Martin Whitmarsh approached by Lotus?

Are we heading towards a seat swap between Lotus and McLaren? At the end of last week, Eric Boullier left the Lotus team, where he had held the position of team director since the end of 2009. The Frenchman, upon announcing his departure, was seen as the favorite to succeed Martin Whitmarsh at McLaren. This information has not been confirmed by any party. The rumor of Eric Boullier’s presence for McLaren at Jerez was even strongly denied by a team member, questioned by our colleagues at Pitpass.

The Briton, director since 2009 as well, is said to have seen his position recently weakened by the return of Ron Dennis, the historical team principal of the Woking team, at the helm of the McLaren Group. A situation apparently confirmed internally by Mr. Whitmarsh’s absence during R. Dennis’s inauguration speech, as well as by his absence, both in images and words, during the presentation of the McLaren MP4-29, on January 24th.

At Lotus, the position of manager is currently held by Gérard Lopez, who is also the co-owner and main shareholder of the Lotus F1 Team. The announcement of his appointment, while he does not fully delegate his responsibilities as the company’s leader, may have surprised some and suggested that this concentration of power in his hands would be temporary, pending a real replacement solution. This solution might have been found: Martin Whitmarsh.

A close associate of the Lotus team reportedly revealed to the *Daily Mail*, a British newspaper, that there had been contacts with Martin, while specifying that he was not necessarily the only person they approached. However, his candidacy seems, for this source, the most credible: There may be three names, but he could be the most interesting among them, given his experience at McLaren.

An announcement regarding the management of the McLaren team is expected in February, according to *Autosport*.