Mark Smith Appointed New Technical Director of Lotus F1 Team

Lotus Racing has just announced it has completed the management scheme for the Formula One organization with the appointment of former Force India employee Mark Smith as new technical director of the Norfolk based team.

The transfer from Force India to Lotus Racing did not stop here, as Lewis Butler has been appointed new chief of design for the Malaysian backed team, while Marianne Hinson will be new head of aerodynamics for the outfit. All three ex-Force India members have worked with Lotus' Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne in the past.

“I’m exceptionally pleased to welcome Marianne and Lewis to Lotus Racing, and I’m very excited to once again be teaming up with Mark Smith who I have previously worked with at Jordan, Renault and Force India,” said Gascoyne.

“Lewis and I were together at Force India, and Lewis also worked with Mark Smith at Red Bull, and Marianne and I have known each other since 1999 when I gave her her first job in F1 at Jordan, so we all know each other very well.”

“For me, it’s not just about the proven technical ability of the team we now have in place, it’s also the fact we’ve all worked together before, know how to achieve the goals we’ve set out, and know how to have fun together. We all work together extremely well, and that gives us the perfect base from which to build for long-term success.”

Alongside these new changes, the recent appointments of Keith Saunt (Chief Operating Officer), Dieter Gass (Deputy Technical Director), Elliot Dason-Barber (Head of Vehicle Dynamics), Frank Ramowsky (Head of R&D), Rob Reeve (Head of Electronics) and Jody Egginton (Chief Engineer) “complete the technical senior management structure” of Lotus Racing.