Lotus "thrilled" with 10th place in the WCC!

Hey,

I know many here don't give a damn about the newbies - Some even suggesting they shouldn't be allowed on the grid...... However, I've always enjoyed watching the underdogs almost as much as the pointy end and despite not getting a point they did come out in 10th - But it was closer than I thought. Hear the elation from Fernandes;

Cheers,
Ian

 

Good for them. I hope they'll be more competitive next season

 

Well, it means they get $35million instead of the $10million they would have received had they not finished in 10th. I was thrilled for them, too.

 

Not arguing, but do you have a source for those #'s? I believe the division of the pie remains a pretty well guarded 'secret'..... Would love to know though.

Cheers,
Ian

 

I believe during the Brazil GP Martin Brundle mentioned 10th was worth 30 million dollars.

Hi Ian, checked the email (thanks!) and I'm still deciding....

 

Sorry; I would normally quote a source, but I saw the figures published in a number of articles, so didn't bother in this instance. Here are a few:

http://www.thef1times.com/news/display/05101

http://totalf1.com/details/view/401290/Fernandes_overjoyed_as_Lotus_secure_10th/

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/27112011/66/lotus-10th-spot-worth-25million.html

I have never seen numbers posted for this before either, but had read before about a steep increase in money awarded at a certain undefined (to me) plateau. From all the reports, and TF's reaction, it appears Team Lotus achieved it. It is of course possible that these numbers published are off, but it seems clear that the team reached the plateau.

O/T - Hey, Campbell! I go there frequently.

 

Yeah, so "thrilled" that there has been talk of Gascoyne being axed. TF wants a move up the grid next season or heads are gonna roll...

 

That's not really fair to him if true.

Getting an F1 team up and running from a cold, dead start is a big ask to begin with. It's no exadgeration when they say that just showing up on the grid is an achievement.

They've acted like a big team, and they've clearly been more successful than the rest of the newbies. Now they need to focus that. I see this as their first "real" F1 season, they're up to speed and running at the back of the "real" teams. Now they need to keep making the good decisions they have been and reap the rewards...

 

No problem! Seems those articles were pretty much the same as the OP, just with some #'s plugged in.....

+1 on all points

Your last link is, I think, probably closest to the truth; In summary - The Concorde doesn't pay prize money beyond 10th place (there were only 10 teams when it came about of course) - Bernie's largesse (!) is responsible for the last two getting $10MM each.

Lotus (Caterham ) OTOH has now finished in the top 10 for "two of the past three seasons" which means they get real money (Either $25 or $35MM it seems).

Having said all that, IIRC they don't actually see this years Bernie $ until a year later - Dunno why I think that, but I got it somewhere - I guess it's a pretty bankable LOC but is meant to discourage "flash in the pan" teams - Hence also the "2 of 3" requirement. (?)

Sonoma Chicken? The Irish Pub? Cardiff Lounge? Downtown is turning into quite the "party central" it seems.

Maybe hook up for a beer sometime?

Cheers,
Ian

 

Source please? My reading of the various articles suggests they left Brazil with "heads held high" and were (justifiably) proud of their accomplishments etc etc - A Happy team!

+1

Furthermore, from Wikipedia;

A huge "+1"....Exhibit one; USF1

+1 Certainly the best of the noob's - Although, as noted above, not by as far as "we" probably imagined. Certainly Tony wants progress next year - 8th or 9th would be great for them and further enhance their share of Bernie's pot.

Go Caterham!

Cheers,
Ian

 

Hey,

This sort of turned into the "how much $ do they get" thread..... Given that, I'm a little surprised nobody has commented on some comments made in the last "F1 Debrief" of the season here on SpeedTV. I just got around to watching it (not bad at all IMO) and according to Matchett the pot was $658MM in 2010. No #'s yet for 2011 but that's such a specific # he must have got it from somewhere (?) He also said Virgin & HRT didn't get a dime - At least last year.

I'm going to stick with my guess that the $10MM each received this year to the last two guys is outside of this pot - Bernie being a nice guy!....

Then, to make the math a little easier, lets say the pot was $700MM this season - Bernie tries to increase revenue by ~10% so we're close.

"We" reckon RBR got ~$100MM. Ferrari get some bonus $. We "know" Lotus got ~$40MM [per Matchett again].

Extrapolating between these gives us something close to [All #'s in $MM]

1 RBR - 100
2 Mclaren - 90
3 Ferrari - 90
4 Merc - 80
5 Renault - 70
6. Force India - 65
7 Sauber - 60
8 STR - 55
9 Williams - 50
10 Lotus - 40

Which, somewhat conveniently, comes out at $700MM total. These will be skewed some based upon finishing positions for the past three years, but I'd bet (a bottle of Pinot ) that's pretty close.

Not bad money if you can get into the top 10.......

As always, my 02c,
Cheers,
Ian

 

So, they're getting Redbull gearboxes and KERS system next season. Sounds good. I hope they'll resolve their DRS wing issues as well. Go Tony!