In sensational F1 news Eric Boullier has resigned from the Lotus F1 Team and is expected to be named as the McLaren Team Principal, replacing Martin Whitmarsh.
It’s not been confirmed as yet, but it seems apparent Whitmarsh has been sacked by McLaren and he was not present at the team’s launch of its new MP4-29.
Team owner Gerard Lopez will step in to fulfill the Team Principal role for Lotus in the 2014 season, starting immediately. An official team statement from Lotus can be read after the break.
Lotus F1 Team statement
Friday 24th January 2014
In order to continue strengthening its management structure, to further increase Genii’s role in the team and to close the gap between its strategic, commercial and sporting activities, Lotus F1 Team is pleased to announce that its co-Chairman, Gérard Lopez, will combine his position on the board with the role of Team Principal with immediate effect. As a result, the other chairmanship responsibilities will be shared with co-Chairman Andy Ruhan.
The team will announce the arrival of new commercial partners and sponsors when it unveils its 2014 car, the E22, at the beginning of the first Bahrain pre-season test in February. The team will also confirm its organisational structure for 2014 ahead of this test. The team management, car and partner portfolio will illustrate the team’s will and desire to continue its quest to become one of the strongest teams in Formula 1 in every sense.
Gérard Lopez, co-Chairman and Team Principal:
“Lotus F1 Team has never stood still and we head into what promises to be an exciting 2014 season with an innovative new car, new partners and a new management structure at Enstone. Great things have been achieved over the past years and we need to continue this momentum. With this in mind, we are proud to announce that we have concluded an agreement with YotaPhone and its shareholders. YotaPhone shareholders will become important partners to Genii and YotaPhone a sponsor to the Lotus F1 team this year. We thank Eric for all his hard work over the past four years and we are confident we can continue to fight as one of the top teams in Formula 1 over the seasons ahead.â€
2 replies on “Eric Boullier quits Lotus F1 with immediate effect”
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