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Lotus CEO busted doing 102 mph uses 'Test Driver' defense

A UK police officer busted Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales doing 102 miles per hour in a Lotus on the A11 motorway near the carmaker's Hethel HQ. Doing 102 mph in a Lotus isn't a problem. Doing 102 mph in a Lotus in a 70-mph zone, however, is. The even bigger problem for Gales was that according to the sentencing guidelines, the minimum spanking for such hijinks is three points added to the driver's record and a GBP100 fine. The biggest problem for Gales was that he already had eight points on his license for previous offenses. At 12 points, a UK driver can be banned from driving for six months, and Gales did not want to be one tiny point away from that fate. Gales could have explained himself in court, but he had his solicitor, Simon Nicholls, do it for him. Nicholls prepared an arcane quodlibet that could be called the "Test Driver Defense." The premise was that as CEO of a sports car company, Gales felt compelled to test drive his company's newest products, and that Gales' hands-on, wide-open-throttle approach to his job is partly "responsible for the remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of the company." As such, it would be "vital" for Gales to continue doing his work, beneficial to the country as it were. The cheekiest bit came when Nicholls said, "Of course [Gales] was driving very carefully but was not driving in accordance with the speed limit," and that sentencing guidelines are "handrails not handcuffs." The solicitor furthermore suggested that instead of assessing points, the court should issue a 30-day driving ban and a fine. And the court agreed. On top of ordering Gales into the shotgun seat, the magistrate instructed Gales to pay GBP666, plus GBP100 for court costs, and GBP66 for a victim surcharge. That's about $1,400 in US funds, but no points. Then the magistrate said Gales - who wasn't present - should stick to test tracks instead of public roads for his triple-digit duties. The episode proves that Lotus not only knows how to add lightness to cars, it knows how to do the same for justice. Related Video:

Lotus signs Pastor Maldonado to replace Raikkonen

The team currently known as Lotus has had a long string of accomplished drivers behind the wheel, including world champions like Nelson Piquet, Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. But Kimi is returning to Ferrari next season, leaving a big question mark over who would fill his seat. And now we have our answer.
Lotus has just announced that it has signed Pastor Maldonado to partner with Romain Grosjean for next season. The surprise winner of the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix has been driving for Williams for the past three seasons, signed after he won the GP2 title in 2010. Though lauded as an emerging talent, Maldonado is clearly not the accomplished champion Raikkonen is, however Lotus apparently needs the money which Maldonado brings with him in the form of sponsorship from the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
Meanwhile, Romain Grosjean, also a former GP2 champion, has been with the team for some time now, starting as its test driver in 2008, promoted for one season to the race seat in 2009, and returning again in 2012. He's been the second driver at Lotus ever since, achieving career-best second-place finishes at the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix and 2013 United States Grand Prix. Whether it will be Grosjean (who gets the higher number) or Maldonado that emerges as the dominant force at Lotus remains to be seen. Scroll down for the complete press release.

2015 Belgian Grand Prix is a return to scheduled programming

With summer intermission over, the second half of the Formula One season commenced in the Belgian countryside at Spa-Francorchamps. After qualifying, it looked a lot like the first half of the season with just a few minor changes. Lewis Hamilton was even more dominant in his Mercedes-AMG Petronas than usual, regularly taking half a second out of his teammate in just the middle sector of the circuit. Teammate Nico Rosberg tightened it up a tad for his final hot lap, but Hamilton still took pole by 0.45 seconds ahead of Rosberg in second. With his Williams back at a power track, Valtteri Bottas got himself up to third, although more than a second behind Hamilton. Romain Grosjean in the Lotus in fourth had his best qualifying performance since his fourth-place grid spot at the 2013 US Grand Prix. This was a huge boon for Lotus, the team facing another financial issue off track that threatened to have its cars impounded as soon as they left the circuit. Grosjean had to have his gearbox changed before the conclusion of six races, however, so the five-spot penalty meant he'd actually line up ninth for the race. Sergio Perez put the Sahara Force India in fifth, where we're more used to seeing his teammate Nico Hulkenberg, just ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in the Infiniti Red Bull Racing in sixth. Felipe Massa got the second Williams in seventh, in front of the second Lotus of Pastor Maldonado in eighth. Then came the first and only Ferrari in the top ten, Sebastian Vettel qualifying ninth after a disappointing Saturday for the scuderia; teammate Kimi Raikkonen suffered gearbox issues and qualified way down in 16th. Carlos Sainz took tenth in the Toro Rosso. A new start procedure in Belgium meant drivers had to handle clutches on their own, without the engineers finely tuning bite points between the garage and the start line. That was in conjunction with another rule limiting the kinds of radio messages possible between engineers and drivers, aiming to put more of the car in the drivers' hands. After an aborted start when Hulkenberg's car quit while sitting on the grid, Hamilton made the most of the new procedure. His start wasn't amazing but he beat everyone else off the line, while those behind were alternately getting bogged down or leaping ahead. Midway through the first lap the top ten was Hamilton, Perez, Ricciardo, Bottas, Rosberg, Vettel, Maldonado, Grosjean, Massa, Marcus Ericsson. At the end of 43 laps, Hamilton would still be in the lead.