Lotus Signs Pastor Maldonado as Raikkonen Replacement

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has signed Pastor Maldonado for the 2014 F1 season as Kimi Raikkonen’s replacement. Lotus did not announce how long Maldonado’s contract with the team would last.

“It is clear that Pastor has pace and potential – demonstrated by his 2010 GP2 Series title success and then through strong races throughout his career at Williams F1 Team – and we are convinced that we will be able to provide the correct environment to enable him to flourish regularly on track,” said Eric Boullier, Lotus Team Principal. “We have been working on our new car in alignment with the new regulations for over two years and we are confident that we have a very good solution to all the challenges ahead.”

Maldonado began racing in Formula One in the 2011 season and has 58 races under his belt since then. He scored one championship point this season.

Previous rumors had linked Nico Hulkenberg to Raikkonen’s seat with the team. Mansoor Ijaz, one of the team’s investors, had claimed that there was a contract between them waiting to be finalized.

Romain Grosjean will remain with the team for 2014 as well.