Boullier thinks that Lotus won’t be the only one absent at Jerez

At the beginning of the week, Nick Chester – technical director of the Lotus F1 team – revealed that the Enstone team would not run the E22 in Jerez before the team later confirmed that it would not be going to Jerez at all.

Going without four days of testing out of the 12 pre-season defined days is not ideal for the Lotus team, but Eric Boullier told BBC Sport that he expected other teams to do the same: « You will see, we will not be the only team not in Jerez. I know that’s already a fact. We said a month ago that it was going to be tight. In fact, most teams agreed that it was going to be tight. Then, it’s a decision to make. »

The Frenchman also admitted that one of the motivations for not going to Jerez was that the E22 will not be finished in time to drive in Spain: « It is true that the car won’t be ready on time, but we’ll be ready just after – and in a way, that’s not so bad because we’ll have time to see what others are doing and no one will be able to see what we are doing. Remember that this year there are big regulatory changes, so everyone will be watching closely what others have done. »

The director of the Lotus F1 team also hastened to reassure about the team’s future: « Everything is fine here. Lotus will be on the grid this year and for many years to come. »

If Lotus believes it is making the right decision by not going to Jerez, others feel it is not the right choice, notably the new Sauber F1 driver, Adrian Sutil.

« It is clear that this is not a good thing, but I don’t know the reasons and where the problem lies. But I think you need every available testing day – it will be very important this year, » the German told Sky Sports F1.

He also spoke on the subject with Reuters, stating that it is going to be a disadvantage for Lotus.