on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lotus F1 confirms Grosjean, Maldonado for 2015

With the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix now just ten days away, the focus is beginning to shift to next year's Formula One World Championship, with more and more pieces to the puzzle falling into place. And the latest news comes from the Lotus team. The Enstone-based outfit has confirmed that it's keeping both its drivers right where they are for next season, with Romain Grosjean partnering Pastor Maldonado once again.
Swiss driver Grosjean, now 28 years old, made his grand prix debut with the team in 2009, returned as test driver in 2011 while winning the GP2 title, returned to the F1 grid in 2012 and has been driving for the team ever since. He's scored nine podium finishes to date, but has finished no better than his eighth place this season.
Venezuelan pilot Maldonado, 29, won the GP2 the year before his teammate, and moved up to F1 with Williams, for whom he drove for three seasons before switching to Lotus for this one. He shocked the field when he won the Spanish Grand Prix in 2012, but has only finished in the points once this season.

Lotus recalling certain 2011 Evora S models for possible oil leak, fire

Last year about 80 examples of the 2011 Lotus Evora S were recalled over an issue with the oil feed pipe. The same number of 2011 Evora S', but with different manufacture dates, are back in the recall box again for a very similar issue; this time it's the engine oil cooler hose that could rupture and spray oil either onto the rear wheels or a hot engine part. Neither of those cases is good, and the latter could potentially lead to a fire.
Lotus is working on a solution, so a recall date hasn't been announced. The bulletin below from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has more information.

Lotus F1 team $186 million in debt

The Lotus F1 team has fallen on some hard times. Majority-owned by investment firm Genii Capital and having little to do with the British automaker with which it shares its name, the Enstone-based outfit has been widely reported to be in serious financial trouble. The extent of those difficulties were until now unknown, but a new report from Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reveals that the team is in the red to the tune of £114 million - equivalent to $186 million at today's conversion rates.
The lack in cashflow is widely believed to have been the impetus for Kimi Raikkonen's departure from the team in order to return to cash-rich Ferrari, and was one of the major factors in selecting Pastor Maldonado to replace him instead of a more proven and accomplished driver of Raikkonen's caliber. Maldonado brings with him major sponsorship funds from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA. In speaking with the German publication, however, Lotus F1 chairman (and Genii co-founder) Gerald Lopez revealed that the lion's share of the team's debt - £80 million or $130 million - is with Genii Capital itself, a negative balance that isn't likely to affect the team's day to day. That leaves about $56 million which the team owes to outside parties, including Raikkonen, who has yet to receive the full pay he was contracted for.
The team has opted to sit out the first test session of the Formula One season at Jerez. Its 2014 chassis isn't ready and, given the relatively cold temperatures at this point in the year, the team wouldn't expect to learn much about tire performance and degradation. As far as the new engine goes, Lopez says that any knowledge gleaned by Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Caterham at the test session will ultimately be shared with Renault and through it back to Lotus as well. Lotus engineers helped develop the new KERS system with Renault regardless, so the team already has the energy-recovery data it needs. The team will instead prepare for the second test session in Bahrain, by which point it aims to have its new car ready to kick off the season. Lopez says that it has secured the funding to offset its costs for the season ahead, and that it is working to pay down its debt.