Nico Hulkenberg is at the front of queue for 2014 so long as Lotus "can afford him", team boss Eric Boullier admitted on Thursday. Frenchman Boullier said Felipe Massa also has not been ruled out as departing Kimi Raikkonen's successor, but Lotus is waiting on pending deals with investors as well as Renault. Raikkonen caused a stir recently when he revealed he decided to switch to Ferrari next year only because he has been left waiting for his pay. The main holdup, it seems, is […]

Kimi Raikkonen's departure is a "terrible loss" for Lotus, and could cost the Enstone based team some sponsorship. That is the view of former F1 driver Mika Salo, referring to fellow Finn Raikkonen's decision to switch to Ferrari next year, apparently for money reasons. "Kimi's move is a terrible loss for Lotus," Salo told the MTV3 broadcaster. "His market value is much higher than Grosjean's, so they (Lotus) will probably have some explaining to do to the sponsors." On the other hand, there have been […]

Nico Hulkenberg is in the running not only at Lotus for 2014, but also McLaren. That is the claim of the German magazine Sport Bild, who said even a return to Force India for the German has not been ruled out. Hulkenberg, 26, admitted in Singapore last weekend that moving from Force India to Sauber last winter might have been a mistake. "Well, regret is a big word," he told the British broadcaster Sky, "but if you move teams you want to progress, you want […]

GP3 driver Alex Fontana will make his Formula 1 test debut at Paul Ricard next week. Fontana, 21, is currently in sixteenth place in this season's GP3 series and is a member of the Lotus junior team programme. The Swiss driver will take to the circuit behind the wheel of Lotus's 2010 challenger, the R30, on Monday. "I’m naturally delighted that Lotus F1 Team has given me the opportunity of this test," said Fontana. "Every driver’s dream is to sit behind the wheel of a […]

Lotus team owner Gerard Lopez has slammed Kimi Raikkonen, after the Finn revealed he is only leaving for Ferrari in 2014 because he has not been paid. Raikkonen had shocked reporters with his brutal honesty about his unpaid salary on Thursday, but Lopez told the German newspaper Welt that is not the full story. "He will get his money, as in previous years and as agreed, at the end of the season," Lopez said. "I am very confused about the timing and content of these […]

Lotus has been the victim as more powerful teams waved chequebooks to lure key people. In quick succession, Ferrari has poached Lotus' technical director James Allison, star driver Kimi Raikkonen, and aerodynamics chief Dirk de Beer. France's Auto Hebdo claims computational fluid dynamics boss Jarrod Murphy is also departing. Speaking before the latest wave of departures became clear, Lotus' chief executive Patrick Louis said: "It is clear that the average wage at the top teams is higher than ours. "At certain levels, their salaries far […]

Kimi Raikkonen may have returned to Ferrari to finish his Formula One career with a final challenge, according to Lotus team boss Eric Boullier. When Wednesday's news broke, Lotus admitted on Twitter that losing the Finn "hurts a little" -- the quote was attached to a bizarre photo of forceful copulation between two rabbits. But team boss Boullier insists the Enstone based team is not "bitter". In fact, the Frenchman said he understands Raikkonen's decision. "You know, we remain a medium-sized team and there are […]

As the Formula One paddock emptied at Monza, one rumour had moved into the realm of fact -- Kimi Raikkonen is returning to Ferrari in 2014. The news was being confidently reported by broadcasters, including Germany's RTL, the major daily Bild, and even perhaps the most respected correspondent in the paddock, Auto Motor und Sport's Michael Schmidt. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo will reportedly inform Felipe Massa that his services are no longer required in a personal meeting at Maranello on Wednesday. It would go […]

At least for now, team owner Gerard Lopez insists he is committed to Formula One. In the past weeks, he has consistently played down the importance of the confirmed news that Lotus, the Enstone based team formerly known as Renault and Benetton, has debts of EUR 120 million. Lopez said that the actual number is not significant to Genii, the investment firm he leads. So, asked if he is sticking with F1 and with the name Lotus, Lopez answered: "I think so. "I have already […]

Kimi Raikkonen would like to keep racing for Lotus in 2014, according to his team principal Eric Boullier. Raikkonen, 33, has raced for Lotus since the start of 2012 but his contract expires at the end of this season. But Boullier believes that Raikkonen wants to prolong his stay with the Enstone based team into a third year. "It’s clear that Kimi likes racing for us and would like to continue, which is a testament to all the hard work put in by everyone at […]

Gerard Lopez has admitted Renault is involved in Lotus' push to keep Kimi Raikkonen at the team in 2014. It has been rumoured the Finn is pushing hard for a closer collaboration between Enstone based Lotus and Renault, who are reportedly looking for more exposure given world champion team Red Bull's ever-closer ties to Infiniti. Team owner Lopez on Sunday said Lotus has made "progress" regarding the talks with Raikkonen. "We understand what Kimi is waiting for," Lopez said. Asked if he is talking about […]

Ferrari has moved to ease the speculation about its 2014 driver lineup. With the Italian team's number 1 driver Fernando Alonso linked with a sensational switch to Red Bull, the future of teammate Felipe Massa is also uncertain beyond his expiring contract. And now linked with a return to Maranello is the team's 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, after the Finn's manager Steve Robertson said talks with Red Bull had ended. The Raikkonen-to-Ferrari story got a boost in recent days by Eddie Jordan, a former […]