Thread: Lotus Back to F1?

from LotusTalk

Lotus is returning to Formula One racing with a team run by the Malaysian government and a group of Malaysian investors.

The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile selected the Lotus F1 Team to replace the withdrawing BMW team in the 2010 season. Lotus will be the 13th team, restoring the brand as an F1 constructor for the first time since 1994. Lotus confirmed the news at its press conference at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

The team will be headed by Tony Fernandes, founder and chief executive officer of Malaysian-based Tune Group, owner of Air Asia airline. Though the ownership is based in Malaysia, the team will initially be based in Norfolk, England, just ten miles from the Lotus factory.

The BMW Sauber team was appointed the 14th team, ready to step in should another team withdraw, though the FIA says it may increase the grid to 28 cars. In a news release, the FIA said BMW Sauber had an “application of high quality” and would be competitive even without the support of the manufacturer.

More: Frankfurt 2009: Lotus returning to Formula One on AutoGuide.com

this better not be just a tease!!!

their old F1 car

What was the reason they left in the first place?

^^^

Bankruptcy!

Source: Autosport

Lotus technical director Mike Gascoyne is targeting his Formula 1 team becoming the best of the new outfits in 2010, after getting the green light for its entry on Tuesday.

The new Lotus F1 Team has beaten BMW Sauber to the 13th slot on next year's grid, and marks a historic return to the sport for the iconic name.

And although the FIA approval of Lotus's plans has come late in the year, leaving the team in a race against time to get ready for 2010, Gascoyne is sure it can still make an impact.

"It will be a big challenge to get on the grid, but certainly by mid-season I think we would clearly like to be the best of the new teams, and by the end of the year I would hope we have broken into the top ten overall," he told AUTOSPORT.

Gascoyne is overjoyed by the decision of the FIA, which comes after many weeks of efforts to secure funding from Malaysia - and get the approval for the country's road car manufacturer Proton to make a marketing push with the Lotus name.

"For me it is fantastic news," said Gascoyne. "I have had nearly a year out, which has been frustrating, but this is now a tremendous challenge. But with the team that Tony Fernandes has put together, and the backing of the Malaysian government, it has the opportunity to be something really big. We are aiming to take this team to the very top level in the long term."

Gascoyne had been part of the original Litespeed plans to get Lotus back into F1 earlier this year, but it failed to make it on the original shortlist of 13 teams that was originally picked in July.

However, despite missing out then, Gascoyne kept working on the plans – and, as AUTOSPORT revealed earlier this month, revived the Lotus plans with the support of the Malaysian government – and is now pushing flat out to get its car ready.

"Things are very tight," he said. "We are aiming at the second week of February for the roll-out, and we have got a huge amount of work considering we are starting from nothing.

"One of the good things with Tony Fernandes and the Malaysian backing is that it is a very well-funded thing. We have got a very big aero programme in place with Fondtech and Jean-Claude Migeot, and we will be expanding that. The first half of the season will be tight, but it is a great challenge."

And Gascoyne has admitted that there are special emotions both reviving the Lotus name and setting up work at a factory in his local Norfolk.

"We are based at the RTN factory and I went to school about four miles down the road," said Gascoyne. "I was born and bred in Norfolk, and there is a bit of emotion about it.

"It is the same for Malaysia, with the Proton and Lotus tie-up. It brings a famous name back into F1, and it is a good story for F1. We are not pretending to be the old Team Lotus. We are the new Lotus F1 team."

siiiiick this should be interesting. Who are their drivers?

I'm happy to hear that the Lotus name will be back in F1. The only reservation I have is Mike Gascoyne. Gascoyne is a self promoted aerodynamicist. He always billed himself as the next Adrian Newey and has since proven himself - not. Toyota only got more competative after he left, Force India only got more competative after he left. We will see. Lets hope for the best.

Originally Posted by Challenge It

I'm happy to hear that the Lotus name will be back in F1. The only reservation I have is Mike Gascoyne. Gascoyne is a self promoted aerodynamicist. He always billed himself as the next Adrian Newey and has since proven himself - not. Toyota only got more competative after he left, Force India only got more competative after he left. We will see. Lets hope for the best.

i agree^

not to mention, they are short on time and even with the backing of the malaysian govt it and lotus street car brand going up, its still quite a stretch as far as budgets are concerned

im afraid that if they are not successful within 3 seasons that they will once again disappear in F1

but i certainly do hope for the best!!!

another article from F1.com

Lotus targeting best newcomer honours in 2010

Lotus aim to be the best of the four new teams entering Formula One racing next season. That is according to technical director Mike Gascoyne, following Tuesday’s confirmation of Lotus’s entry in the 2010 championship.

The new team, which will see the Lotus name return to the grid for the first time since 1994, is a partnership between the Malaysian Government and a consortium of Malaysian entrepreneurs.

“We’re realistic that it’s a tremendous job we’ve got in front of us to be fully prepared on the grid in Melbourne, but we’ll do it,” Gascoyne told British F1 broadcasters the BBC. “With the work we’ve done we’ll target being the best of the new cars on the grid and that’s a very clear - and realistic - initial target. I’d hope that by mid season we’re challenging the bottom rung of the current teams and I think that’s achievable.”

Lotus will initially be based near the UK headquarters of Lotus Cars (owned by Malaysian auto giant Proton), before moving to a new purpose-built base at Kuala Lumpur’s Sepang International Circuit.

“We are a very substantial team,” added Gascoyne, who has over 20 years’ experience in the sport. “We’ve got our own factory, the RTN factory in Norfolk, which is fully equipped for Formula One, plus the facilities we’ll be looking at in Malaysia. We’re not just a small new team, we have the possibility to be a very substantial new team and the FIA recognise that.”

Headed by Tony Fernandes, CEO of Air Asia, Lotus already have a wind tunnel programme underway with Fondtech in Italy and will be starting wind-tunnel testing within the next few weeks.

“We’re very confident with the group, with Tony Fernandes leading the team, that we’ll be able to put in place a package that will allow us to be very competitive,” concluded Gascoyne.

i guess Lotus is getting a lot of media attention since they announced their entry to the 2010 F1 grid, heres another article from F1.com

The return of Lotus - the history of a legendary F1 name

2010 will see four new teams join the Formula One grid. Alongside Manor Grand Prix, Team US and Campos Meta, the revitalized paddock will also see one the sport’s most famous names return to the fold - Lotus, the result of a partnership between the Malaysian government and a consortium of Malaysian entrepreneurs.

For the first time in 15 years, the legendary moniker will once again grace the grid as the new team sets out to follow in the footsteps of the legendary original. With seven championships, 79 race wins and 107 pole positions, it remain one of the sport’s most successful constructors, having achieved glory with the likes of Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Ayrton Senna.

Set up almost six decades ago by Englishman Colin Chapman, with financial help from his fiancee Hazel, the Lotus Engineering Company started life in 1952 building lightweight sports cars to order. Five years later, the firm had constructed its first single-seater, the Type 12, for the Formula Two championship. After the car won the International Trophy at Silverstone, Chapman decided to take on Formula One racing.

Fitted with a more powerful 2.2-litre Coventry Climax engine, the Type 12 made its debut at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix with Graham Hill and Cliff Allison at the wheel. After finishing the season (and scoring three world championship points), Lotus launched the Type 16 for 1959. The new model was more powerful, but hopelessly fragile, and gleaned just two more points than its predecessor.

In 1960, Chapman hit back with the innovative mid-engined Lotus 18. Although Stirling Moss clinched the car’s first victory in Monaco, it was for Rob Walker’s independent team and Lotus had to wait until Innes Ireland’s success at the 1961 United States Grand Prix to truly celebrate. The floodgates had opened, but it wouldn’t be until Jim Clark climbed into the cockpit that Lotus would really make their name.

Driving the Lotus 25 in 1963, Clark won seven of the season’s ten races and with it the title. Although the Scot fought hard to defend his crown a year later, he missed out, but returned stronger in ’65, dominating again with six race wins to take the championship. He also won the Indy 500. However, caught unawares by F1 racing’s upgrade to three-litre engines in 1966, Lotus struggled.

A change to the Keith Duckworth-designed Ford Cosworth engine in ’67 paid off and Clark won four races. Everything was set for the team to return to their title-winning ways in 1968, but in April, Clark was killed during a Formula Two race in Germany. Although team mate Hill would go on to championship glory in the Lotus 49, Chapman and his team were left devastated by their loss.

Drafting in Jochen Rindt to replace the much-missed Clark in 1970, Chapman made a wise move. Widely regarded as one of the quickest drivers in Formula One racing, Rindt did Chapman proud, dominating the season in the pioneering Lotus 72. He would go on to win a third world championship for the team, but the drivers’ title was bestowed on the Austrian posthumously, after he was killed during practice at Monza. It seemed as though Lotus successes would always be accompanied by crushing blows.

Brazilian Emerson Fittpaldi was hired to take Rindt’s place and clinched the drivers’ crown two seasons later in 1972. At 25, Fittipaldi became the youngest-ever world champion. The car too had adopted a new look - with the black and gold livery, inspired by its tobacco sponsor, John Player. Although the team took the constructors’ championship in 1973, and became the first F1 team to secure 50 victories, the Lotus 72 was starting to struggle and over the next few seasons wins became a rarity.

A revival in fortunes began with the introduction of the Lotus 78 for the 1977 season. Known as the ‘wing car’, the 78 was the first F1 machine to exploit the performance-enhancing benefits of ground-effect aerodynamics. But while it was fast - it won five Grands Prix - engine reliability often let the car down.

Even so, the team knew they were on to something, and continued to refine the concept into the 79, which to this day remains one of the most pioneering F1 cars ever built. Although it was only ready in time for the sixth round of the ’78 season, its potential was immediately obvious with American driver Mario Andretti taking pole and victory in Belgium. From there, Andretti and the 79 didn’t look back, with team and driver taking both titles. It was bittersweet, however, with Andretti’s team mate Ronnie Peterson getting embroiled in a fatal start-line incident at Monza.

Of course, the following season saw a whole host of 79 lookalikes on the grid. Unfortunately, the imitators had improved on the original, and Williams stole Lotus’ crown to take their first title. Bravely pushing on with their development programme, Lotus introduced the Lotus 80 and 88. However, the 80 model proved highly undriveable, with Andretti racking up just one race finish, whilst the all carbon-fibre 88 was banned.

In 1982, Lotus’s inspirational founder, Chapman, died aged 54 after a sudden heart attack. The team was devastated and never fully recovered from the loss of their lynchpin. Taken over by former Wolf and Fittipaldi team manager Peter Warr, Lotus struggled on through the eighties, and a series of flawed designs saw the team tumble down the order. Although the Renault-powered 94T helped Elio de Angelis to finish third in the 1984 standings, he didn’t win a single race.

The car’s successor, the 97T, enjoyed some solid results, with de Angelis winning in Italy and Ayrton Senna in Portugal and Belgium, but it was nothing like the glory days. They took third in the championship in 1986 and lost their long-term sponsor John Player before settling on a new deal with rival tobacco firm Camel. In ’87 there were new engines too, provided by Honda, which powered Senna to two wins and third in the standings. A season later, he moved to McLaren.

Fellow Brazilian, and reigning world champion, Nelson Piquet, replaced Senna but the results didn’t materialise. The Lotus 100T was a relative failure and in 1989 Honda jumped ship to be replaced by Judd engines instead. Further management changes and lacklustre results saw both Piquet and team mate Satoru Nakajima leave for pastures new. The team seemed to be spiralling ever downwards.

At the end of an unsuccessful 1990, Camel withdrew their sponsorship and former Lotus employees Peter Collins and Peter Wright took control. Mika Hakkinen was selected as the star driver and over the ’91 and ’92 seasons pulled out a few strong results including two fourth places. By then, however, the team was struggling for money and the Finn departed for McLaren in 1993.

British driver Johnny Herbert took over as lead driver. Although he took three fourth-place finishes, it was only enough to secure the team sixth in the standings and by the following year the team’s debts were getting out of control. Starting the season with their old car, every race was tough.

The new Lotus 109 arrived in time for the 1994 Italian Grand Prix, and Herbert promptly took fourth on the grid, but a first-lap collision with Jordan’s Eddie Irvine ended his race. It was a swansong of sorts for the once-great team, and the next day Collins put Lotus into administration. Herbert left immediately for Ligier and the team was sold in October to David Hunt, brother of 1976 drivers’ champion James.

Within two months, work was halted and the Lotus team folded. Over 15 years later, a new chapter in the Lotus-F1 history book begins. Although we’ll have to wait and see whether Malaysian backing and the experience of technical director Mike Gascoyne will pay off, the return of one of F1 racing’s most famous names is an exciting proposition indeed.

a quick history lesson

Awesome news! most interested to see who will drive the things and how they approach the 2010 regulations.