Lotus: Grosjean remains silent about salary issues and wants a united team

Kimi Räikkönen caused a stir at the end of last year by revealing that part of his salary for the season had not been paid by Lotus, the team with which he was under contract at the time. Tired of this situation, the Finn walked out after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to pursue new goals and a lucrative contract with Ferrari.

Today, Lotus’s financial problems are no longer a secret, and Romain Grosjean half-confirmed the rumors regarding his unpaid salaries that continue this year: « This is surely not the way we want things to be. I have never spoken about it in front of the media because it was my own business and it was personal matters. »

The Frenchman says nothing then, and makes it known: « Everything kind of started with Kimi in a way. It wasn’t easy for the guys, and things didn’t always go right. But on the other hand, everyone stuck together. The team spirit was always there, and even if things weren’t as good as we would have liked, the results were still there. So everyone kept their heads down and pushed hard. »

Recent restructurings within the team, notably the departure of Eric Boullier and the arrival of some financial partners, make Grosjean think that the situation is improving within the team and that the best is yet to come this year: « At least, we no longer have the problems we faced in the past, which is an advantage, especially in difficult situations. We work together as hard as possible, but of course, when you come out of two successful seasons and move into a more challenging one, it’s somewhat different. But everyone is trying as hard as possible to improve the car as well as we can and to move forward without blaming something that shouldn’t be. We move forward and continue, united, because after all, we are all in the same boat. »