Lotus have apologised for the language used in a radio message to Kimi Raikkonen during the Indian Grand Prix in which the team wanted the Finn to move aside for team-mate Romain Grosjean.
The message between Alan Permane and Raikkonen shocked some fans as both parties used profanity to get their point across.
“Kimi, get out of the f***ing way,” Permane said, to which the Ferrari-bound Raikkonen responded: “Don’t shout at me, a**hole”.
Just moments before, Raikkonen had forced Grosjean off track as the Frenchman attempted to overtake his slower team-mate to secure a podium finish.
Team principal Eric Boullier said all three would be spoken to after the race in private, but publicly apologised for the way in which the message was delivered.
“By asking Kimi to let Romain pass, we just made the obvious choice, as Massa could have stolen our podium,” he said.
“Romain was two seconds per lap faster than Kimi at that time, so it was not even a team order.
“With hindsight, this radio message could have been sent in a less emotional way.
“There was a lot of tension, a lot of potential technical problems, and some of the words that flew around were simply not appropriate.
“I know that quite a few people were surprised and I can only apologise for that on behalf of the team. It won’t happen again.”
