http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80029 Even know that Lotus returns to F1 in name only, this still saddens me.
Why am I reminded of how Brabham was resurrected in the early 90s only to be backmarkers and have the glorious Brabham name dragged through the mud. I foresee the same thing happening to Lotus... If you can't do it properly, PLEASE don't do it at all. Looks like they got the Lotus name for name brand recognition. I wish they would have named the team something else (unless they bring back the awesome JPS look ). I first started watching F1 in 78 w/Mario driving the JPS Lotus. I still rate it as the best color scheme of all time next to the 91 7-up Jordan (my all-time favorite w/the Lime Green and Blue). Frank
Force India has plenty of $$$ available, but it is at the whim of Vijay Mallya. As long as he is willing to bankroll the team, they will be OK. But they are TERRIBLE about paying their bills and about honoring contracts. That comes from someone I know closely who supplies the team. They are that customer who only pays when they need something from you, and you can count on them stiffing you on the last invoice.
Speaking of that, I though there was legal trouble over the name. Did that get sorted somewhere? I notice a lot of F1 legal action tends to quietly disappear after the initial headline.
Wrong. The new Lotus F1 team is the brainchild of Mike Kimberley, who is just about the strongest person of living Lotus heritage alive. Additional info, per Anthony Kimberley, Mike's son: "The Money was raised by Proton via sponsorship from a very well known Petroleum company. Lotus' input will be in innovation, Engineering and yes, the name. "[The original] Team Lotus was never part of the Car manufacturing company . . . It was always owned by ACBC [Colin Chapman]. It just rented the name off the car company. In fact you could actually say that this is the real first time Group Lotus have gone into F1!" In other words, the company Group Lotus who produces cars and offers engineering consultancy was never connected as an entity to the old F1 team. They were separate companies. Aside from Chapman himself, there were few if any people involved with both the Lotus factory (car production) and the F1 team. In the years after Chapman's death, it was absolutely true; and today, like in the 80s and 90s, the factory has no expertise in Formula 1; that is all the F1 team. With the new F1 team, on the other hand, the actual Group Lotus is providing engineering; aside from Chapman's personal running of both organizations, this is actually the closest that the car company and team have ever been in relationship. But again, Kimberley -- who is as much a part of Lotus' heritage as Balboni is a part of Lamborghini's -- is the one who spearheaded this effort. So the team is owned by Malaysia . . . so is the car company!
The very text you've used to argue that 05011994 is wrong though seems to confirm that actually they're right, it is in name only, without the heritage.
And this time they will be more successful then when they lent the name to Paciic in 1996? Sorry none of these new teams make me feel good about losing Honda, BMW, Toyota and possibly Renault. I do miss the Lotus on 1960s throught 1987 though.
Nothing wrong with that team being called Lotus. Like the car company, its owners are from Malaysia, so the interest of the two companies cross over. Eventually the car company will benefit from the F1 team's exposure. In the best scenario, Malaysia would host the workshop for Lotus F1 and bring advanced technology to the country. Malaysia already has a very good track for the GP, so everything fits. I bet it's also more pleasant to toil fixing cars in sunny Malaysia than in foggy Norfolk!! The name LOTUS also conjures an Oriental origin: I am all for it!!
Lotus should use Toyota engines in its F1 cars like it uses in its road cars...that would keep Toyota in F1 as an engine supplier...
Latest News on Lotus Lotus still seeking finance Reuters - Fri, 13 Nov 07:36:00 2009 Lotus Formula One is still seeking sponsorship to help the new Malaysian team survive in its first season in 2010 despite a tight budget. Launched two months ago as a collaboration between the Malaysian government - which holds no equity in the team - and a trio of entrepreneurs, Lotus insisted it had the means to compete. A team director told Malaysia's Bernama news agency the company would look to attract investors from various corporate bodies, including government-linked companies. "What is wrong with asking for sponsors from GLCs like Petronas?" said Kamarudin Meranun. "If Petronas can sponsor a foreign F1 team, why should the national petroleum company not sponsor a local team?" Malaysia's state oil company was a long-time backer of the BMW-Sauber team. Lotus's start-up capital of around £28 million is a fraction of Ferrari's budget, estimated at between £200m and £250m. However, Kamarudin insisted the team had a strategy to overcome its financial restrictions despite the recent departure of Toyota and BMW, following Honda's exit last year. Team principal Tony Fernandes's ownership of Asia's largest budget airline AirAsia would help lower the cost of moving equipment and crew members, he added. Foreign-based Malaysian engineers would also reduce bills. "The (team) put up an advertisement to fill 225 posts, we received over 6,500 applications," said Kamarudin. "Most of them are from Malaysian engineering experts currently working abroad. "They are excited with the Malaysian-owned Lotus F1 Racing and are willing to work at a lower pay. This will enable us to lower the cost." Lotus are aiming for a roll out of the new car in mid-February to test it before the season opener in Bahrain in March. Reuters
While I doubt that Toyota would prefer to keep spending on an engine program, it might happen as part of a withdrawal settlement with the FIA.
IIRC, they're pulling it out everything, except their car, which they put up for sale. Lotus will be using Cosworth power next year.
