Lotus extends Gascoyne deal until 2015

Gascoyne, who has led the team in its debut season in Formula 1 in 2010, will stay with Lotus at least until 2015.

The team is currently in 10th position in the championship, having been regularly the best of the new squads joining Formula 1 this year.

"Mike's five-year deal is a major announcement for the whole Lotus Racing team," said team boss Tony Fernandes.

"It shows just how serious we are, not only about how far ahead we are setting our aspirations, but also as a reward to Mike for the incredibly hard work he and the team have already put in to get us from literally four people back in September '09 to our current position as a serious F1 player with a very bright future ahead of us.

"On a personal level, I've really enjoyed the last year that we've been working together, and I'm very excited about working with Mike for many years to come."

Gascoyne added: "Having started the team from scratch with Tony it was always my intention to finish my career here, so it's great to have formally agreed a five year deal. I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to Tony, Din, Nasa, Riad and the whole team, and I'm extremely grateful to everyone involved in Lotus Racing for having the confidence to take this into a long-term contract.

"We've had a great start to our partnership together, and I'm looking forward to continuing that for the next five years, and even beyond that."