As the Lotus dispute rages on, Tony Fernandes has hit back at Dany Bahar’s claim that the parties did not unite in F1 due to his “ridiculous and absurd” demands.<\/p>\n
Bahar, Group Lotus’ CEO, had responded to journalists’ claim this week that the logical solution was a deal with Fernandes rather than the confusing prospect of two warring teams both called Lotus in 2011.<\/p>\n
The Swiss had gone so far as to reveal that Fernandes demanded “three times” the money that has ultimately been invested in the Renault deal.<\/p>\n
“Interesting to read Dany Behar’s comments about wanting to work with us, don’t think anyone here noticed that!” said Team Lotus technical boss Mike Gascoyne on Twitter.<\/p>\n
The Briton’s boss also slammed Bahar’s claims.<\/p>\n
“The thing that has annoyed me most is Dany Bahar implying we wanted too much money and that Renault was a third of the cost of what it would have been to do a deal with Lotus Racing,” Fernandes told the BBC.<\/p>\n
“They have been quoted saying they are spending in the region of 15-20m (pounds) a year on Renault, which implies we asked for 45-60 million.\u00a0 That’s more than our entire budget,” said the Malaysian.<\/p>\n
“We were never close to an offer and it’s completely untrue to say we requested three times what they’re paying Renault.”<\/p>\n
The worsening war-of-words between the two Lotuses has highlighted the need for a resolution, and Bahar said this week he is confident the two Malaysian sides – Group Lotus owner Proton and Fernandes – want to avoid a deeper battle.<\/p>\n
“We are pragmatic,” said Fernandes.\u00a0 “There should be a solution, but we should also do what is right for the brand.<\/p>\n
“Our licensing agreement was unceremoniously terminated unlawfully and at any stage we would welcome a way to sort this out.\u00a0 But it’s got to be equitable and respect what we have done,” he insisted.<\/p>\n
“If they (Group Lotus\/Proton) come off their high horses, who knows?<\/p>\n
“I’d say it’s highly unlikely but three months ago if you’d said Group Lotus would be sponsoring Renault, I’d have laughed at you.\u00a0 It’s a branding disaster,” added Fernandes.<\/p>\n
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