Lotus - 7/10
An improvement on 2014 it may have been, but this year was still a hugely challenging season for Lotus. With the team owners looking to sell and unwilling to invest properly as a result, car development was severely limited throughout the season, meaning Lotus was always likely to slip backwards.
A strong start in terms of performance was not always matched by results, with Pastor Maldonado failing to finish five of the first six races. Despite that, both cars finished in the points in Canada to lift the team up to fifth in the constructors’ championship, but the battle was only ever going to get harder from there.
Financial issues started to become more and more apparent to such an extent that the team was left celebrating a remarkable podium for Romain Grosjean in Spa with bailiffs in the garage. Grosjean was Lotus’ brightest star but despite his loyalty to Enstone even he felt it was time to jump ship and opted to sign for Haas in September, though he played his part in ensuring the team held on to sixth place in the constructors’ championship from Toro Rosso. Hopefully better times are ahead.
