Lotus F1 Team 2013

[Jonnycraig]

what deal does Nico or Lotus need? Hulk is a free agent he has terminated his contract with sauber a long time ago .He could well use the two races as a display of his speed and craft -increasing his value -so the new contract would be even more costly for lotus potentially...
Lotus can always claim he is by far the best driver available right now -so chances to score are maximised -plus he is not in a car of an opponent with the potential to take points away from lotus!

Alternately, he gets in a car he's never driven before and performs 'poorly' in his first ever front running car.

It'll be Valsecchi and quite rightly.

[Richard]

No one's doubting he needs surgery, just that the timing of it seems odd. If it is a long standing injury its reasonable to wonder why he didn't wait until after the end of the season. After all this was someone who said he'd boycott the end of the season.

Maybe something aggravated his back recently so the operation became urgent despite his desire to race to the end, admittedly a hidden desire to race because he tells everyone the opposite. Or maybe the operation was due this winter and he thought he'd get it done now as a convenient way to fulfill his public announcements about not wanting to race for Lotus any more.

Personally, I think his very public professions for not wanting to race for Lotus featured prominently in the timing of this operation. I think it is valid to wonder if he'd keep racing to the end if the WDC had been possible.

Anyway its all conjecture, so any of us could be right.

[stefan_]

No one's doubting he needs surgery, just that the timing of it seems odd.

Spot on. I'm thinking that something like a back injury would become more serious if you do something like... rallying for example, wher you compete on rougher terrain, have a lot of jumps, big bumps, etc.

[munudeges]

When Maldonado comes the team will have a net budget increase of the PDVSA money...

Maldonado is going to Sauber because Sauber are not stupid enough to rely on one uncertain source of money as Lotus are.

PLUS the salary that they wont be paying Kimi. That's like 30 million pounds a year.

There is no way Raikkonen is getting 30 million pounds. I don't know where this comes from. That's what he was allegedly on at Ferrari and not even Alonso gets that now. No driver does. It's no more than ten and probably closer to five. It's a moot point though because it's become clear now that Lotus won't 'save' on Raikkonen's salary because it's evident they never had it in the first place. The back injury is just a convenient excuse even if he really does need the surgery.

Lotus and Raikkonen have come to some arrangement where he will be paid some figure, almost certainly not all he is owed, and he has now effectively been released from Lotus early, especially with him having gone to Ferrari for a seat fitting. It frees him up to prepare early over the winter for next season as well.

Raikkonen is doing Lotus a massive favour here because he's keeping his mouth shut so that the financial woes of the team do not become apparent publicly and handed fourth in the championship to them on a plate at a heck of a knock-down price. His salary is a heck of a lot less than the difference between fourth and fifth money-wise.

[Jonnycraig]

There is no way Raikkonen is getting 30 million pounds. I don't know where this comes from.

His basic is relatively low, but he's on a huge points bonus. Sky calculated it at roughly $17m for the season all in.

No one's doubting he needs surgery, just that the timing of it seems odd. If it is a long standing injury its reasonable to wonder why he didn't wait until after the end of the season. After all this was someone who said he'd boycott the end of the season.

Maybe something aggravated his back recently so the operation became urgent despite his desire to race to the end, admittedly a hidden desire to race because he tells everyone the opposite. Or maybe the operation was due this winter and he thought he'd get it done now as a convenient way to fulfill his public announcements about not wanting to race for Lotus any more.

Personally, I think his very public professions for not wanting to race for Lotus featured prominently in the timing of this operation. I think it is valid to wonder if he'd keep racing to the end if the WDC had been possible.

Anyway its all conjecture, so any of us could be right.

He's had back surgery a couple of times before and it was stated a few races back that he'd aggravated an old injury (Korea?). If he's had medical advice that the required surgery would impinge upon his start at Ferrari if put off another 3/4 weeks then it's understandable he's gone early. The season was already as good as over for him anyway.

[erikejw]

I believe he is in dire need of the surgery.
I do not believe for one moment that someone takes a back surgery so he can sit out 2 F1 races.
F1 is the most physical motorsport and the G-forces experienced is massive.

4-5 G in breaking and going over curbs and other obstacles is even worse. Alonso hit 25G in the Vergne espisode.
If he could win the WDC, yes he would take the chance as anyone would. But think of sitting 2 hours in a car experiencing 4-5 G a couple of times a minute with backpain. It will hurt immensely.

He and Ferrari wants to be assured that he will recover and have some weeks of fitness training before the preseason begins.
F1 is extremely physical so healing and the rehabilitation and top it of with fitness training is essential.

[munudeges]

His basic is relatively low, but he's on a huge points bonus. Sky calculated it at roughly $17m for the season all in.

Probably, but he's definitely not getting all he's owed there though, if anything at all. Lotus have got a pretty good deal out of this.

[munudeges]

Spot on. I'm thinking that something like a back injury would become more serious if you do something like... rallying for example, wher you compete on rougher terrain, have a lot of jumps, big bumps, etc.

The forces involved in Formula 1 are well in excess of rallying.

[iotar__]

No one heard about surgery after Abu Dhabi and before releasing Lotus's "looking forward to USA" PR note - sudden turn of events, don't believe it - ask Lotus. Surgery was mentioned as an option after Singapore at unspecified time during winter break (AFAIR). In Abu Dhabi you heard only about threat of skipping races over payments which would not look good on many levels, mainly marketing one.

Hulkenberg is driving for a different team (not only him apparently), good enough reason itself, ha has nothing to gain and IMO he'd only change teams as his version of back surgery and with Lotus contract for 2014- . I don't see it happening.

[xpensive]

No one heard about surgery after Abu Dhabi and before releasing Lotus's "looking forward to USA" PR note - sudden turn of events, don't believe it - ask Lotus.
...

Back surgery, if it's about a pinched nerve between vertebrae, is not xactly a walk in the park either. I wonder?

[stefan_]

Spot on. I'm thinking that something like a back injury would become more serious if you do something like... rallying for example, wher you compete on rougher terrain, have a lot of jumps, big bumps, etc.

The forces involved in Formula 1 are well in excess of rallying.

Thanks for clearing that up, Sherlock. I was thinking that in rallying you are exposed to many more shocks for a longer period of time, and it's a "proper" environment for something to relapse.

[munudeges]

You're sitting in a car millimetres off the ground with virtually no suspension whatsoever with much greater forces involved. I bet Fernando Alonso is rather more sore right now than any rally driver after a twenty foot jump. The fitness levels required are far, far higher in Formula 1. How you're more likely to 'relapse' in rallying I can't fathom and it certainly didn't relapse when Raikkonen was rallying.

Anyway, it was known Raikkonen was going to have surgery during the winter weeks ago. It's just been a good excuse for Lotus and Raikkonen to part company amicably.

[Manoah2u]

When Maldonado comes the team will have a net budget increase of the PDVSA money...

Maldonado is going to Sauber because Sauber are not stupid enough to rely on one uncertain source of money as Lotus are.

PLUS the salary that they wont be paying Kimi. That's like 30 million pounds a year.

There is no way Raikkonen is getting 30 million pounds. I don't know where this comes from. That's what he was allegedly on at Ferrari and not even Alonso gets that now. No driver does. It's no more than ten and probably closer to five. It's a moot point though because it's become clear now that Lotus won't 'save' on Raikkonen's salary because it's evident they never had it in the first place. The back injury is just a convenient excuse even if he really does need the surgery.

Lotus and Raikkonen have come to some arrangement where he will be paid some figure, almost certainly not all he is owed, and he has now effectively been released from Lotus early, especially with him having gone to Ferrari for a seat fitting. It frees him up to prepare early over the winter for next season as well.

Raikkonen is doing Lotus a massive favour here because he's keeping his mouth shut so that the financial woes of the team do not become apparent publicly and handed fourth in the championship to them on a plate at a heck of a knock-down price. His salary is a heck of a lot less than the difference between fourth and fifth money-wise.

am I the only one reading the combination of not having to pay raikkonen and having a maldonado who smashes some millions to the table with pdvsa money combined equals about 30 million in money?

And raikkonen is doing lotus a massive favour here? keeping his mouth shut? actually KIMI is the one who did not keep his mouth shut, made the financiel woes of lotus apparent publicly, and admitted he's leaving for the money. exactly what favour did raikkonen do the last months, what favour did he do by threatening not to drive, what favour did he do whilst being one of the vastly experienced drivers at the grid now yet slamming into a backmarker at the first corner in AbuDhabi? The whole lotusf1team financial situation is brought to light by one man and one man alone and that is kimi raikkonen. If he kept his mouth shut about the finances of the company, nobody at this moment would believe lotus is in trouble and the team would be seen as a company the Quantum thing has huge interest in because of their 'healthy' situation. It doesn't matter if kimi actually is right to speak out or not, the truth is, HE spoke, and HE smeared the image of lotus to the ground if only by saying he has'nt been paid. Not very favourable, honestly.

[wesley123]

Spot on. I'm thinking that something like a back injury would become more serious if you do something like... rallying for example, wher you compete on rougher terrain, have a lot of jumps, big bumps, etc.

The forces involved in Formula 1 are well in excess of rallying.

Unless you crash a lot and get some nice G-forces from the impact.

[Manoah2u]

anyway, what could very well caused his back to need attention now more then before is mentioned here well i think:

http://grandprix247.com/2013/09/22/raik ... p-rumours/

Raikkonen hurt his back in an alcohol-fueled stumble on a staircase.

A Lotus team member said without elaborating: “There was an incident.”