unable to crack the top ten on the grid – with a best starting slot of twelfth at Monza – and has taken the chequered flag no higher than 15th on race day, whilst over the same period team-mate Fernando Alonso has notched up a rostrum finish and 13 points. More often than not, the inaugural GP2 Asia Series Champion and former F3 Euroseries king has failed to break out of the initial Q1 qualifying phase.
Now, it appears, following the departure of his disgraced manager Flavio Briatore, the new top brass at Enstone are unconvinced the 23-year-old is the ideal candidate to partner Robert Kubica at the team in 2010, and German magazine Auto Motor und Sport reports that the intention is to give di Grassi the opportunity to state his case too. The Săo Paulo native finished second in the main summer GP2 Series in 2007 for ART Grand Prix and third in both 2008 and 2009 – firstly with Campos and latterly Racing Engineering – and will join Renault and Grosjean in the French manufacturer’s latest two-day F1 Roadshow in the Romanian capital of Bucharest this weekend.
Both drivers are set to thrill fans with a rubber-burning, tyre-squealing display of power at the wheel of last year’s R28 around a specially-created, 600-metre circuit along Libertatii Boulevard in the city centre on Saturday and Sunday. di Grassi will preview the event with a short demonstration run in Pitesti on Friday (9 October).
“I always enjoy Renault’s roadshows,” enthused the 25-year-old, “and the plans for this weekend sound great. It’s always special to drive an F1 car on the streets of a city because you are so close to the public, and it creates a very special atmosphere in the city.”
di Grassi to replace Grosjean at Renault for Brazil? - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
