The Lotus has been **** no matter what.
Indeed, but it's been poor for two main reasons:
1. The Renault engine has been weak compared to the Mercedes, and see-sawing (depending on track) as to whether it's better or worse than the Ferrari. From a reliability perspective it's been the worst, end of story.
2. They have a fundamentally flawed chassis. If you believe the team, however, they know what the flaw is and how to fix it.
So, for next year...
1. They have the best engine package (assuming Honda don't come out of the box super strong, and assuming Renault/Ferrari aren't able to overcome the full deficit immediately).
2. They *should* be able to eliminate the chassis flaw and produce a better base car.
I'm expecting Lotus to be firmly back into the midfield. Anything less is a big, big failure.