Mark Smith has finally started work as Technical Director of Team Lotus. Smith has spent the last year waiting to join the team, having been under contract to Force India. The Silverstone team decided not to release him from his contract. Smith will report to Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne and will oversee Lewis Butler (Chief Designer), Marianne Hinson (Head of Aerodynamics), Dieter Gass (Deputy Technical Director) and Elliot Dason-Barber (Head of R&D and Vehicle Dynamics) developing the T128 and working on the 2012 car.
“I was genuinely impressed at how this team reached the 2010 grid with a good functional car and a professional looking operation in such a short time,” he said. “That was a huge achievement and they have built upon that in 2011, so the foundations are there for long-term success and I am looking forward to helping the team achieve its goals for many seasons to come.”
joeblogsf1 
Joe,
Is it normal for teams to hold people to their contract as in this case, or is it just that there was some bad blood between the two teams given the Aerolab lawsuit and the high number of people leaving Force India for Lotus?
There’s no doubt in my mind that they can do a good job if they get enough money, because the people are there. Gazza is good and while he can be a bit of a bulldog, winning in F1 needs, among other things, personalities like his; the whole Toyota fiasco proved that.
Joe,
Is most of MG’s F-india tech team now reunioned at TL?
Ricky,
A number of them.
Sounds like good news to me.
TF’s done a fantastic job at putting together a team of quality people
Lotus has definitely put together a solid team. They put a period on their “return” last year with the mid-season bodywork update. Their operations haven’t looked like those of a new team or even one that’s one and a half years old. Pat Symonds is going to crack the whip at Virgin. Their staff will quickly tire of running in circles of decreasing radius. Hopefully a few Mercedes engineers will join HRT for “training” during their wind tunnel deal a la Simon Roberts’ McLaren tech deal with Force India during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.