The editor of the authoritative motor racing magazine Autosport did not publicly criticise Team Lotus on its Facebook page.
Earlier on Twitter, the team's technical boss Mike Gascoyne slammed the British magazine for its recent coverage of the Lotus saga.
The magazine had raised eyebrows with its December cover by insisting that Group Lotus linking up with Renault for 2011 means "The real Lotus is back".
"Lots of fans unhappy with the Autosport articles this week, me too," said Gascoyne.
Gascoyne posted a link to what he described as the "unprofessional" reply of Autosport editor Andrew van de Burgt to the criticism of the allegedly biased coverage.
It was reported that van de Burgt had posted the disparaging reply on Team Lotus' official Facebook page and then deleted it, but the Autosport editor clarified on Monday that the excerpt linked by Gascoyne was in fact extracted from a private letter and used without permission.
Van de Burgt said he is seeking legal advice.
