GPWizard F1 Forum
F1 News & Discussions => F1 Teams => Topic started by: cosworth151 on January 06, 2014, 07:06:47 PM
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Things are in a stir at Lotus. CEO Patrick Louis is moving aside. He will be replaced by Matthew Carter.
Louis was brought on board as COO at the time of the Genii takeover. He moved to CEO in 2012. He is linked to Eric Boullier.
Carter has ties to minority shareholder Andrew Ruhan, the property investor who got involved with Lotus at the start of last year.
On the heels of announcing the front office change, Lotus said that it will skip the test session of January 31. Team technical director Nick Chester said that the team instead planned to launch its car after Jerez, prior to it running for the first time at the subsequent Bahrain test that begins on Feb. 19.
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Missing test surely indicate the lack of funding of this team, and that is a shame as because due to the lack of testing, Lotus will be trailing behind the big four.
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With no launches scheduled between now and the first test, will anyone make it?
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Ferrari have confirmed a launch date prior to the Jerez test, and
no doubt hopefully most others will too.
It's a shame that Lotus can't sort out their finances, but as sad as it may be, are they not a brand in decline in general - not just in F1? I hardly see any Lotuses on the streets, and their presence elsewhere is non-existent. I have genuine heartfelt feeling for Lotus like thousands of other people, but unfortunately that has little to do with their continued presence in F1.
I notice this news hasn't pushed Romain's odds any further out, although 50/1 is pretty far as it is… Here's hopin'.
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We all know what a mess their IndyCar program turned into. Much the same happened to their attempt to field a prototype endurance racer. Even their GT effort has gone flat.
It sadly looks like they seriously overreached. If they would have just stayed with GT's they might have done alright.
Their road car range is dated and uninspiring. I truly hope that they can pull themselves back together again. Lotus has held a special place in my heart since my youth, when both Jim Clark and Emma Peel drove them. ;)
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Missing test surely indicate the lack of funding of this team, and that is a shame as because due to the lack of testing, Lotus will be trailing behind the big four.
On the surface I would agree with you.
However, the hopeful side of me is wondering if they want to make sure the launch of the car is done right. It's as much about marketting the team and making a splash with exisiting and potential sponsors. If there's no one to gladhand the VIPs, then what's the point?
(Seeing if the car works at a test is the point? How silly of me.)
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Missing test surely indicate the lack of funding of this team, and that is a shame as because due to the lack of testing, Lotus will be trailing behind the big four.
On the surface I would agree with you.
However, the hopeful side of me is wondering if they want to make sure the launch of the car is done right. It's as much about marketting the team and making a splash with exisiting and potential sponsors. If there's no one to gladhand the VIPs, then what's the point?
And people call me an eternal optimist :fool: :fool:
Count me in among the hopeful Jeri