Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes has said that he was "overjoyed" to see the team secure 10th place in the constructors championship at the Braxilian Grand Prix, saying that he could now see a good future for the team as Caterham.
Lotus successfully held onto tenth place in the championship despite failing to score any points, thanks to their better finishing record compared to HRT and Virgin.The team secured three 13th place finishes throughout the season to better the records of their opponents.
And after the race, Fernandes said that it was hugely emotional to see his hard work with the new team "pay off", adding that he was now focused on the team's switch to Caterham branding in 2012.
"Almost tears for me today! I am absolutely overjoyed," he bellowed, "Two years of hard work have paid off today and it was great to see both cars home safely, helping us win tenth place.
"The icing on the cake was beating a Renault – that meant a lot to me as I have always said the good guys do win."
He added: "We have a fantastic little team here...and I know how much it means to each and every person associated with us to have finished this season where we wanted to.
"Now we look forward to our new life as Caterham F1 Team and we say goodbye to Team Lotus."
Driver Heikki Kovalainen, who came home in 16th place ahead of Bruno Senna's Lotus-branded Renault, said that he felt the result was as good as the team could have hoped for.
"Thank you to everyone for another excellent weekend for the team where I don't think we could have got anything more from the whole package," the Finn mused.
"All afternoon the car felt great and we managed to make the most of the performance we put in yesterday in qualifying."
He added: "All year we've kept on progressing and we've finished on a real high with that tenth place so we're set us up perfectly for next year where we can take another step forward in the development of this team."
His team mate Jarno Trulli went on: "I didn't have a great start but was easily ahead of the cars we needed to beat today and it was really just about getting the car home in one piece so we could seal our place in the championship.
"I want to thank the whole team for the work they've done this weekend and all year. We keep on progressing and it's great to be part of something that shows real signs of where it can go."
The result means that the team has finished tenth in the championship for the second successive year, after ending 2010 in 10th place as Lotus Racing.
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