10/02/2016
NEWS STORY
Whilst Renault's decision to drop Pastor Maldonado in favour of Kevin Magnussen has been widely applauded, the French (?) outfit's decision to retain Carmen Jorda as 'development driver' has not been so well received, especially by the former official reserve and development driver at Lotus, Marco Sorensen.
"She was twelve seconds slower than me in the simulator," Sorensen told Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet. "Yet, still, she ran away with all the rewards.
"Over the past two years I have spent at least sixty days in the simulator, which is about the same as Kevin Magnussen at McLaren. Seeing them renew her contract left me so upset that I realised I had to leave."
The 25-year-old, who contested the first four rounds of the 2015 GP2 series with Carlin before switching to WEC with Aston Martin, taking sixth at Le Mans, said that money was also an issue.
"I could not come up with fifty million Kroner (£5.2m), which is the starting amount if you want to buy a Formula 1 seat," he admitted.
Ignoring the question of whether Sorensen deserved the role at Renault or not, one must indeed question the team's decision to retain Jorda. Then again, perhaps the close relationship she enjoys with Bernie Ecclestone and his wife helps, the Spaniard often travelling to races with them.