Lotus, who have 400 staff at their factory in Oxfordshire, have been running on a shoestring budget all season with the current owners, Genii Capital, losing interest. Two weeks ago the black and gold cars were held in Spa-Francorchamps after bailiffs acting for Charles Pic, a disgruntled former reserve driver, visited their garage after the Belgian Grand Prix. They also saw their tyres held by Pirelli earlier in the season as they were late paying a £250,000 bill.