It’s been 15 years since Lotus last competed in F1, but as of 2010, they’re back. Lotus F1 will occupy the 13th spot on the grid next season, backed by a group of Malaysian entrepreneurs.
Lotus the car maker is owned by Malaysia’s national car manufacturer Proton, so the badge will return to the sport. And now that ex-Ferrari brand guru Danny Bahar is CEO at Lotus – he stuck Prancing Horses on everything you see in the shops – they should be a happy union between road and racing.
Lotus F1 also has ‘The Rottweiler’ Mike Gascoyne as technical director, who has spent time with Toyota and Force India recently, so knows a thing or too about building race cars.
The new team will be based just ten miles from the car factory, in Norfolk, with a purpose built factory being under construction at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit.
The FIA are also consulting existing teams on whether it can accommodate the current BMW Sauber team, now that a backer has been found to buy the outift following the news that BMW is pulling out at the end of the year.
Qadbak, a Swiss-based foundation representing the interests of certain European and Middle-Eastern families, will be hoping that the other teams will green light them to become the 14th squad on the grid next year – taking the car total to 28 runners. That would be a big grid!
Talking of comebacks, the Canadian GP at Montreal is set to return on next season’s calendar, provisionally over the June 6th weekend.
This year was the first time since 1987 that the race wasn’t a fixture on the F1 tour, due to some disagreement with Bernie Ecclestone. But that’s all sorted now, so it’s coming back.
Scene of some spectacular racing – and Robert Kubica’s huge crash in 2007! – I should imagine Montreal will be welcomed back with open arms by fans and teams alike.
Well the name
tus may be back, but what else?
BMW saved, fine, the more the merrier, 28 cars on the grid, very nice, but watch out for flying parts at the first corner.
Probably a wise desicion not to call it Proton!
Good luck Lotus, I hope the spirit of Colin Chapman carries you far.
Could that be a better outcome? A 14 team grid would be great, I hope the FIA don’t reintroduce pre-qualifying though – the teams should all fit.
I’m glad Lotus is back, I’ve never seen Lots race cause their last season in racing was before I was born.. This should be good!
And BMW saved.. GREAT NEWS!!
I hope Honda races again soon.
This is great! I have always been a big fan of Lotus and the genius of Colin Chapman. Not quite Lotus as we knew it but there has been many different engines in a Lotus F1 car over the years, (Honda, Lamborghini, Renault, etc), so i think this is exciting stuff…can’t wait to see the badge on the grid again…with a British driver?
yesssssssssssssssssssssss sssssssssssssssssssssssss sslouts are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YEARGHH!!! GO LOTUS!! Gotta love the Lotus Exige. =D
This has made my day!!! I just hope that everything works out and the grid next season WILL consist of 28 cars, WILL consist of 14 teams, and WILL include this legendary name of Lotus. Can they make something as fast as their old 49, though? *Chuckles to self*.
The bmw team will be known as prawn and will introduce a triple deck diffuser to win the next season.
YAAY!thank god it’s not proton who’re gonna take part..
It will only be 13 teams – BMW have been put on the waiting list for space as Lotus took their spot.
i’ve always wanted to see Lotus race in F1.
Every year I go to Shelsley Hill Climb in worcestershire and the always have a particular section of racing devoted to lotus, and if that section is anything to go by, and they don’t deviate to far from the original chapman philosopy, then lotus is hopefully going to find themselves high up on the grid, giving kimi a face there ever inches closer to resembling a squashed rasberry.
P.S makes sure the car is in british racing green
Ah Lotus is back! Finnally, the coolest car ever, that was driven by the coolest guys ever, still remember Mika there. Actually, both Mikas were there, the mean one, Salo, too…
I hope they finish every race and disintegrate, like old Colin wanted.
Lotus F1? 14 teams? Montreal GP? 2010’s gonna be awesome!
Lotus should be good wit hthose people in it, but what’s the livery going to look like? They can’t bring back JPS or Gold Leaf, because they’re tobacco sponsors. I guess it’ll have to be green with a yellow spine. Jim Clark style. And who’s engine will be in it? Their own? Mercedes (seems like a goos idea looking at the last few races)? Wait, why am I asking? No-one knows yet.
@Mikeado, they’re going to put a Cosworth engine in it, but no idea about livery. Hopefully green and gold though!
no briton on Lotus F1 car…just malaysian…
YESSSSS! Now just get Bruno Senna in the car!
Ok then, someone does know about the engine. Thanks Jamie. Great to hear Cosworth’s back too. That’s a happy reunion – the last Lotus Cosworth was in 1992, plus the Lotus 49 had a Cossie. That was a successful car.
Personally, i just think is a gross use of the Lotus F1 name.
The backers of the new team have stated that, whilst they will temporarily use the base in Norfolk, they will be “cars built by Malaysians in Malaysia”. This is just a crass attempt to raise the profile of the team by using the famous F1 name. Its akin to a Hyundai being sold with a Ferrari badge.
Shame on the previous owner of the Lotus F1 team name for selling out. Clark is probably spinning in his grave.
I want to see pictures of the car !
the car has 2 b british racing green.
any news on aston/prodrive f1?
Yeah, but its not really Lotus though is it? Are any of the guys from the Lotus cars actually involved + they’ll be playin the Malaysian national anthem… don’t know it doesn’t really feel right. maybe its just me. would rather have had Prodrive personally.
http://www.minardi.eoldal .hu/
Lotus in F1. To me, it was all about the John Player Special JPS looked like great advertisement on the car, which made it look cool. When Lotus became yellow, it was no longer as cool. Advertisement works, and on F1 cars it sometimes look pretty. If you cannot have sexy tobacco advertisement on a car, what’s the point?
I was thinking about this today, and I think Scout-V has it exactly the wrong way round… this is going to be a Lotus car, financed by the Lotus parent company, with sponsorship from AirAsia, Sepang circuit, the Malaysian tourist board, etc.
If you read the Malaysian press, they give it a heap of 1Malaysia propaganda (I saw a 660-word article where “Lotus” was mentioned just one time in passing, like it was a consultant role) – but anyone who knows Malaysia or Singapore knows that you shouldn’t believe the hype in this kind of situation.
British expertise (same guys, different owner)… Malaysian money. That’s all.
Expect to see some token Malaysian mechanics and test-drivers, though. Fauzy did quite well in the beginning of last year’s A1GP season…
28 cars
monaco
i think there maybe conatact
and ACTION!
@comment 27: My fiancee is Malaysian, so she knows what you mean. It’s quite bold of Malaysia, given the last Malay to set foot in F1 came last all the time and was branded by his own country’s press as “a national embarassment”.
I wouldn’t trust the team to do well if it’s funded with money coming from a country that buys everything at bottom buck. The wheels will be held on with gaffa tape!
Hopefully being team number 13 doesn’t hurt Lotus… it’s strange, though. There’s no car #13 but there will be team #13?
Highly likely the car will have Air Asia and Proton as the main sponsors…..
what a shame! lotus returning to f1 should have been the most exciting news in f1. The more I read about it, the more I felt its not fair for f1 fans in the uk if whats involved in lotus f1 from 2010 is simply not going to be British in reality ! all i can say is what a Shame!
fantastic to see lotus are back, as i race a lotus excel they might be able to twist my arm to drive it [ in my dreams ]
Incidentally British F1 race teams – Mclaren, Renault, Williams, Redbull, Brawn, Force India. Just worth noting if you’re assuming that the team will be Malaysian parading in Brit drag that there are a couple of teams that are brits parading in foreign drag. It makes more sense to run your f1 team from Britain that anywhere else.
A 28 car grid is basically a touring car grid. If anybody watched the second race of the WTCC in Oschersleben in Germany that’s got to be what the start will look like, everybody slowly moving in an attempt not to have finished their race before the end of the first lap. Touring cars can get away with 30 car grids because they expect to bump into each other does that happen in F1? Also just think of the traffic.
Ok now as for the drivers….
I think Kubica wouldnt be bad at lotus
As far as Montreal is concerned
2007- Kubica’s crash
2008- Kubica’s victory, heidfeld was second
2008 Hamilton’s spectacular crash when he did not stop at red light and hit Kimi in the back.
What i know so far about the Saubers. they’ll get engine and gearbox from Fezza.And their place on the Grid is not safe yet, as the teams will have to decide, if they want a 26- or 28-car grid. BMW will not race in 2010.The title is a bit misleading
Great news that Lotus is back in F1 ! but i’d like to see some more teams to the grid ( ex: Aston Martin or Lola ) . Great thing that the race is back at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve !! One of the best races of the year !!
Great to see a great name as lotus comming back where it belongs!! apart from ferrari they were the best team in F1.
This is awesome.
At first I was exited, almost wet my undies. Then I read on and found out it comes from some lost ex-colony in some strange place called Asia. What next a Nimrod/Tata? A Tyrell/SSeenngggfffuyyyy?
Of course, if they paint it black and have some JPS logos on the sides…
On the less serious side, how is Cosworth going to build engines for all these teams? Do they already have something competitive in store? How many teams are they already powering for next season? Four, five…
YES YES YESYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYYYYES IS THE Lotus
Lotus+Mclaren are the best teams ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!
Yes, but the fact that it has Malaysian backing and the fact that the company itself is referred to as 1Malaysia is a disappointment, as though the new Lotus has lost something compared to the mighty Chapman-era of Lotus
@Mikeado, I’m guessing that the livery will have something to do with Malaysia…
You damn right the livery will be malaysian. After all malaysians own the team and lotus too. We will use lotus expertise and any body else that matters to win. With Tony in charge i am sure will hear the malaysian national anthem on the circuit, by hook or crook. Lotus of the old is no more, the masters are now the servants. Get use to it.
it’s just the waiting now for Hesketh to get back on the grid and the party is complete
anyway: great new BWW saved, Lotis, Aston & that USF1 team… already looking forward
Can’t we at least have one team sporting a British Racing Green livery? Please?
WE WANT ASTON MARTIN/PRODRIVE!!
Anyway, at this rate the grid would be as packed as a FIA GT race… What next? 20 teams with 40 cars?
If Proton launches an F1 team, I’ll not call it Lotus. If Prodrive launches an F1 team, I’ll not call it Aston Martin. It’s just convenience branding, which ought to be banned. Now look closer at Ferrari.
If a carmaker wants to participate in F1, they shouldn’t go for less. Or they should stick to making and selling client engines or some such thing.
Renault are in a spot of bother. News from the formula1 site:
“The ING Renault F1 Team will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
It also wishes to state that its managing director, Flavio Briatore and its executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, have left the team.”
@ 50 (Bruce) indeed, just read it on the official F1 site.
That’s … a good thing I guess?
But jeus, so it’s not dumb to suppose it really WAS a race fix. My god how can annyone…be so dumb…?
I suppose pat symonds & Briatore stay active behind the screens?
First thoughts… is there an active program to get rid of the big hitters? Were these guys (Dennis, Flav, etc) getting too powerful?
Flav’s Gone?!?! It must be pretty serious.
heavy, i’nnit?
don’t matter that its a Malayasin Proton Lotus………Ferrari is a Fiat!! what matters is continuing the amazing engineering and roadhandling philosophy of Lotus…..Go Guys…do a Brawn and win second time out!! (or was it third?). Bring back the glamorous glorious Lotus Cosworth days!
just seen the news about Renault. Give Flav and Simmonds a brush each and an orange jacket so they can clean up the mess on the track……..
Cool Lotus is back!!!!
I hope they bring back their green and yellow paintjob!!
Second thoughts… was reading through the comments earlier thinking 2010’s gonna be a stonker, really looking forward to it. now I’m thinking, na – it’ll just be another season of the same politiking and big boy pissing contests. Boo-urns
Lotus-F1. Ok, that’s a historically important name, but c’mon guys. The team should have been name Proton. No no, don’t berate me just yet… The car could then be called the Torpedo. So yep, we’d be able to have Proto Torpedo’s on the grid.
Ok, 3.. 2.. 1.. Fire away at me.
14 teams forget that bring back the 107% quali like we used to have !!!!
Don’t get me wrong, I love Lotus, but I fear for the success of the new Lotus team. Mike Gascoine has produced some fab cars, but not for at least 10 years, his years at Toyota produced nothing and his tenure at Force India was stopped abruptly by VJ Mallya and the result? Force India start to perfor. The Cosworth engine is thirsty and heavy and Lightspeed have only a very average track record ….in F3.
My money would have been on Prodrve.
Proton own Lotus. How “Proton F1″ sounds like? I bet Jeremy will go nuts if the team will go with that name.
first Thaksin the Thai dictator bought Manchester City, now the Malaysian dictators are having an f1 team? this is terrible. People are suffering in Malaysia and these corrupted government guys go and enjoy themselves with an f1 team
Hmmmmm BMW havnt got a place on the grid for next year they have to find away to get them back in how can team lotus have a place but BMW replacement not.
I think it will be a great season for the mid field teams but none of them will be able to do what Brawn have done this year
Real Malaysians… I’m a Malaysian too. Just wondering, we are suffering from what?
Famine? War? The Stig?
Come on, give us a break from politics. We just want to enjoy F1 a little bit.
well…think about this…if the labour party wanted to create a 1Labour Party F1 Team….will you guys in the UK support it?
Well its not really Lotus is it, The Malaysian government has just borrowed some-elses name….
Its great news tradition is everything , my weekend toy is a Lotus Exige 240 blaze orange love it beats buying some boring grey supercar
In Oz most people know love Lotus just the name evokes great memories dont blame Malaysia for purchasing Lotus best thing that could ever happen at least the company survived and was one of the most profitable in the recession .
Poms should get of your backsides supporting the once great cars that England once made and still can
Rose tinted specs anyone? It’s no more ‘Lotus’ than Chelsea, or Man U, or Arsenal, or Liverpool, or indeed any major league football club has in common with it’s location. Simply taking a Proton and sticking a Lotus badge on the bonnet and sticking in a Proton/Toyota/Renualt/Mer c engine in doesn’t make it a British car!
Some tips for F1. Ditch engine restrictions, and the stupid front wing bigger than the back one thing. And no fuel pit stops next year? Worst idea I’ve heard in years, all it will is cement poll position wins.
FIRST!!!!!!!!
Lotus should be an interesting addition to the grid for 2010, although being run by a Malaysian company, it will probably be rubbish (Perodua, Proton etc etc etc). If they can bring back the old days (when Ayrton Senna, Piquet and Nakajima Seniors and many others raced for them), it could be interesting!
I am interested to see just how interesting this new season will be after all the interesting intrigue of the 2009 season.
Ari Vatanen for President (of the FIA…obviously…duh!)!
Come on Lotus!
I think that Lotus could employ Daniel Riciarrdo, the F3 Champion, like what Toro Rosso did with Jaime Alguersauri
Or, they can employ Vitaly Petrov, or Nico Hulkenberg, the 2 GP2 Championship rivals.
Or, Sabine Schmitz, the Nürbürgring specialist. That would be something, to get out-qualified by a rookie girl in a predominately male sport.
Real Malaysians, no I would not support a Labor F1 Team. It would suck.
Define_Real, it’ll have a Cosworth engine in it, thus making it at least half-British.
But remember proton owns lotus!
this could end very badly!
73# yes. I noted the Cossie engine after I posted…But it still isn’t a Lotus.:-)
I hope they stick to their Gold on Black colour scheme and dont come up with vomit and phlegm like Force India
Lotus is no longer a British owned company. It is just a brand name. The idea behind all those racing cars & teams is just commercial decision.
So, Lotus could be built anywhere by anyone , it is just a brand name.Drivers ? Can be anyone who can bring in some money…..
All about money, mates….
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YES! Lotus are back and that is great! Maybe they’ll do a road-going version (call it the Esprit F1!).
What if the esprit F1 road version was W16 quadturbo like the Bugatti Veyron (aah…) and then put a Koenigsegg edition(AAH!!!)size spoiler on it so it sets the road legal car speed record!
Then put it in le mans!
:p
The Malaysian government owns proton. The Government’s money is our Malaysian people’s money. We won’t make so much noise if the government gave every Malaysians a Lotus, but no…..instead we are rewarded with a 300% import duties for every imported cars…(for example a Mini Cooper S in Malaysia would cost 50000 quid)….and not only that, there is a quota to imported cars in Malaysia where only people with links to the government can import the cars, in one way or another creating a monopoly for the government.
I LOVE BMW F1
It’s a beautiful car, but I want to send new designs for the auto companies do not know how please help me
Here is a digital 061505240
Круто! Хотелось бы побольше точно таких же заниматльных постов