Olivier Quesnel, the former Ctiroen and Peugeot rally boss, has admitted he has had contact with Lotus owner Gerard Lopez about becoming the Enstone team’s new sporting boss.<\/p>\n
The 64-year-old Frenchman told the L’Equipe sports daily that the first contact in fact dates back “four years” — long before Eric Boullier’s recent McLaren switch.<\/p>\n
“I will not pretend that I am not interested,” said Quesnel.\u00a0 “From what I understand, there is a shortlist that I appear to be on.”<\/p>\n
He told France’s RMC Sport that the current talks with Lopez are ongoing.<\/p>\n
“I know him well,” said Quesnel.\u00a0 “We talked, and we did talk about the F1 team.<\/p>\n
“Lotus is a great team.\u00a0 I am currently at (sports car team) Oak Racing so I am continuing my job as usual.<\/p>\n
“Gerard knows where I am and he will call me when he has made his decision.”<\/p>\n
RMC claims Quesnel is Lopez’s top choice, but the Luxembourger is still to convince the board.<\/p>\n
Lopez told France’s Infosport Plus that there are “three candidates” on the list.\u00a0 One of them, it is known, is ousted McLaren chief Martin Whitmarsh.<\/p>\n
“Nothing is done,” said Lopez.\u00a0 “The only thing I cannot hide is that Olivier Quesnel is on the list.<\/p>\n
“We know he has succeeded at the highest level.\u00a0 Each (of the candidates) has their strengths, but all three have few weaknesses,” he added.<\/p>\n
“We need to make a decision quickly, because we have things to prepare.\u00a0 It will be at the latest within a week, ten days.”<\/p>\n
He denied that former Mercedes boss Ross Brawn is the third candidate.<\/p>\n
“We already knew his situation,” said Lopez.\u00a0 “He is no longer interested in F1, even though it would have been interesting to have a serious discussion with Ross Brawn.”<\/p>\n
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