02/09/2015
NEWS STORY
Whilst the Monza weekend won’t see the outcome of the 2015 title fight decided, it may well witness the fate of the Lotus F1 team.
In the moments following Romain Grosjean's convincing drive to a podium result at Spa, albeit with a little help from Sebastian Vettel and his tyres, Lotus’ trackside operations director, Alan Permane, gave some insight into just how bad things are for the struggling British outfit.
"This is the worst season we have had financially and we have scrimped and scraped for parts and to get the cars on the track is a massive effort each week. So to be able to stick it on the podium is just unbelievable," he told Sky Sports F1.
"We haven't really been developing,” he admitted. "We brought a new front wing here, but that is about the only thing we have done.
“With a bit of input this third place would have been an easy third place. We could have done an awful lot better this season with a little more investment.
"Our owners have kept us going through the hard times and they have put money in and kept the team running and coming to races," he added. "And that is the important thing, being able to be here and score podiums like this."
Asked about the rumours linking the team with a buy-out by (former owners) Renault, he said: "The team are incredibly excited about it," he admitted. "We would welcome them back with open arms obviously," Permane said
"We've got a great relationship and a great partnership with Mercedes, but to be a works team again would be fantastic. Then we can build on what we have now, build on the chassis we have this year and then try to emulate what we did with Renault in 2005 and 2006… that is what we want to do."
So bad was the team's situation in Spa, other than the threat of having its cars impounded following an injunction from former test driver Charles Pic, it was only handed a supply of tyres an hour before the opening practice session after meeting an outstanding debt to Pirelli.
Indeed, only yesterday, it was revealed that Bernie Ecclestone has assisted in meeting the team's wage bill.
"I thought I should cover the wages of the people there to make sure they were all right and so that Lotus would at least get to Spa and, hopefully, to Italy," he told the Times. "But they really need to make progress with Renault now to make sure everything is OK."
News about that "progress” is expected to come in an announcement this weekend, when it is anticipated that that the French manufacturer will confirm that it has bought a majority stake in the team, with Gerard Lopez and Genii Capital remaining on board. Indeed, it is claimed that four-time world champion Alain Prost, who ran his own team (formerly Ligier) between 1997 and 2002, will also hold a stake.
How such a deal might impact Lotus' drive line-up, its engine supply or even how Renault's deal with Red Bull and Toro Rosso might be handled, are all matters to be discussed in the (very near) future. For now all eyes are on Lotus and Renault and seeing whether the main deal is agreed.