» Grosjean jumps the gun

Romain Grosjean has prematurely confirmed his re-signing with the Lotus F1 Team for 2015, making the announcement on his social media platforms before swiftly deleting the posts.

Grosjean quickly deleted this Twitter post.

The news – expected to be formally announced ahead of next weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – is widely anticipated, with most of the frontrunning teams confirming their 2015 line-ups early, while seemingly vacant seats at McLaren and Ferrari are likely to go to other drivers.

The Frenchman had previously spoken of his excitement at the team’s switch to Mercedes power in 2015.

Grosjean was free to exit his multi-year Lotus contract due to a performance clause in his contract; the team has scored just three top-ten finishes to-date with its radical and uncompetitive E22 challenger.

Grosjean will partner Pastor Maldonado next year, with the Venezuelan’s re-signing announced as long ago as the July’s German Grand Prix.