Caterham (formerly Lotus)

Team Lotus

FIA Entry: Team Lotus
Car 20: Heikki Kovaleinen
Car 21: Jarno Trulli
Engine: Renault V8
Team Principal: Tony Fernandes
Technical Director: Mike Gascoyne
Race Engineer Car 20: Juan Pablo Ramirez
Race Engineer Car 21: Gianluca Pisanello

Stats as of end 2010

First Entered 2010
Races Entered 20
Race Wins 0
Pole Positions 0
Fastest Laps 0
Driver World Championships 0
Constructor World Championships 0

Team Lotus

Tony Fernandes' 1Malaysia F1 team lay claim to one of the most iconic names in F1, Team Lotus. Team Lotus, under the guidance of one of the greatest innovators in F1 Colin Chapman, was in F1 from 1958 to 1994. They took part in 491 Grands Prix, winning 73 races, 7 Constructors Titles, 6 Drivers Championships, 102 poles and 65 fastest laps. During this time some of the greatest F1 drivers drove for Team Lotus including Jim Clark, Stirling Moss, Ayrton Senna, Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jochen Rindt and Nigel Mansell.

2010 Team Lotus

With the support of the Malaysian government via Proton cars and two Malaysian Companies, Tune and Naza Groups, Tony Fernandes entered F1 under the Team Lotus name. Using Cosworth engines and Xtrac gearboxes Lotus signed up experienced drivers for their first season in F1 with Heikki Kovaleinen and Jarno Trulli.

The cars proved reasonably reliable although not quick enough to threaten the mid-field teams. Kovaleinen managed Lotus’ best finish with a 12th place in Japan and the team, based on count back of non-points scoring finishes, were placed 10th in the Constructors Championship – the best of the new teams for 2010.

2011

Lotus announced during 2010 that they would switch to Renault engines for 2011 along with Red Bull gearbox and hydraulic technology. The same driver line up is retained and they will use the T128 chassis.

Whether the team continue to use the Lotus name will be decided in the British High Court. Proton, owners of the Group Lotus name, have moved their allegiance to the former Renault team although ownership of the Team Lotus name is in dispute as this was owned by David Hunt, brother of 1976 World Champion James and sold to Fernandes.

 

[cider_and_toast]

I wonder if he feels he owes Fernandes one for taking Queens Park Rangers football team off his hands.

One good turn and all of that.

 

[siffert_fan]

One thing that annoys me in situations like this with Bernie talking out of both sides of his face is that the press never have the guts to call him on it. And, to be honest, it seems that the press in general have a lot less intestinal fortitude than they used to have and are now nothing more than mere spectators of events thruout the world. In sports it seems that a large percentage of "reporters": have become pure fanboys rather than seekers of the truth.

 

[cider_and_toast]

With regards to F1 that I would guess, is because the access to the teams and the inner circle is so tightly controlled by FOM that those who displease could simply find themselves banished from the pit lane.

 

[teabagyokel]

cider_and_toast - He owes him more than one for buying that financial black hole, but I doubt Ecclestone thinks in that way.

 

[siffert_fan]

I wonder if Gene Haas is having second thoughts on joining Bernie's dog and pony show now?

 

[FB]

Bernie may make all sorts of pronouncements about his prefernec for this that and the other but there are a number of teams, Williams and McLaren included, which wouldn't still be on the grid if it weren't for the help he has given them over the years. Just because the management team at Caterham couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery I think it's a little unfair to blame Bernie for their problems.

 

[Road of Bones]

Indeed - I expect he feels that an awful lot of Caterham's troubles are purely of their own maiking though. If you wish to swim with piranhas, it's probably a good idea to make sure your wetsuit is made of stern stuff...

 

[Road of Bones]

Sniff does it again:

http://sniffpetrol.com/2014/10/24/caterham-dispute-escalates/

 

[Titch]

Nothing anyone does or says will stop people from pointing out that the cost of running a team in F1 is to much and will eventually ruin the sport.

 

[RasputinLives]

What do you mean eventually?

 

[teabagyokel]

They've been given permission to miss the next two races, to find a buyer. Often a final nail, that one.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I know this like that game you see on the telly isn't it, you are given a word and you remove a letter from it to make another word and so.

Caterham, formerly Lotus now Lost....

 

[cider_and_toast]

It's hard to believe that in 2011, the final year they used the Lotus name, they had two race winning drivers, a reasonable ammount of backing, the same power train as the current world champions and a developing design team. How they managed to screw the whole lot up takes some understanding.

 

[Il_leone]

Caterham's troubles when Fernandes decided to jump ship to greater opportunities of the premier league and had his fingers burnt by agents and money grabbing footballers at QPR and signed 29 players in one summer and he is still feeling the effects of it

 

[LifeW12]

and then there were 10

 

[Mephistopheles]

And now we are heading for three car teams which puts a whole new perspective on the silly season drivers market...

 

[siffert_fan]

Motorsport.com reporting that Marussia may miss the US GP too!

 

[siffert_fan]

They've been given permission to miss the next two races, to find a buyer. Often a final nail, that one.

They received that permission from Bernie! It appears that two things are undeniable in this:
1. The television rights holder is the absolute power in the sport since it was HE that granted the permission, not the FIA!

2. It was obvious they weren't going to be at the races anyway, since the cars are locked up and the team members are forbidden access, so Bernie made this "magnanimous" gesture to save face. What a surprise!

 

[Titch]

I don't see that it will be financially viable for some teams to run three cars, transport three cars, pay three drivers ..... most are struggling with two.

 

[cider_and_toast]

The FIA sanction FOM to run the series to the FIA's regulations so the contracts the teams race under as part of the Concorde Agreement are with Bernie. His game, his rules. (As far as the money anyway)