Lotus are known for engaging with their fans on social media, often throwing a daring tweet or Facebook post in the mix, but nothing has created such a stir as their most recent post.
The team’s social media department posted a message wishing athletes competing in the Winter Olympics good luck, accompanied by a photo of two men kissing.
The photo is a reference to Russia’s controversial laws on homosexuality [click here to see the tweet].
However the post was deleted a few hours later with an official apology coming minutes later both on Twitter and Facebook.
We would like to sincerely apologise for an unauthorized message posted on our Twitter account today & will ensure this cannot happen again.
— Lotus F1 Team (@Lotus_F1Team) February 7, 2014
Whilst Lotus said the post was unauthorised, it’s believed that the team’s management actually asked for it to be removed as it had upset their Russian partners.
A 10 per cent stake in the team was recently sold to Russia’s Yota Devices. A subsidiary of the company, YotaPhone, can be seen on the E22’s front-wing endplates.
The post caused a mixed reaction amongst Formula 1 fans. Whilst the majority applauded Lotus’s boldness, some were upset by the post.
