Lotus’s deputy technical director, Naoki Tokunaga, will leave the outfit destined for the teams engine supplier, Renault Sport to head up their 2014 engine development.
Tokunaga joined Lotus (then Renault) in 2000 as a vehicle dynamics engineer. He was then promoted to head of control systems in 2002 and then deputy technical director in 2010.
Technical director James Allison, of whom Tokunaga previously reported to, believes the move will not only benefit Lotus, but all of Renault Sport’s customers which include Red Bull, Caterham and Williams.
“While we are sad on a personal level to see Naoki leave Enstone, we believe this move will be overall positive for Renault Sport F1’s customers,” said Allison.
“We would like to thank Naoki for the tremendous contribution he has made to our team during the 12 years he has been with us and we look forward to the performance he will bring us (and all of Renault Sport F1’s client teams) in his new role.”
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