Tony Fernandes is set to stay on as Lotus F1 Racing team principal on a long-term basis despite suggesting earlier in the year that he would step down shortly after the start of the 2010 season, AUTOSPORT can reveal.
Fernandes, who co-owns the team, is confident that in recent months he has shown that his role as team principal has not affected his performance as Air Asia chief executive officer, and is happy to stay on.
"The reality is that I will be real team principal," Fernandes told AUTOSPORT. "If you own an airline and say you are going to be an F1 team principal, then the shareholders are concerned.
"But now they are beginning to see that it is OK. It's not such a difficult job once you have put a good management team in place, but you've got to be the glue that sticks the team together."
Fernandes is keen to stay in charge in the longer term in order to help Lotus re-establish itself as a leading F1 team.
"It's important that I remain as team principal to make sure that we deliver what we are going to deliver," he said.
"As the founder, I think it would be wrong if I left at such a critical juncture."
Fernandes will give the keynote address on the opening day of the Motor Sport Business Forum in Monaco tomorrow.
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