Group Lotus buys Renault F1 Team

[scuderiafan]

So the Lotus Racing w/ Kovalainen/Trulli are going to be Renault powered, with a black and gold livery, as well as Lotus Renault. I can see things getting tangled in the future.

[mith]

What I am interested in is where they have got that Pirellis from.

[wesley123]

What I am interested in is where they have got that Pirellis from.

From the Pirelli tire test a few eeks ago?

[donskar]

Third try to post. I may be missing omething (wouldn't be the first time), but it seems to me that Group Lotus has every right to enter F1 as a sponsor and they should be applauded for doing so.

Who has the right to the name? Certainly not Team Lotus. They have use merely because they bought it. They have, IIRC, no personnel or other link to Lotus. They can use the name because they bought it.

Group Lotus' motives are beside the point. They are a manufacturer of fine high performance cars that they have sold under the Lotus name for many years. It is as natural for them to move into motorsports under their name, to promote their brand and product, as it is for BMW, M-B or any other manufacturer. Group Lotus has a brand and a product to promote through racing. Team Lotus bought a couple of words. They have no brand, no product.

Dirty pool? Underhanded dealings? Nefarious scheming, greed, and worse? Of course. This is F1 after all.

[Pandamasque]

Murry Walker is lucky not to be commentating in 2011...

[mith]

Yeah, of course that from there. What I am surprised is that they could keep some spares.

[Intego]

Who has the right to the name? Certainly not Team Lotus. They have use merely because they bought it. They have, IIRC, no personnel or other link to Lotus. They can use the name because they bought it.

So they can use it. Fact.

Group Lotus' motives are beside the point. They are a manufacturer of fine high performance cars that they have sold under the Lotus name for many years. It is as natural for them to move into motorsports under their name, to promote their brand and product, as it is for BMW, M-B or any other manufacturer.

Not quite the same. The manufacturers you named brought in their engine and/or engineering. Lotus Group only puts in money to get out money (as legitimately everyone wants). As for that Lotus Renault and Team Lotus act the same.

But with this new constellation the former Renault F1 Team seems a bit soulless. Lotus Renault GP – what is that? The first part of the name is a sponsor, the second part is a firm who delivers the engine, and GP is what they do in the broader sense. So where's the team? A space character? Pff.

That was a nasty move to use a similar name (Team Lotus' constructor name is Lotus Renault) and a similar livery. They conjuncture that MrE has to decide, and in doubt he decides for the money. Not long ago that he stated that some of the newcomers shouldn't be in F1 (btw, what did he expect, a phoenix?). Potentially he didn't mean Lotus Racing, but if he wants to hold an old brand he'll choose Lotus Money GP.

But he has to be careful that fans will not make him look like this again.


BTW: No hater, no fanboy, just taken on that style of cretinism
BTW 2: Why is ScandAlonso not involved in Lotusgate?

[Scorpaguy]

#1 - THIS IS A MESS
#2 - Fans won't be amused
#3 - expect"new lotus" to outlast "old lotus"

[Formula None]

To be fair, there should have been a #3 team (Lotus Group Racing) and a #4 team (Lotus-Proton F1), in addition to Team Lotus and Lotus-Renault GP, just so all parties are represented.

God help us if Lotus Notes decides to sponsor a car. Team Lotus-Lotus? Loads-o-Lotus? Lotsa Lotii?

[spinmastermic]

They're tires given to the teams for promo's.

[FW17]

This could be a disaster for commentators. Heres Trulli in the Lotus renault or is it Kubica in the Team Lotus???

May not be so much of a problem. Lotus are the title sponsors, like marlboro they will rarely get mentioned

[Sawtooth-spike]

To be fair, there should have been a #3 team (Lotus Group Racing) and a #4 team (Lotus-Proton F1), in addition to Team Lotus and Lotus-Renault GP, just so all parties are represented.

God help us if Lotus Notes decides to sponsor a car. Team Lotus-Lotus? Loads-o-Lotus? Lotsa Lotii?

Would that make it lotus 1-2-3?

[CHT]

Team Lotus, a team set up by Tony (the Business man of the year) with the sponsorship money from Malaysia, just completed their first ever season in F1. So why is everyone talking like the people behind team lotus are the founding members of the original Team Lotus??

[andartop]

=D>
I think this is all good for attracting new F1 fans.

Overall, there will be 12 teams, out of which:

Two will have the same name in different languages (Red Bull/Torro Rosso), but are not the same team, even though they once were pretty much the same team, and have cars that look practically the same but have different engines.

Two will also have pretty much the same name (Lotus Renault) in the same language and same engine, but are not the same team, have different cars and similar liveries.

Another one branding the name of a major manufacturer and engine supplier (BMW Sauber), who's got nothing to do with that defunct manufacturer and uses a different engine (Ferrari).

Two silver coloured Mercedes backed teams, the unofficial one of which outperforms the official one.

Another team (Force India) named after a country (and Star Wars?), despite the fact F1 is not a sport where nations compete as teams.



We Europeans often laugh at Americans with their oval racing and everything, but I can't possibly imagine anything sillier than the current F1 teams naming situation. Maybe it's a secret game F1 Team bosses play, whoever comes up with the silliest idea wins.

[RAF]

The article on the main site says "the manufacturers complete return to Formula 1"

I'm sorry, I thought the Lotus manufacturer was never in Formula 1 in the first place.