Nov.28 (GMM) His cars were lapped twice at Interlagos on Sunday, but Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes could not hide his smile.

Despite scoring no points all season, the fact Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli finished the race ahead of their Virgin and HRT rivals yet again finally cemented the team's tenth-place finish in the 2011 constructors' championship.

It means Team Lotus, becoming Caterham for 2012, is now what is referred to as a 'Column 1' team in terms of the income distribution tables in the sport's Concorde Agreement.

Fernandes is quoted by Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper: "The monetary value is about 25 million dollars."

And Australia's Sydney Morning Herald 'Business Day' said tenth place is worth around US $28 million to Caterham.

"It's critical. We've gone from earning less than $8 million to $36 million, something in that region," Fernandes is quoted as saying.

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