Lotus late to pay for Pirelli tyres in Hungary

More supplier problems struck the Lotus team in Hungary on Friday.

Just before the first practice session, rumours began to circulate that Pirelli had not released tyres to the Enstone based team.

Lotus, linked with an imminent buyout by the French carmaker Renault, hit the headlines for similar reasons recently, when transmission specialists Xtrac lodged a winding-up order in London’s Companies Court.

Now, it emerges that within an hour of the start of the first practice session at the Hungaroring, Pirelli was also waiting to be paid by Lotus.

"Delayed start (for) Lotus as they didn’t have any tyres at the start of the session," said BBC 5 Live’s pitlane reporter Jennie Gow on Twitter during practice.

"They now have them and (they) are coming up to temp."

Reporting for Britain’s other F1 broadcaster, Sky, Gow’s pitlane counterpart Ted Kravitz said deputy team boss Federico Gastaldi had confirmed an "issue with payment" and pointed a finger at the banking system.

"The tyres have been released from Pirelli now that they have got some payment from Lotus," he added.