The promise of more money motivated a swathe of key people to defect to Lotus.
That is the claim of Otmar Szafnauer, chief operating officer of the Force India team.
Shortly after Force India promoted Mark Smith to replace the Sauber-bound technical director James Key, Lotus announced that Smith will move to the new Malaysian-backed team next year.
Force India’s Lewis Butler (chief designer) and Marianne Hinson (head of aerodynamics) are also defecting to Lotus.
"Lotus has double the salary," Szafnauer is quoted by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.
"So you either have to pay more or look for an alternative."
Third in line after Key and Smith for Force India’s top technical job is reportedly Andy Green.