Gérard Lopez: Lotus used “the races as test sessions”
Gérard Lopez, president of Lotus and team sporting director, gave an interview to the Formula 1 website. He discussed his team's difficult start to the season, internal reshuffles, his ambitions, and his driver duo.
Formula1.com: Gérard, why this spectacular loss of form in 2014? From the front runners to the backmarkers in just a few months…
Gérard Lopez: *We are back! Isn’t it obvious? We qualified fifth here and finished eighth in the race. Everyone knows we’ve had a lot of problems with the engine. We only completed a third of the number of laps that other teams did in testing and couldn’t set up the car. In China, it was the first time we had a full Friday – due to this increase in track time, Romain qualified fifth – and Pastor would have been around the same place without his problems.*
Are you saying that from Barcelona onwards Lotus should be back to business as usual?
Yes, definitely in the top 10 of the race…
And back to fourth place in the constructors’ standings?
Yes, that is the goal.
What were the consequences of Éric Boullier and Kimi Räikkönen’s departures for Lotus?
In the case of Kimi, it was obvious he would leave. It’s always sad to lose a good driver, but I think he also realized that he had a pretty good place here, so I imagine the feeling of loss is mutual. As for Éric, it was a change of direction. It’s not that we no longer wanted Éric since I have a very high opinion of him. It’s more that we wanted to make some changes in how we specifically managed the financial and political side of our business, so when he had the opportunity to change teams to see how things were elsewhere, that’s simply what happened. As a result, we reshuffled the deck.
Looking at Kimi’s situation at Ferrari, do you think he might regret his transfer during the season?
“I don’t live with regrets – that’s not my values. It’s certain that he had a good place with us.”
You are now the team director – in a way. Who else now has a say in the team?
Our CEO Matthew Carter manages day-to-day affairs and Nick Chester takes care of the technical department – I lead the team as chairman. My role as team director is a bit different.
I mainly interact with FOM and FIA – I attend meetings on sports regulations and that kind of stuff. But don’t forget that it’s also business and part of the business is indeed dictated by realities – and I want to get more involved in that.
Was this start of the season a shock for you?
No. We knew that the first laps were good but that was for the camera. We already knew before the first tests that it would be difficult, and after breaking several engines during testing, we understood that the season would be chaotic. After realizing this, we just decided on two things: to accept it and to use the races as test sessions. Of course, it’s a very expensive way to do things!
Would you say now that the chassis is better than the power unit?
We knew that the chassis was very good – but also that the power unit was potentially good. And Renault will solve its problems – and once these problems are resolved we should be in a good position since, as I just said, the chassis is good.
Are you surprised that it’s so difficult with the power unit?
Yes, and I think Renault was also surprised.
What about your two drivers? Romain has been tacitly promoted to number one driver with Kimi’s departure, and Pastor still has to find his footing…
We don’t have a number one driver. We’ve never had one, even when Kimi was with us. Whoever is in front is in front! Romain has matured a lot. He now feels comfortable in his shoes and that helps us a lot on the track because we know he’s doing the job. We’ve known Pastor for a long time from GP2, since he raced with DAMS, which is a team we’re very close to. He’s incredibly fast
– chaque tour pour lui est comme un tour de qualification. Peut-être qu’il en fait un peu trop et nous devons discuter avec lui et le tempérer – lui dire que dans son cas, avec sa vitesse, la plupart du temps 95 % seraient suffisants. Mais c’est un bon gars, bien accepté par l’équipe.
What was Romain’s disappointment with this loss of form?
Of course, he was disappointed. And we also lost four races without scoring any points. It’s not fun. But it’s a sport where you can’t predict anything – because if you could, it wouldn’t be as fun. Sometimes you are on the wrong side…
When it comes to attracting sponsors, wouldn’t it have made more sense for Lotus to sign a renowned driver? Romain and Pastor are great, but perhaps less marketable than, say, a Räikkönen…
I think people relate much more to young drivers than before. I think our guys are the future. It’s just a matter of time. We love our drivers.
Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Your first points of 2014 here – is it just a beginning?
Ah, the weather is nice here in Barcelona, so there is light (laughs). So let’s see if this upward trend continues. I am “reasonably optimistic,” as financial analysts would say.
