Lotus chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne has confirmed World Series by Renault runner-up Fairuz Fauzy for a role next season - and expects him to graduate to a full seat.
Despite being based in Norfolk for now, Lotus has predominantly Malaysian support in the shape of the Tune Group and an acting team principal from the Far Eastern country in AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes.
Fernandes has made little secret of his desire to one day put a home-grown driver on the grand prix grid, and former GP2 Series contender Fauzy fits the bill.
However Gascoyne played down speculation that the driver is in line for a grid spot in 2010, with Toyota refugee Jarno Trulli and another experienced campaigner such as former world champion Jacques Villeneuve expected to turn out for the legendary team of yesteryear. Yahoo! Eurosport
“Fairuz will be in the team probably as a reserve driver or a test driver,” said Gascoyne.
“He has the talent but we don’t want him to ‘crash and burn’ in the race because of his inexperience.”
Gascoyne said he would prefer to have an experienced line-up, even if Fauzy might reckon he could handle the step up already.
“If you ask any young driver if they’re ready for Formula 1, their answer will be ‘yes’,” said Gascoyne.
“But at the end of the day, it’s experience that matters when racing in Formula 1.” ITV
“Take (Fernando) Alonso for example. He was signed as a test driver and didn’t get a race seat until after three years with Renault and he went on to win trophies,” said Gascoyne.
“This is exactly what we want with Fairuz, for him to have enough experience because racing in the Formula One is at a much higher level than he used to.”
Gascoyne said there was no point having a Malaysian driver in the team “and always at the back of the starting grid.
“If you ask any young driver if they’re ready for Formula One, their answer will be ‘yes’. But at the end of the day, it’s experience that matters when racing in Formula One,” said Gascoyne. Malaysia Star
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