Gérard Lopez wants to reassure about the financial health of Lotus
After making headlines due to financial problems during the 2013 season, Gérard Lopez wishes to reaffirm that the financial future of Lotus is secure, despite the difficulties at the start of the season.
For Gérard Lopez, all the difficulties encountered by Lotus in recent months stem from the fact that Quantum sent the agreed sum of money before it was returned due to banking issues surrounding the people behind this consortium.
He stated to Autosport: « It’s a matter of perspective. When the money was supposed to arrive, it actually did, but had to be sent back due to issues related to these people, causing a delay in several payments. When you set up a cash flow plan, like any other business, you expect a certain level of money to arrive in your account at a scheduled time. When it doesn’t, management has to find a solution and release funds. If it were a normal business and a client didn’t pay, you would have an issue and would have to deal with it. But since we’re in F1, it took on huge proportions. »
Today, the team owner claims that these cash flow problems are resolved. Furthermore, he has significantly reduced the team’s workforce since 95 people have left the team, which he largely explains by the fact that it is no longer necessary to deal with the major regulatory changes. I know that some teams have 700 people. Not us. We are 470, which is still far above at least half of the teams. If you look at it from a half-empty glass perspective, you might say: “They are lost, they’ve lost so many people.” But from a half-full glass perspective, we still have more than 150 people more than the majority of the teams. So it’s a matter of perspective. It is probably less tumultuous from the inside than it appeared from the outside.
On the other hand, he acknowledges that the departure of Eric Boullier is a significant loss for the team, but it has simply forced him to be closer to Nick Chester, the technical director, and Alan Permane, the trackside operations manager: « I miss Eric because he was my point of communication with the team. But what I do is that I go directly to see Nick and Alan. It’s less unsettling than people might have thought. »
It is therefore interesting to relate Gérard Lopez’s statements with those of Romain Grosjean. The French driver, who was eventually paid by his employer, also decided to speak on the subject, stating that he was glad he didn’t say anything about it last year.
With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr
