Lotus expect new car will take team back to 'pinnacle' of F1 racing

In a bid to take them back to the pinnacle of Formula One racing, Lotus have released an image of the new car that they expect would do so following a disappointing season last year.

Lotus slumped to finish eighth in 2014, after coming fourth and winning a race in each of the previous two seasons and now have revealed the Mercedes-powered E23 car, which is set to run at the first Formula One pre-season test in Jerez, Spain, from 1 to 4 February.

Lotus' chief executive officer Matthew Carter said that they are confident the new car would enable a huge leap forward. He added that they are full of optimism going into the new season, insisting that it is time to put the disappointment of last season behind them and benefit from 12 months of hard work.

Carter claimed that Lotus is ready to return to their rightful place at the pinnacle of the sport.

Lotus struggled last season as a result of under-investment in the previous year, which they ended with losses of 64 million pounds.

Financial restructuring last season reduced that figure dramatically, with the team losing only 6 million pounds in the first half of last year, and the team has worked to fill the gaps created by the departure of a number of key staff.

Switching from Renault to the dominant Mercedes power-unit is another reason for optimism at the team, who are sticking with the same driver line-up of Frenchman Romain Grosjean and Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado.

Technical director Nick Chester said that it's no secret that they struggled with last year's car so he added that they have targeted every area that caused them an issue.