(Sam Bloxham Lotus F1 Team)
Lotus F1 Team principal Gerard Lopez believes that there is a 'smear campaign' targeting his outfit this season with speculation regarding the financial situation at the Esntone outfit persisting. In an interview with the Independent Lopez said:
'It is absurd to that Genii has financial problems, yes Lotus has lost money like every other Formula team in the world'.
Lopez revealed that running the Lotus F1 Team in 2013 cost Genii Capital in the region of €50 million and when you consider that the outfit finished in fourth in championship in 2013 that is a fantastic result on such a small budget compared to the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren. The situation was helped last year by the fact some personnel within the team were paid late which led to speculation in the media that they had threatened to walk out in protest.
Lopez revealed that although it was relatively inexpensive to run the team last season they were operating with a debt of the €100 million.
Last season, the team were set to get investment from Quantum Motorsports however the deal fell trough which meant that the team were forced to look for investment elsewhere and as a result they brought in Pastor Maldonado from Williams who brought financial backing from the Venezuelan government owned PDVSA.
Lopez is looking to the future of the team and has revealed that they have some exciting announcements coming in the next few months which he hopes will the the team to be in a position to move forward up the grid starting in 2015 following a disappointing season so far in 2014.
© Ben Johnston 2014
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