Romain Grosjean says Lotus uncertainty is harming development

Romain Grosjean has admitted that both himself and Lotus find themselves in a “waiting situation” while uncertainty surrounds the future ownership of the team.

With the Genii Capital-owned Enstone outfit one of several midfield teams battling against well-known financial problems, former owners and engine suppliers Renault are thought to be evaluating a move to buy back the team they sold at the end of 2009.

Having already been faced with a winding-up petition in the High Court over unpaid bills to suppliers, Lotus’s cash-flow issues were highlighted again on Friday in Hungary when Pirelli only released the team’s allocation of tyres for the weekend less than an hour before first practice began while they awaited payment.

With P1 effectively proving a write-off for the team as they completed their tyre preparation work at the start of the session, P2 then provided little encouragement on the timesheets as Grosjean and team-mate Pastor Maldonado finished outside the top 10.

After a positive start to the season with their new Mercedes engine, Lotus have slipped back down the order in recent races and Grosjean admitted the combination of their funding issues and the fact Genii are considering their options was delaying work on the E23.

“The development hasn’t been as good as we wanted. It’s not due to people or brains we have at the factory because we have a lot of ideas in the pipeline and the CFD, the wind tunnel and the design office is working very well, but it’s just at the minute we cannot bring them on track,” he told reporters in Hungary.

“On the other hand, when you are thinking about selling the team you won’t put any more money at one stage because it’s all loss. It’s just a bit of a waiting situation and hopefully soon we know more and then it can move ahead because from day one the baseline is good and from where we came last year it’s a huge step forward.

“So it shows that we know how to understand problems and to put them on the paper, but after that it’s clear that we needed to move forward and from that good baseline put some more performance on the car. And we couldn’t achieve that.”

With Force India’s strong recent form also restricting Lotus’s chances of shining in the midfield, Grosjean’s best result since May’s Spanish GP is 10th place. Although his name has more recently emerged in connection to Kimi Raikkonen's seat at Ferrari, Grosjean concedes his attempts to catch the eye of bigger teams for 2016 are currently restricted.

“That’s the point as well. But there is nothing I can do – the best I can do is to do my job the best that I can. My record against my team-mate has been pretty good so that’s the best you can do," he argued.

“Look at Fernando [Alonso]. Everyone says he’s one of the best drivers and at the minute he’s completely at the back – and he’s as good as he was before.”

Since Lotus lost a succession of big names – Raikkonen, James Allison and Eric Boullier – to rivals ahead of last season, Grosjean has emerged as a mainstay at Enstone having joined the team, initially as a test driver, in 2011.

He had previously made his F1 debut for the same outfit when they were still owned by Renault in 2009 and has a long-standing relationship with the French car giant.

And despite Renault’s current struggles as an engine supplier to Red Bull, Grosjean said of the speculation that they could buy Lotus: “It’s always nice to be part of a constructor team and I’m sure Renault is going to improve their engine. Of course, now Mercedes is the best one on the grid but next year is a long way [away] in Formula 1.”

But while they wait for news on what the future holds for the team, the 29-year-old said the lack of funds being made available for development work made it a tough time for all.

“It’s frustrating for everyone," he acknowledged. "The engineers love to create these ideas and put them on the cars. The drivers would love to perform and get a car that goes quicker and quicker. Of course, the situation is not ideal right now but it’s a bit of an in-between game and it should be better soon.”