Will Lotus F1 go belly-up?

There has been a lot of talk lately of the financial situation in which Lotus allegedly finds itself. F1Plus bumped into Ben Cowely of team Lotus yesterday and had a little chat about this and other things.

We asked Cowely if Kimi's success was bittersweet. If the team is truly in money troubles and the Finn is paid per championship point, is Kimi's points streak slowly bleeding the team dry? Ben indicated that as usual, things get misrepresented and that the team has no concerns at all about finances.

Lotus has every intention of keeping Raikkonen for next season, despite the rumors of Kimi replacing Webber at Red Bull, the Enstone based team will make a serious bid to continue the success together with their number one driver.

F1 Plus also chatted with Lotus test driver and GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi last night and he told us why he believes Kimi will stay with Lotus. While Red Bull can afford to make the Finn an offer that few would dare refuse, the culture at Lotus may be enough to even the playing field.

As most every Formula One fan knows, Kimi likes to come in, hop in his race car, drive the wheels off and go home. No media or sponsor obligations, no interviews or photos, just drive. The good people at Lotus understand this, perhaps more than any other team and they understand Kimi.

They essentially allow him to do what he wants which includes very little more than his 'team driver' duties. A perfect marriage for both sides. The success the team currently enjoys is in part, because of this somewhat symbiotic relationship. F1Pluss