30 years ago, Team Lotus went bankrupt

Seven years without a victory since the exploits of Ayrton Senna and serious financial difficulties. It was in this perilous context that David Hunt bought Team Lotus before the last two Grands Prix of the 1994 season, with the hope of saving the team. In vain.

As early as September, the team had collaborated with the judicial administration to try to emerge from the crisis. The directors had declared their optimism about the course of events at the time of the takeover by Hunt, but the search for sponsors remained necessary, so much so that a voluntary departure plan was put in place at the beginning of January. The deadline to find the required financial support was January 16; the dreaded announcement was therefore made the next day.

David Hunt, who then declared his intention to help employees find work, added: “Our goal remains to lead Team Lotus onto the grid in good conditions. More than one team has approached us about leading a joint effort that would allow Team Lotus to be represented on the grid in 1995, and these options are in progress. to be seriously evaluated.”

“What I want to avoid is that the team finds itself in a situation where it will struggle at the back of the grid and where its name will be dragged further through the mud. The other possibility is to take the necessary measures to refinance itself, reorganize and rebuild in 1995 in order to return to the grid in good conditions in 1996. We are open to all possibilities that can realistically bring Team Lotus back to where it belongs.”

Projects with no future

Having not scored a single point in 1994 despite five top 8 finishes in the first seven Grands Prix, the legendary British team was in fact represented by another team, Pacific Team Lotus, in 1995 – a team that Hunt predicted a great future when the deal was made official. However, the structure went out of business at the end of that year, with results worse than those of Lotus the previous year.

David Hunt then announced on July 10, 1997 that Team Lotus would return to Formula 1 for the 1999 season, a plan which ultimately did not materialize.

It took until 2011 to see the brand on the grid again in the elite, when Hunt sold it to Tony Fernandes, who was in conflict with Group Lotus over the use of the name. The British manufacturer then decided to sponsor Lotus Renault GP… competing with Team Lotus, therefore.

The conflict would only be resolved in court, with justice authorizing the two entities to be called Lotus – one being the owner of Team Lotus, the other supported by Lotus Cars. Speaking of “drag the name through the mud”…

The final season of the original Team Lotus in F1

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