Lotus is experiencing its worst season from a financial perspective

If Romain Grosjean’s third place in Belgium felt like a victory after a very complicated 2014 season, the team’s financial situation remains very precarious.

Thus, Alan Permane, the track operations director of Lotus, admitted to Sky Sports F1 that the team’s survival is a daily battle: “We are experiencing a very, very difficult season. It is our worst season from a financial standpoint. We had to make significant savings on parts. Getting the cars on track every week is an enormous effort. So, getting on the podium is simply incredible.”

The said savings on parts have a certain impact on track performance. Thus, under normal circumstances, Romain Grosjean would not have received penalties for changing the gearbox: « We only have three. Most teams, and us in the past, bring five or six gearboxes. But this year, we only have three. So we have to use the race gearbox on Friday. Unfortunately, it was Romain this week, and he had a problem, resulting in a five-place penalty. Under normal circumstances, it would have simply been a gearbox change and therefore without penalty. »

The Frenchman’s podium also comes in a complicated media context as Charles Pic has sent bailiffs to seize the team’s cars: « It has been a very, very difficult weekend for us, especially Friday. We have had many financial problems, as people know. Being able to put all that behind us and be busy on the track has done us good.

He believes, however, that the dispute involving nearly 800,000 euros should not impact the team’s presence in Monza: « I’ve heard that the cars would be seized but I’m certain that everything will be resolved at the beginning of this week and that we will be able to go to Monza. »

This is why the rumors of a takeover by Renault are becoming increasingly insistent and are even widely supported by the staff, who have already experienced the time under the Losange’s fold: « The team is very excited about this. We would welcome them with open arms. We have a very good partnership with Mercedes but becoming a factory team again would be fantastic. We could build on what we currently have, build on the chassis we have this year and try to redo what we did with Renault in 2005 and 2006.»

It remains, therefore, to convince Renault’s board of directors of the merits of a new massive investment in Formula 1, while Nissan, the other partner of the Alliance, had to cease its participation in the endurance championship due to non-competitiveness after just one race.

With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr