Boullier set for McLarenposted in F124 | 01 | 2014
ERIC BOULLIER WILL be named as the new team principal at McLaren F1 following his decision today to quit his role at Lotus. The Frenchman's decision follows Ron Dennis's review of the organisation and will signal the end of Martin Whitmarsh's tenure of the team principal role.
Boullier (pictured) announced his decision this morning, with immediate effect. The announcement also comes on the day McLaren will unveil its new 2014 race car.
Highly thought of in the F1 paddock, Boullier has delivered above expectations, despite having to battle against financial constraints.
Lotus has confirmedits co-chairman, Gérard Lopez, will now combine his position on the board with the role of team principal with immediate effect. As a result, the other chairmanship responsibilities will be shared with co-chairman Andy Ruhan.
Related: Ron Dennis back in charge at McLaren Group
Lotus has already confirmed it will miss next week's first four-day official pre-season test at Jerez, and will unveil its 2014 car at the start of the first Bahrain test in February.
"Lotus F1 Team has never stood still and we head into what promises to be an exciting 2014 season with an innovative new car, new partners and a new management structure at Enstone," Lopez said.
"Great things have been achieved over the past years and we need to continue this momentum. With this in mind, we are proud to announce that we have concluded an agreement with YotaPhone and its shareholders.
"YotaPhone shareholders will become important partners to Genii and YotaPhone a sponsor to the Lotus F1 team this year.
"We thank Eric for all his hard work over the past four years and we are confident we can continue to fight as one of the top teams in Formula 1 over the seasons ahead.”
Related: Paul di Resta set for F1 return
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Jim McGill