Lotus team principal Eric Boullier says he is optimistic that Kimi Raikkonen will stay with the team next season. Raikkonen joined Lotus at the start of 2012, having spent two years out of the sport following his departure from Ferrari in 2009. Raikkonen finished in third place in the championship last season and is currently Sebastian Vettel's nearest contender in this year's championship. The Finn has scored two wins for Lotus and has finished every race since his return, ending up outside of the points […]

Troubling signs of financial weakness are emerging from Lotus. The authoritative German website motorsport-total reports that, although in the hunt for the 2013 title, the Genii-owned outfit is "struggling to survive" under EUR 120 million in debt. For example, although Kimi Raikkonen is second only to Sebastian Vettel in the chase for the drivers' championship, development of the 2013 car is apparently all but over. Asked also about rumours of 'money problems', leading Lotus engineer Alan Permane admitted to Auto Motor und Sport: "We have […]

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier says Kimi Raikkonen deserves 10 out of 10 for the first half of 2013. Raikkonen is currently in second place in the championship, having claimed a win and a further five podiums. "I would have to give Kimi 10 out of 10," said Boullier. "He’s done a terrific job right from the beginning of the season and his remarkable run of twenty-seven consecutive points finishes speaks for itself. No matter what happens he’s always there, as we saw in the […]

Eric Boullier on Tuesday confirmed reports Nico Hulkenberg is a candidate to drive for Lotus in 2014. That is because the Enstone based team is facing up to the very real possibility lead driver Kimi Raikkonen will switch to Red Bull. We reported earlier that Frenchman Boullier, the Lotus team boss, is scheduled to sit down with Finn Raikkonen's management this week. In the meantime, German Hulkenberg is technically a free agent, because - while he will continue to race for Sauber in 2013 - […]

Sebastien Buemi, a recent Toro Rosso driver and now Red Bull reserve, has tipped the world champions to sign Kimi Raikkonen for 2014. After Mark Webber announced his impending switch to Le Mans, Red Bull narrowed down the shortlist for the Australian's successor to just three names -- Raikkonen, Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne. But even Ricciardo, the most consistent Toro Rosso performer of 2013, does not expect to get the nod. "I would expect a world champion team to take a world champion driver," […]

After two disappointing races, Lotus need to bounce back quickly if they are to remain a world title contender

Lotus owner Gerard Lopez has backed Romain Grosjean, amid speculation the Enstone based team could replace the beleaguered French driver. Having seemingly overcome his 'first lap nutcase' troubles of 2012, 27-year-old Grosjean is now back in the wars with a ten-place grid penalty for Montreal for his Monaco crash with Daniel Ricciardo. In the wake of the Monaco controversy, team boss Eric Boullier answered "not yet" when asked if Lotus might consider replacing Grosjean with GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi. He and team owner Lopez, however, […]

Lotus has recorded the biggest financial loss in motor racing history, according to F1 business journalist Christian Sylt. A report in the Telegraph said the Enstone based team's latest accounts show an almost $86 million loss for 2012, due to declining sponsorship. "No other F1 team filing publicly-available accounts has ever lost as much money," said Sylt. There could be more bad news around the corner for Lotus, amid continuing rumours top driver Kimi Raikkonen could jump ship to Red Bull at the end of […]

Kimi Raikkonen has admitted he is weighing up two offers to remain in Formula One beyond 2013. In the wake of his impressive return to the sport, the Finn's two-year contract with Lotus is now expiring. The Enstone based team clearly wants to retain the 33-year-old former world champion, who has thrived under Lotus' laid-back regime. But team owner Gerard Lopez admitted to PA Sport news agency this week: "If he could find a better car somewhere else, and he had an option to go […]

Lotus team owner Gerard Lopez has played down the impact of technical director James Allison's departure. So highly rated had Briton Allison become within the F1 paddock, that many insiders believe the 45-year-old would be able to take his pick in terms of choosing his next team. Lotus has promoted from within - Nick Chester - to replace Allison, so it is feared that Enstone will now struggle to produce as good a car with a budget smaller than F1's 'big four' Red Bull, Ferrari, […]

Lotus has announced that Nick Chester has been promoted to the position of technical director. Chester replaces James Allison, who is thought to have several offers from rival teams. Allison has worked at the team since 2005 and also enjoyed stints at Enstone between 1991-1992 and 1994-1999. Chester joined Enstone in 2000, having worked at Arrows for five years. "Nick is well known to everyone at Enstone having been with the team for over twelve years," said team principal Eric Boullier. "He is already directly […]

According to Dr Helmut Marko, Lotus is a bigger challenger to Red Bull's championship hopes in 2013 than Ferrari. Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel are leading Lotus and Kimi Raikkonen in both the constructors' and drivers' world championships after the first four 'flyaway' races. But it might be argued that the bulk of Ferrari's deficit is because of Fernando Alonso's crash in Malaysia and malfunctioning DRS rear wing flap in Bahrain. Asked, however, if Red Bull expected Lotus' Raikkonen to be challenging so hard in […]