Eric Boullier has praised Kimi Raikkonen for his performance so far this season, giving him a 10 out of 10 (and a gold star?)
The Finn, who took victory at the opening round in Australia, has performed strongly in races but has perhaps lagged behind in qualifying trim. However, Boullier thinks otherwise.
Speaking in a statement from the Lotus F1 Teams website, Boullier was asked how he would rate the performances of his two drivers. The Frenchman was straight on the case, praising Raikkonen: "I would have to give Kimi ten out of ten. He's done a terrific job right from the beginning of the season and his remarkable run of twenty-seven consecutive points finishes speaks for itself."
He added: "No matter what happens he's always there, as we saw in the final few laps at Monaco. He is playing a big part in pushing the team forwards, and of course having such a popular character in the seat has its advantages too."
Boullier wasn't as positive about second driver Romain Grosjean, although he wasn't particularly critical either. He said that it had been a "difficult start to the year" for the former GP2 champion, adding: "It maybe took him a little while to settle down and start performing to the best of his ability. With that in mind, it gives me great pleasure to see him learn from those experiences and to really start delivering the kind of results we've always known he is capable of."
Those "kind of results" are the ones delivered in Germany - where he finished third - and Hungary - where he finished sixth. Boullier described the two as the "complete package" despite Grosjean being given two penalties over the course of the latter race weekend. He admitted that "he must deliver this kind of quality drive at every Grand Prix," before adding: "Romain can be a future contender for titles, I'm sure of it,"
Looking at the season for the team as a whole, he said: "Overall I'd say it's been a positive start. There have been a lot of high points, but also perhaps some less satisfying moments. We've taken eight podiums from ten races so far, which is a great achievement for the team and shows that once again we've made a step forwards from the previous year."
And a particular highlight for the Lotus Team Principal? "Well I think that one is quite obvious. We're here to win, and the victory for Kimi at the opening race in Melbourne was a special moment for the whole team."
Lotus currently sit fourth in the constructors standings, with Raikkonen and Grosjean occupying the second and eighth position in the drivers championship so far.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Speaking in a statement from the Lotus F1 Teams website, Boullier was asked how he would rate the performances of his two drivers. The Frenchman was straight on the case, praising Raikkonen: "I would have to give Kimi ten out of ten. He's done a terrific job right from the beginning of the season and his remarkable run of twenty-seven consecutive points finishes speaks for itself."
He added: "No matter what happens he's always there, as we saw in the final few laps at Monaco. He is playing a big part in pushing the team forwards, and of course having such a popular character in the seat has its advantages too."
Boullier wasn't as positive about second driver Romain Grosjean, although he wasn't particularly critical either. He said that it had been a "difficult start to the year" for the former GP2 champion, adding: "It maybe took him a little while to settle down and start performing to the best of his ability. With that in mind, it gives me great pleasure to see him learn from those experiences and to really start delivering the kind of results we've always known he is capable of."
Those "kind of results" are the ones delivered in Germany - where he finished third - and Hungary - where he finished sixth. Boullier described the two as the "complete package" despite Grosjean being given two penalties over the course of the latter race weekend. He admitted that "he must deliver this kind of quality drive at every Grand Prix," before adding: "Romain can be a future contender for titles, I'm sure of it,"
Looking at the season for the team as a whole, he said: "Overall I'd say it's been a positive start. There have been a lot of high points, but also perhaps some less satisfying moments. We've taken eight podiums from ten races so far, which is a great achievement for the team and shows that once again we've made a step forwards from the previous year."
And a particular highlight for the Lotus Team Principal? "Well I think that one is quite obvious. We're here to win, and the victory for Kimi at the opening race in Melbourne was a special moment for the whole team."
Lotus currently sit fourth in the constructors standings, with Raikkonen and Grosjean occupying the second and eighth position in the drivers championship so far.
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