Letters:

Buck up, Lotus!

Sir,

I would like to address this letter to Peter Warr and Team Lotus. You don’t need me to tell you that your team is in deep trouble.

I write as a fan since 1963 who has never lost faith and has known that Team Lotus would always recover from any setback or difficulty and win again. Now I am not so sure.

You don’t need to consult your record books to know that this is the worst start to a season for Team Lotus in your 25 years of Grand Prix racing. Including Brands Hatch you have started six races, but not yet finished in the top six or even looked as if you would.

I know you have lost Colin Chapman; I know you have had tyre problems; I know your computer-assisted suspension (designed for ground-effect racing) has proved a waste of effort; I know it must be difficult adapting to both turbo power and non-ground effect racing. However, unless performances improve dramatically, I fear Team Lotus will drift down the grid and fall off the back. It happened to Cooper and BRM in the past and although neither was ever as great as Team Lotus, it could happen to you. To lose Team lotus would be a tragedy for Grand Prix Motor Racing.

I’m sure you don’t really want to hear my suggested solutions. but here they are anyway.

1, Move heaven and earth to get Gerard Ducarouge into the team to redesign your car.

2. Give Nigel Mansell a Renault engined car and treat him like a No 1 driver again.

3, Kick Elio de Angelis up the backside or kick him out of the team.

As long as you struggle on I will always be a Team Lotus fan and supporter. However, time is slipping by you.

Dr. SAR Simms, Yate, Bristol

[Since we received this letter M. Ducarouge has joined Team Lotus, and Nigel Mansell was placed sixth at Detroit. We too hope this is the start of better fortune for the team. — MLC]