Jan.2 (GMM) Lotus may be in no danger of dropping out of formula one.
On an updated official entry list for the 2015 season, the Enstone team was listed recently with a “subject to confirmation” asterisk alongside its name.
It sparked fears Lotus, whose Gerard Lopez led the angry complaints of midfield teams including Force India and Sauber late last season, could be the next to join Marussia and Caterham in serious difficulty.
But Italy’s Omnicorse reports that those fears appear misguided, as the British-based team is busily “completing the construction of the first E23 chassis for next year”.
“So what does the FIA’s asterisk refer to?” the report said. “The answer is quite simple. Lotus has made a request to be able to make a change to its name.”
Omnicorse referred to rumours that Lopez might be looking to exit F1 in the event he can recoup the investment of his company Genii Capital.
The report added: “But what is more likely is that the name change would only be the adding of a sponsor like PDVSA or Total, who are the main financiers of the two drivers Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean (respectively).”