Lotus team principal Eric Boullier has criticised the decision to give Romain Grosjean a drive through penalty for exceeding track limits during the Hungarian Grand Prix. Grosjean went around the outside of Ferrari's Felipe Massa at Turn 4, with the stewards deeming that Grosjean 'left the track' and that 'this overtaking move would not otherwise have been possible.' But Boullier disputed that decision. "I feel this penalty was a little bit too much," said Boullier. "He [Grosjean] had nowhere to go, he was a little […]

Kimi Raikkonen has admitted he is still waiting on some money from Lotus. "There is some problem," the 2007 world champion is quoted by Germany's sport1.de in Hungary. The news could have huge implications for the 2014 'silly season', as Lotus is pushing hard to convince the Finn to stay put rather than move to Red Bull. Team boss Christian Horner, however, said Raikkonen's considerable salary demands would not be a problem at Red Bull. "That (money) isn't really an element in our decision making," […]

Amid suggestions Red Bull is preparing a 2014 contract for Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen's manager insists the Finn is still in the running. "The facts, or what I can tell you, is that an agreement has not been reached at this time. "Negotiations and discussions are still underway," manager Steve Robertson, who reportedly had a meeting with Lotus' Eric Boullier in Hungary on Friday, told the Finnish broadcaster MTV3. He added: "I can't tell you much about the details, but things are still open. I […]

Eddie Jordan has tipped Red Bull to pick Daniel Ricciardo as Sebastian Vettel's new teammate for 2014. Lotus team boss Eric Boullier said as recently as last Friday that he is doing "everything we can" to convince Kimi Raikkonen to stay next season. Jordan, a former F1 team owner turned broadcaster for British television, thinks the Finn will ultimately decide to turn down Red Bull's admitted strong interest. "At first I was pretty sure that Raikkonen will replace Mark Webber," Jordan told Russia's f1news.ru. "But […]

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," […]

Lotus is pushing Kimi Raikkonen to make a quick decision over his future. The 2007 world champion has admitted "small talks" with Red Bull have already taken place, but both Raikkonen and his potential 2014 boss Christian Horner are saying they are in no rush to finalise a deal. A different message is now emerging from Lotus. "He (Raikkonen) knows that we need to plan ahead for 2014," team boss Eric Boullier told Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper. "We assume that before the summer break […]

Lotus are hopeful that they can win a tug-of-war with Formula One champions Red Bull for Kimi Raikkonen's services next season. "Red Bull is chasing Kimi and we obviously want to keep Kimi," Lotus team principal Eric Boullier told reporters at the British Grand Prix on Friday where Red Bull's 2014 driver vacancy remained the hot topic. Out of contract at the end of the year, Raikkonen has become a frontrunner to replace Mark Webber for 2014 now that Red Bull's Australian has decided to […]

Kimi Raikkonen is expecting his Lotus team to fight back following a couple of disappointing races in Monaco and Canada. Lotus collected only three points from two races - courtesy of Raikkonen - and slipped back in both championships. "The last couple of races have been more a question of surviving not attacking and that’s not what anyone wants. That said, Monaco and Montréal are both street circuits; they’re quite different from a lot of tracks we visit and there are quite a lot of […]

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 […]

Ferrari has joined Lotus in criticising Pirelli's mid-season tyre tweak. Following early-season criticism, culminating in the furore after Barcelona recently, Pirelli announced it is making key changes to its controversial 2013 tyres for next month's Canadian grand prix and beyond. Lotus team boss Eric Boullier was the first to react, likening the change to widening football goals because one team was always striking the post. Now, in the anonymous 'Horse Whisperer' column posted on the official Ferrari website, Ferrari has lashed out at those who claim […]

Niki Lauda has hailed Pirelli's move to alter the design of its 2013 tyres ahead of the Canadian grand prix next month and beyond. Lotus, arguably the team with the best grip on the Italian supplier's controversial tyres this year, is not happy with the decision. "It's clear that Pirelli have found themselves in a difficult situation and under pressure from different quarters," team boss Eric Boullier said. "I hope they (the changes) are not too extreme." Within the pitlane, the bulk of the 'pressure' […]