Lotus retain Grosjean for 2013 season

PARIS (AFP) –

French F1 driver Romain Grosjean celebrates with the trophy after winning the Race of Champions (ROC) at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on December 16, 2012. Formula One team Lotus signed up the talented if sometimes reckless French driver for another season on Monday ending several weeks of speculation over his future.

Formula One team Lotus signed up talented if sometimes reckless French driver Romain Grosjean for another season on Monday ending several weeks of speculation over his future.

The 26-year-old Swiss-born pilot, who made his debut in Formula One in 2009, finished a respectable eighth in last season’s championship with a total of 96 points.

He finished in the top three three times but also featured in several crashes.

The most notable and perhaps costly one was at the beginning of the Belgian Grand Prix which claimed among its victims Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who was to go on and finish second in the world title race, just three points behind Sebastian Vettel.

Grosjean’s recklessness in that collision resulted in a one race suspension – however, he was to go on and take Australian Mark Webber out of the Japanese Grand Prix at the start, though, this time he escaped censure.

His future had been in some doubt since he crashed out on the sixth lap of the season-ending Brazil Grand Prix, though, overall Lotus could look back on a successful season as they finished fourth overall in the constructors championships with 303 points.