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Lotus F1 team principal Eric Boullier has made his report of his team's first half of the season and sees no reason to believe that the strong form cannot continue into the second half of the season.
Team boss Eric Boullier on Thursday played down Lotus' decision to sit out the opening test of the 2014 pre-season.
The Enstone based team finished last season a competitive fourth, but also grappling publicly with financial matters.
So the admission this week that Lotus will not be at Jerez, where most other teams will run their all-new V6-powered 2014 cars for the first time, raised renewed alarm bells about Lotus' financial health and competitiveness going forwards.
But Frenchman Boullier said other teams will also be joining Lotus on the sidelines.
"You will see, we will not be the only team not being in Jerez," he told the BBC. "I know this for a fact already."
In the team announcement earlier this week, technical boss Nick Chester said Lotus' decision was because Jerez in late January "isn't ideal for our build and development programme".
But Boullier admitted the E22 will simply "not be ready on time".
"We will be ready shortly after that," he insisted, "and in some ways, it is not bad because we will have time to watch what the others are doing and nobody will be able to watch what we are doing."
However, he also said he has "concerns" about missing the initial four-day test, which will only be followed by eight days of running in Bahrain prior to Melbourne.
"So we have to focus on doing things a little bit differently to make sure we do not lose too much," added Boullier.
The same listing also has McLaren down as "Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes", so huge pinch of salt...Holm86 wrote:According to official FIA entry list Lotus runs Renault engines. No worries there anymore.
http://www.fia.com/2014-fia-f1-world-ch ... entry-list
It's not particularly interesting but since you asked (last paragraph):zack! wrote:If there is a chnage in Enstone company holding / financial, it could explain also the Patrick Louis move ???
SourceJan.14 (GMM) As fears about Lotus' health grow, 2013 reserve driver Davide Valsecchi has revealed he has not yet been paid by the Enstone based team.
As reigning GP2 champion, 26-year-old Italian Valsecchi served last year as Lotus' reserve driver, but he admitted last week he is now likely to exit.
"After a 2013 season in which I travelled a lot but did not get on the track, I want to go back to wearing overalls and a helmet," he had said.
When Lotus overlooked him late last season as Kimi Raikkonen's replacement in favour of Heikki Kovalainen, Valsecchi admitted the decision made him "angry".
"I thought that, in their choice, my willpower would prevail over a driver like the Finn, who is at the end of his career," he told the Italian website f1passion.it this week.
Valsecchi admits he is likely to leave F1 because powerful pay-drivers "such as the Mexicans or Venezuelans" have priced drivers like him out of the market.
"I don't conceal my desire to get into Indycar," he said.
In the meantime, there are real fears among Lotus' fans about the health of the Enstone based team.
Although highly competitive, the black and gold outfit finished last season amid headlines about its elusive Quantum buy-in deal, and now Lotus has been only conditionally listed on the 2014 entry list.
The very latest news is that team CEO Patrick Louis has resigned.
It is believed Lotus, having lost Kimi Raikkonen to Ferrari because the Finn wasn't paid, is struggling to raise its more than $2 million FIA entry fee for 2014.
Now, Valsecchi has admitted the team has failed even to pay his small 2013 salary.
"According to my contract my salary was like that of a waiter," he revealed. "They haven't paid me yet.
"I'm sure that as soon as they'll be in a position to do so, they'll solve their debt."
Valsecchi said the Kovalainen affair made him angry and "bitter", but he trusts Lotus to eventually pay, revealing the team has "always behaved well towards me".
"I'm very grateful to Lotus for having chosen me as third driver, without asking anything in return. I can't complain," he said.
"Try to look for a job as third driver without paying a single euro! We're talking about a team that could sell a seat for at least two or three million euros."
SourceWilliams' news has left heads scratching, after Lotus boss Eric Boullier claimed he knew as "fact" that more than one team will be sitting out Jerez.
But numerous international reports have claimed that midfield teams including Force India, Sauber, Toro Rosso and even Caterham are all planning ahead for the first of just three winter tests.
So far, Marussia is the only team that has sent out signals that it is not fully committed for Jerez, and like Lotus it has only a conditional place on the 2014 entry list.
But team president Graeme Lowdon told Reuters there is no cause for concern.
"We're just finalising administrative details with the FIA and we have absolutely no concerns at all that the entry won't be confirmed," the Marussia chief said.
It is believed both Lotus and Marussia have missed the initial deadline for paying the 2014 entry fee to the governing FIA.
For 2014, the fee is $508,000, plus - controversially - $5080 per point scored in 2013.
A list published by Brazil's Totalrace shows that financially-struggling Lotus' fee amounts to a whopping $2.1 million, almost double that of grandee McLaren's $1.1m.
Marussia, however, only has to pay the basic fee, having not scored a point in 2013.
Lowdon sounded hopeful the 2014 car will be ready for Jerez.
"Testing time in Formula One is incredibly limited," he told Britain's Sky, "so if it (the new car) is there and you can use it, you want to use it."
