The reinvention of Romain Grosjean from “first-lap nutcase” to “future champion” has proved so impressive that the Frenchman’s Lotus Formula One team are now preparing to embark on another evolutionary mission.
Call it Project Pastor.
Pastor Maldonado is Lotus’s latest recruit, and like Grosjean in 2012, arrives renowned for recklessness.
The Venezuelan struggled last season in a poorly performing Williams, but his new teammate’s remarkable rise is his own template for the new season.
Grosjean, 27, has undoubtedly benefited from the relaxed environs of one of the paddock’s most popular and patient marques.
When Grosjean failed to finish races in Spain and Monaco, and followed them up with non-scores in Canada and Great Britain, Eric Boullier, the team’s permanently unflustered principal, publicly backed his compatriot.
In the next race, in Germany, Grosjean finished third to immediately reward that faith and when the season ended in Brazil in November, he had closed with a further four podiums from his final six races.
According to Gerard Lopez, the co-owner of Lotus, the Enstone-based team’s belief and familiar atmosphere will ensure that F1 spectators witness a similar coming-of-age in Maldonado over the coming 11 months as the 2014 season takes shape.
“One cannot doubt his speed,” Lopez said. “We know Pastor is fast, but what I suspect is, we will be handling the same situation we had with Romain, which is trying to control that speed more and make it come out when it is really required.
“That needs, essentially, a relaxed environment and we have proven that we provide that because we function slightly different from most teams.
“I expect Pastor to do well; hit the ground, run and excel in terms of speed.”
The highlight of the Venezuelan’s three years in F1 can be immediately identified. At the 2012 Barcelona race, he led Williams to their first grand prix victory in eight years.
Maldonado’s triumph from the pole position he had inherited after Lewis Hamilton was disqualified was seen as the arrival of a new contender, yet, almost as quickly, his performances slipped, reaching a nadir at the United States Grand Prix last November when he accused Williams of sabotaging his car.
That same weekend in Texas also happened to be when Grosjean shone brightest, securing a career-best second-place finish in Austin as he held off the faster Red Bull Racing car of Mark Webber in the second half of the race.
He is now being spoken of as a potential title contender ahead of the new season, which starts on March 16 in Melbourne, Australia.
While Maldonado has shown occasional glimpses of his ability, his talent remains raw.
When Lotus announced his appointment, few observers failed to acknowledge the fact the driver also brings sponsorship money to the tune of approximately US$40m (Dh146m).
Nico Hulkenberg was a more deserving driver for the Lotus seat, but in the curious case of F1, money talks louder than natural talent.
When Lopez is asked whether the Maldonado money meant Lotus are more financially secure this year compared to last, when they failed to pay Kimi Raikkonen throughout the season, he denied the marque was ever unstable.
“The team was stable before, it has just been a question of whether this was still what we wanted to do in that framework,” he said.
“The fact we have a new sponsor and are working on a couple of other ones, of course, that helps the cause, but more than that, we are there to compete at a high level and that is what we are planning on doing.”
The first race of the new season in Australia does not start for another two months, but pre-season testing gets under way in Jerez in Spain next week.
Boullier earlier this month confirmed Lotus will skip the first test as the team continue to focus on designing a car to meet and capitalise on the overhauled regulations.
“We could have been at the first test, but we are taking a bit of a different route,” Lopez said. “The two biggest changes for next season are going to be aero [dynamics] and engines.
“Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Caterham are going to run a Renault engine, so they are going to do the same job as if we were there. Instead, we get to focus on the aero more and we are pretty convinced that when we are there, the performance will be there.”
Even before Project Pastor gets underway, Lopez is of the belief his team are ready to challenge courtesy of their driver pairing.
“We will have, probably, one of the fastest driver pairings out there,” he said.
“Romain has proved last year that he is one of the fastest three, four, five, six drivers out there in Formula One just now, both in a single lap and also now over race distance. And Pastor has got speed that we just need to work on him putting to good use for the team.
“Top five was the target last year and we would like to be fighting among the top five again if not a little bit higher.
“It’s difficult because we are racing against ourselves due to all the technical changes, but this team has consistently proven that we are able to invent and maybe this will be an opportunity for us to take advantage.
“That is one of the reasons we are not at the first test: I believe we are pushing the envelope, but I am happy that we are, and in time, we will see.”
Di Resta is back with German Touring Car series and targets title
Paul di Resta will return to the German Touring Car series this season after seeing his hopes of remaining in Formula One end.
The Briton was not retained by Force India, his F1 team of the past three years, and was unable to find another drive.
Before moving to F1, he had raced a Mercedes in the touring car series, winning the 2010 title, and he is linking up with the German manufacturer again.
The 27 year old said: “Mercedes-Benz has given me a car I can use to fight for the title. I realise that it will not be easy. Starting with [Wednesday’s] first test, I’ll be going flat out in order to be capable of winning.”
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
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