The chassis was designed by Nick Chester, Chris Cooney, Martin Tolliday and Nicolas Hennel with Mercedes supplying the team's powertrain.

[2][3] The Lotus-Mercedes partnership was originally intended to last for six years (until 2020), but was terminated five years earlier as the team returned to Renault power unit after a single season and thus bought ill-fated Lotus stake from 2016 onwards and renamed back to Renault Sport Formula One Team.

The car was considered an improvement compared to the disastrous Lotus E22, which suffered from reliability issues and struggling for competitiveness due to the underpowered and unreliable Renault power unit and the fundamental flaws of the E22 chassis.

Lotus ended its last season with 78 points and a 6th place in the World Constructors' Championship, before its buyout from Renault Sport.

The team promoted the movie Mad Max: Fury Road at the Spanish Grand Prix.