ZitatLotus not bitter about Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari F1 switch By Jonathan Noble Wednesday, September 11th 2013, 19:29 GMT
Lotus insists it is not bitter about Kimi Raikkonen's decision to leave for Ferrari.
Raikkonen ended months of speculation about his future when it was announced on Wednesday that he had signed a two-year deal to rejoin Ferrari.
The Finn had been ready to commit to a fresh contract at Lotus if he could get certain financial and technical guarantees - but these were not forthcoming in time.
Lotus team boss Eric Boullier admitted that he is disappointed that his star driver chose to leave, but says he cannot begrudge Raikkonen's decision.
"Not at all," he told the Lotus team's website. "Two years ago, when we decided to sign him, quite a few people thought we were crazy. And what happened in the end?
"We've been working with an amazing racer, who scored points for the team 27 times in a row, won two races, put motivation at a very high level at Enstone, and got on very well with his team-mate.
"Now, it's time to think about the future. You know, we remain a medium-sized team and there are some areas in which we're not in a position to fight against the other top teams just yet.
"We've had [Michael] Schumacher, [Fernando] Alonso, Raikkonen. New champions will join the list here soon I'm sure."
Boullier did not shy from admitting that Lotus wanted to keep Raikkonen after the success they had enjoyed together.
But he reckons that his Enstone staff should be proud of the work they have done to deliver a competitive car for the former world champion over the past two seasons.
"Of course this is a disappointment to all of us, and we're sure you will agree that Kimi has been nothing but brilliant since he joined us," he said.
"In the same breath, Enstone has once again proven its pedigree; providing him with two great cars and making his return to Formula 1 a success. It's been a win-win situation right from the beginning."
NO RUSH TO SIGN REPLACEMENT
Lotus has been most strongly linked with slotting in Nico Hulkenberg as its replacement for Raikkonen, but Boullier says there is unlikely to be a swift decision.
With most of the leading seats now settled for 2014, Lotus's position of having a competitive seat available means it has the luxury of being able to wait so it can pick the best driver.
"We are currently in discussion with a few people and will make a decision shortly," explained Boullier.
"We are in the privileged position of being the most desirable team on the grid with a seat available, so we are therefore in no rush to announce anyone without establishing what will be the best for our team and the future."
ZitatEric Boullier: “Kimi is an amazing racer, but new champions will join the list here soon I’m sure”
As weeks of speculation surrounding Kimi’s future finally came to an end this morning, Team Principal Eric Boullier reflects on the Finn’s impact at Enstone and what the future holds for the team…
Ferrari has announced this morning that Kimi will drive for them next year. What is your reaction? Of course this is a disappointment to all of us, and we’re sure you will agree that Kimi has been nothing but brilliant since he joined us. In the same breath, Enstone has once again proven its pedigree; providing him with two great cars and making his return to Formula 1 a success. It’s been a win-win situation right from the beginning. Are you bitter about Kimi’s decision? Not at all. Two years ago, when we decided to sign him, quite a few people thought we were crazy. And what happened in the end? We’ve been working with an amazing racer, who scored points for the team 27 times in a row, won two races, put motivation at a very high level at Enstone, and got on very well with his team-mate. Now, it’s time to think about the future. You know, we remain a medium-sized team and there are some areas in which we’re not in a position to fight against the other top teams just yet. We've had Schumacher, Alonso, Räikkönen. New champions will join the list here soon I'm sure. What is your best memory from the Kimi days? Hold on, Kimi has not left yet! We still have seven races together and our aim is to provide both him and Romain with the best machinery possible. There’s still a tough fight out there and we’re still pushing to improve on last season again with P3 in the Constructors’ Championship. If I had to pick one top moment, I would say that it has to be his first win with us in Abu Dhabi last year. After the long period of slowly building ourselves up and fighting at the top end of the grid, it was really a well deserved reward. To see Kimi on the top step of the podium for our team will be a memory that never leaves me. When will you be in a position to announce your line-up for next year? We are currently in discussion with a few people and will make a decision shortly. We are in the privileged position of being the most desirable team on the grid with a seat available, so we are therefore in no rush to announce anyone without establishing what will be the best for our team and the future.
Zitat Lotus Formula 1 team poised to complete major investment deal By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, October 15th 2013, 13:47 GMT
Lotus boss Eric Boullier is optimistic that the team's long talked about deal with investors will be completed imminently.
The partnership, which should give the Enstone-based Formula 1 outfit long-term financial security, has been worked on for several months.
But sources suggest that the final pieces of the deal will be put in place over the next few days, with confirmation of the plans expected later this month.
One change from the original plan announced in June, however, is that the new partners have renamed their company from Infinity Racing to Quantum Motorsports.
That revision came about to avoid confusion with Red Bull's title sponsor Infiniti.
Boullier said he was awaiting updates from his board but he was optimistic that good news was imminent.
"I have to wait for the board to decide," he said. "Everything appears to edge in the right direction, but until it is all signed and confirmed we will see."
Boullier has openly said that once the team's money situation is sorted then he will be able to finalise his 2014 driver line-up and sign a team-mate for Romain Grosjean.
If the team has a secure financial base, then its preferred option is Nico Hulkenberg, but Felipe Massa, Pastor Maldonado and Kevin Magnussen have also been linked with Lotus.
"Everything should fall in place soon, so once it does we will start to tick the boxes," added Boullier.
Scientist's (artista from AS BB) view on "quantum" h" title="hih" />
ZitatSo they have gone from being called "Infinity", in other words, huge, without limits, to being called "quantum", in other words, the smallest amount of energy (or other thing) that can be transferred.
Erm, they don't seem to be very coherent with themselves, do they? " title="drunk" />:
It is interesting to note that Infinity Racing Partners Ltd, which announced in June that it was buying 35 percent of Lotus F1 Team, has changed its name to Quantum Motorsports Ltd, to avoid any complications with Infiniti Red Bull Racing. This clearly suggests that the deal is close to being completed and that it has not gone away, as some have suggested.
This is good news for Lotus, which has been waiting for the money to arrive for four months. It seems that the delays have been caused by compliance questions arising from the transfer of such large amounts of money around the world, which is not easy these days.
The word is that when the money arrives Lotus will no longer have any debts and it will also have a solid budget for a number of years ahead, thanks to money from companies linked to the buyers. This would be similar in style to the arrangement that exists with Scuderia Toro Rosso and Aabar at the moment.
The one question that remains is whether such an advantageous deal also includes the eventual handover of control to the new investors. This is believed to be the case with Scuderia Toro Rosso, as Aabar is believed to have some kind of option arrangement with its backers, and it may also be the case with Lotus, as Genii Capital has not landed much sponsorship on the last few years so there is no real reason to invest in the team on that basis. It is far more likely that now Genii understands how tough running an F1 team can be, they would use this opportunity to offload more shares and cash in on the opportunity to get out. Team owner Gerard Lopez talks about his passion for the sport, but successful investors never let passion get in the way of a good deal. Remember that Genii was in effect given the team by Renault back in 2009 when the French firm wanted to get out of F1 following the Singapore Scandal. The Genii plan has always been to make money on the investment by putting value into the business – while also using it as a B2B operation – and then selling it. This is the most likely scenario behind the current events as the team has been losing staff and suffering with suppliers because there was no more money coming in from Genii.
It would be no surprise therefore to see Genii Partners Eric Lux and Gerard Lopez disappearing from the F1 scene in the months ahead. Their gamble will probably end up working, as they will have got the debts down to zero and still have shares left to sell, so the entire process will have been a success, even if it was a bit if a rough ride for those involved on the ground.
Infinity Racing bizarrely lasted a couple of months only. Mmm
Quantum physics is a branch of science that deals with discrete, invisible and indivisible units of energy called quanta. TJ13 is hearing that as suggested here previously, Quantum Motorsports is now an indivisible unit of inertia, invisible and has slipped away quietly into the night.
So no deal for Lotus and Maldonado should he have any money will become favourite for Kimis vacant seat. Though if I were Genii, Id make sure the dollars are in the bank before announcing the Venezuelan lest they find themselves with a Razia-esque scenario.
The team is suffering too much embarrassment from a financial management front and it needs to stop.
Quote: icemaid wrote in post #566 so is the Quantum deal really off?
If its true then lucky Kimi didn't wait for its outcome.
This would be a big blow to Lotus.
Even though Maldonado has won a race, I still rate Hulk as the better pilot. He has dragged a car into positions his teammates were unable to (Brazil 2012, Korea 2013). And he seems to thrive and stay consistent despite a poor car. Maldonado has been less than impressive in the poor Williams this year, with his rookie teammate being quite close throughout. It's hard to know what this really means. But even the highly regarded F1 pundits rate Hulk quite high.
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