14/05/2015
NEWS STORY
Amidst speculation it could be bought by Renault, Lotus CEO Matthew Carter insists the Enstone team is not for sale.
One of three (four, five?) teams on the 2015 grid known to be hurting financially, Lotus has been linked with a possible buy-out by former owners Renault as the French manufacturer ponders whether to walk away from the sport or become more heavily involved.
However, speaking at a business conference in London, Carter insisted that the Enstone outfit is not for sale.
"I know that Renault are evaluating their role within F1 at the moment," he said. "I think they are, from a fairly high level, trying to decide whether they just make engines, whether they pull out of the sport altogether or whether they look at a works team.
"However, my shareholders have said quite specifically the team isn't for sale," he continued. "There's a famous quote that everything's for sale at a price but certainly our shareholders have told me they don't want to sell the team, they don't want to give up their majority interest in the team."
After a dreadful season in 2014 in which drivers Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado only managed to score 10 points in total, the team, which was previously owned by Renault and is still based at the French outfit's Enstone base, made the surprise switch to Mercedes engines. Whilst Maldonado has yet to open his points account, Grosjean has already scored double the points he scored in the whole of 2014.
"We believe that with a Mercedes power unit, we've given ourselves a chance to perform as we should do," said Carter.