Gascoyne not worried about long-term future at Team Lotus

Fernandes wants to see his team progress into the midfield next year after one and a half seasons where it has led the cluster of three new teams since 2010, and suggested at Monza that he is likely to make changes to the team if it fails to meet this target.

"I think Mike [Gascoyne] would be the first one to say it if he doesn't produce a car that's in the middle of the pack next year having been given all the tools," said Fernandes.

"I think he's done a fantastic job to get us to where we are, but next year is the year that everyone's head is on the block."

But Gascoyne reckons Fernandes is simply applying necessary pressure on the team to achieve targets both believe should be in range in its third year of competition.

"I think Tony is quite right to sort of not put pressure on us, but to set targets, and I think my answer is that Tony couldn't put any more pressure than we put on ourselves," Gascoyne told AUTOSPORT.

"I think that's very much the target of the whole team. Year three... we've been building the team up and I think there are reasons why we will do better than this year.

"If you look at who we are trying to race, maybe Toro Rosso and Williams. They have got the same resources. For the first time we are not putting a new engine and gearbox in the car, we have got a stable team and a much bigger design team than we had last year - obviously led by Mark [Smith], who wasn't with us last year.

"We have got the Williams wind tunnel programme so we have doubled the time in the wind tunnel than we had this time last year. So actually there are real reasons why physically we will be better."

Gascoyne added that there was an expectation within the team to move forward, after a year of continued development on its infrastructure and resource.

"We are not just saying 'Try harder guys'," he said. "We have got a lot of reasons why we are going to move forward. You don't do it all in one step but you know very clearly we want to be racing for points and racing with Williams and Toro Rosso.

"They are probably the targets at the moment. They are directly in front of us and they have to be what we are aiming for.

"All Tony really said was making the point that we all feel that pressure within the team. I think people have interpreted that people's necks are on the line but he doesn't mean it physically, he just means we are all under pressure.

"Also you will hear in the coming weeks and days even again a lot of things that are happening in the team that are very positive."