Yesterday, the news broke out that Renault were set to take over Lotus and return to Formula One as a works team for the first time since 2010.
Thanks to their illustrious Formula One history, which has seen them take 35 race victories, 51 pole positions and two world drivers and constructors championships, the two works Renault seats are now the most desired available seats on the Formula One grid.
Many drivers will be looking to take one of these seats as Renault will reportedly have the same budget as current world champions, Mercedes. We take a look at the main candidates…
Romain Grosjean
The French driver is looking to continue with the Enstone outfit for the fifth consecutive season and it’s hard to find a reason why Renault wouldn’t want to sign him. Romain knows the team really well and arguably is the most talented non-race winner on the grid.
Let’s not forget Grosjean scored more points than every driver apart from champion Vettel in the last six races of the 2013 season. Furthermore, Renault would love a French driver in their team and his Total backing makes him the prime candidate for a Renault seat in 2016.
Chances of a seat = 9.5/10
Pastor Maldonado
Current Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado has a contract for next season but it’s no secret that the team aren’t keen to keep the Venezuelan on for a 3rd season so it’s likely Renault are going to have to pay Maldonado a large sum of money to get him out of the team one year early in order to get a top driver.
However, it might not be so simple as we have seen this season Pastor hasn’t been willing to give up his seat in FP1 to reserve driver Jolyon Palmer and Grosjean by the end of the season will have given up his seat in FP1 10 times. So it’s unclear how willing Maldonado and his sponsors will be to give up his seat a year early unless a large sum is paid.
Another reason why Renault are keen to remove the 2012 Spanish GP winner is his main sponsor PDVSA rivals Grosjean’s and the team’s main sponsor Total.
On the other hand, Pastor is a race winner and on his day is one of the quickest guys out there sadly he just can’t show that form consistently and maybe 2016 will finally be the year his F1 venture finally ends.
Chances of a seat = 7/10
Jolyon Palmer
Reigning GP2 champion and current Lotus reserve driver Jolyon Palmer is the hot favourite amongst fans to drive alongside Grosjean at Renault next season.
Palmer beat the likes of Vandoorne and Nasr to take last year’s GP2 drivers championship. He has also made numerous FP1 appearances this season, building up his F1 experience and making him a suitable candidate for the 2nd seat.
However, Jolyon was in his 4th season in GP2 in arguably the best team and he failed to beat the less experienced current Sauber F1 driver Felipe Nasr in the same team in 2013.
There are also questions over how much backing Jolyon brings and may not be up to the same standard of some of the other drivers fighting for the seat. Also, his experience and speed can’t match the likes of Hulkenberg or Vergne.
In conclusion, Jolyon would be a solid choice as he is a proven race winner in junior formula but the question still remains whether or not he would be able to translate that form onto the biggest stage in Motorsport.
Chances of a seat = 7.5/10
Nico Hulkenberg
After missing out on the Ferrari and likely Williams 2016 seats, it looked as if Nico Hulkenberg was set for another season in the midfield with Force India but after recent developers it now looks possible that we could see Nico finally getting the big break so many believe he deserves with the Renault works team for 2016 and beyond.
Hulkenberg is fast and mighty consistent, picking up points in 15 of the 19 races last season.This fantastic achievement helped him to 9th in the drivers standing higher than any Force India driver has finished since Adrian Sutil in 2011.
Back in 2013, it was widely known that Lotus wanted to sign Hulkenberg but were forced to hire well backed Pastor Maldonado instead due to their financial woes. Now Renault have taken over, it’s likely they won’t need a driver with heavy backing and will be able to sign Hulkenberg if they choose to.
Hulkenberg may have had a superb 2014 season but he is still yet to take a podium in F1 while his teammate Perez has scored 4. Hulkenberg has had chances in Brazil 2012 and Bahrain 2014 but made mistakes or failed to match the pace of his teammate when it really mattered.
Despite this Hulk would be a great choice for any top team looking for a fast and consistent driver and there is no doubt that he would jump ship in order to finally achieve a podium in F1 if Renault gave him the car to do so.
Chances of a seat = 8/10
Sergio Perez
Coming off the back of an excellent weekend at the Belgium GP, Sergio Perez quickly emerged as the leading candidate for the 2nd Renault seat.
The Mexican who has 4 podiums to his name brings big backing from Mexico and would be an attractive prospect for Renault. Perez has out-raced Hulkenberg and currently sits 1 point ahead of Nico in the drivers standings. Sergio is a master of conserving tyres and next years new free tyre choice rule might play right into Perez’s hands.
However, Perez has always struggled to be consistent over a full season and sometimes he gets himself involved in silly incident such as in Malaysia this year where he tangled with Grosjean and at last season US GP where he ploughed into the side of Adrian Sutil.
With solid backing, 4 podiums behind him and the fact he is still only 25 Perez might just take the 2016 Renault seat unless he is content to stay with Force India for a 3rd season or Renault are put off by his last season with a big team in 2013.
Chances of a seat = 8.5/10
The Outsiders
Jean-Eric Vergne – Although the Frenchman is a prime candidate for a seat a Haas, a surprise move to Renault could happen. He has 3 years of F1 experience behind him and has said he is would prioritise a seat in F1 over his current Formula E commitments. However, he doesn’t have the frontrunning experience of the likes of Grosjean and Perez.
Chances of a seat = 5/10
Carlos Sainz Jr + Max Verstappen – Although it’s very likely Toro Rosso will retain their driver line up for another season, Red Bull could use one of their Toro Rosso drivers likely Sainz as leverage to get out of their current Renault engine deal 1 year early.
Chances of a seat = 4/10 (Sainz) Chances of a seat = 4/10 (Verstappen)
Jenson Button + Fernando Alonso – A possible return to Renault could be on the cards for Jenson if McLaren decide to drop him and if Alonso feels McLaren aren’t going to improve for years he may decide to return to Renault to pursue his third world championship at the team where he won his first and only two championships.
Chances of a seat = 3/10 (Alonso) Chances of a seat = 5/10 (Button)
Verdict
Although Grosjean seems a safe bet for one of the Renault seats, the question of who will partner him is a really tough one. However due to recent rumours, big financial backing, flashes of supreme speed and 4 podiums in F1, I predict Sergio Perez will partner Romain Grosjean at Renault for 2016.
