After weeks of tense speculation Lotus F1 have announced Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen will race for Lotus in 2010, with Malaysian-born Fairuz Fauzy will acting as the team’s third driver.
Trulli lost his seat at Toyota when the team pulled out of Formula One at the end of last season and Kovalainen comes from McLaren after being replaced by Jenson Button
Lotus team principle Tony Fernandes is aiming to be the strongest of the 4 new teams by beating Campos, Manor and US F1 next season and said the new drivers would bring both experience and exuberance to Lotus F1
“Trulli will bring us a lot of experience to develop the team,” he said. “Heikki is a young driver with a lot of experience so I think we have fantastic drivers. It is a wonderful mix of experience, youth and passion.
“We are not setting any big targets, but we want to at least be the best of the new teams. But I think it shows our seriousness today by announcing two really world-class drivers.”
Kovalainen revealed he had been pleasantly surprised by the tremendous progress the team have achieved in a short period.
“”I recently visited our factory and was so impressed by seeing how far the team has come in such a short time since it was launched in September, and by how determined everyone is to meet Tony’s ambitious targets,” explained Kovalainen.
“I knew immediately it would be a fantastic opportunity to help them achieve their goals,” the Finn added.
The experienced Trulli will join forces with technical director Mike Gascoyne for the third time in his career, having previously worked with the Briton at Renault and Toyota. Trulli admits that Gascoyne’s presence was key in his decision to join the team.
“I have been impressed by the long-term vision of the team management and technical staff,” Trulli said in a statement.
“Tony has set out very ambitious plans and I am ready to help the team achieve these high targets.
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