Lotus back in F1 in 2010!

Anthony_Ferrari · Sep 15, 2009

Lotus returns to F1 while place reserved for BMW

15/09/2009

The FIA has announced that the Lotus F1 Team will take the thirteenth slot on the 2010 Formula One entry list, while BMW becomes 'first reserve' should there be a vacancy.

The FIA's announcement was made in the following statement:

Following an intensive selection and due diligence process, the FIA has awarded the 13th entry in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship to the Lotus F1 Team.

The FIA also received an impressive application from the BMW Sauber Team. However, given that BMW has announced it will withdraw its support in 2010, there are still uncertainties regarding the future ownership of the team.

Nevertheless, the FIA considers that BMW Sauber's application is of high quality and would constitute a competitive participant in the Championship. As such, it has awarded BMW Sauber the '14th place' in the Championship meaning that it will be entitled to fill any vacancy that arises on the 2010 grid.

In addition, the FIA believes that a good case can be made for expanding the grid to 14 teams. The FIA will be consulting urgently with the existing teams regarding the introduction of an appropriate rule change to expand the grid to 28 cars in time for the first Grand Prix in 2010.

Detailed below is information about the new team that has been confirmed to compete in the Championship from next year.

Company Name: 1Malaysia F1 Team Sdn Bhd
Team Name: Lotus F1 Team
Country: Malaysia
Team Principal: Tony Fernandes

A partnership between the Malaysian Government and a consortium of Malaysian entrepreneurs, 1Malaysia F1 Team returns the Lotus name as a constructor to Formula One for the first time since 1994. The team will initially be based at the RTN facility in Norfolk, UK, some 10 miles from the Lotus Cars factory. A 50,000 square foot fully equipped facility, RTN was built by Toyota for its initial Formula One programme and then used by Bentley for its successful Le Mans programme.

The team's future design, R&D, manufacturing and technical centre will be purpose built at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit.

Team Principal Tony Fernandes is the founder and CEO of the Malaysian-based Tune Group, owner of the Air Asia airline. The team's Technical Director Mike Gascoyne has over 20 years of experience in Formula One having previously performed the same role for the Force India, Toyota, Renault and Jordan Formula One teams.

As part of its application to compete in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, the team has agreed an engine supply deal with Cosworth and a wide variety of technical partnerships including Xtrac and FondTech.

Article from Pitpass (http://www.pitpass.com):

Published: 15/09/2009
Copyright © Pitpass 2002 - 2009. All rights reserved.
Click to expand...

Here's the provisional team list for 2010:

Provisional 2010 Entry List

15/09/2009

Entrant Constructor
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren-Mercedes
BMW Sauber F1 Team TBA-TBA
Renault F1 Team Renault
Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota
Scuderia Toro Rosso STR-TBA
Red Bull Racing RBR-TBA
AT&T Williams Williams-TBA
Force India F1 Team Force India-Mercedes
Brawn GP Formula One Team Brawn-Mercedes
Campos Grand Prix Campos-Cosworth
Manor Grand Prix Manor-Cosworth
Team US F1 Team US F1-Cosowrth
Lotus F1 Team Lotus-Cosworth

Article from Pitpass (http://www.pitpass.com):

Published: 15/09/2009
Copyright © Pitpass 2002 - 2009. All rights reserved.
Click to expand...

I bet the Lotus team merchandise will be really nice!

DGS · Sep 15, 2009

Didn't Group Lotus company already object to the use of the name?

joker57676 · Sep 15, 2009

I'm hoping for a really awesome green paint job...something significantly better than Jag was.

Mark

Conversations

Alerts

Lotus back in F1 in 2010!

Anthony_Ferrari Formula 3

DGS Seven Time F1 World Champ
Rossa Subscribed

joker57676 Two Time F1 World Champ

Share This Page

Lotus back in F1 in 2010!

Anthony_Ferrari Formula 3

DGS Seven Time F1 World Champ Rossa Subscribed

joker57676 Two Time F1 World Champ

Share This Page

DGS Seven Time F1 World Champ
Rossa Subscribed