Lotus Racing to celebrate its first anniversary
The Lotus Racing team is to celebrate its first anniversary this month as it was formed on the 12th of September 2009 after winning a long debate against FIA officials as Lotus officials convinced them that Lotus Racing would prove to be a great addition to the F1 family.
Currently, as the team passed its first year amidst a lot of hardships and uncertainties, the management finally feels content and happy after what they have gone through the entire season.
This team is part of the Malaysian governments’ plan to enhance sports in the country, representing a softer image of the country in the international community and above all, to promote the country as a great touring spot.
The team has derived its name from the formal legendry team, Team Lotus though it does not have any direct connections with the former Formula One team which did not return to the sport after 1994. Lotus Racing’s team management claims that they named it after Team Lotus as it derived inspiration and aspirations from them.
Tony Fernandes, Lotus Racing’s Team Principal was clear at the time of the launch that their first win would not be Lotus Racing's first win; rather it would add to the legacy of the old Lotus team. Consequently, Lotus Racing’s first win will mark the 80th victory for the team. However, if it does not do very well, it will be mutually exclusive and the old team would not be defamed with it.
The team was able to make their place in the Formula One squad as BMW announced its withdrawal after the 2009 season.
Currently, the team is run by 1Malaysia F1 Team which is a combined venture of the Malaysian government and several Malaysian industrialists such as Proton, the owners of Lotus Cars. The government itself does not invest directly in the team, rather it invests through Proton.
Some of the team members include team principal Tony Fernandes, who also owns Air Asia airline, Technical Director Mike Gascoyne and Kamarudin Meranun and S. M. Nasarudin who act as assistant team principals.
The team were headquartered from Racing Technology Norfolk Ltd. (RTN) in Norfolk, UK, while its factory is situated at a distance of 10 miles.
Quite recently, Fernandes while talking to the media informed, that they plan to remain in Norfolk, because, "Lotus is a British brand that will never change. It's just Malaysian finance and we think that makes sense".
Well, as the team got induced in Formula One very late, it started with the construction of its 2010 car only a while before the 2010 season was about to start. The team had its engine supplied by Cosworth, while other working was done in collaboration with Fondtech for the aerodynamics of the car, while the gearboxes were taken from Xtrac. In October 2009, the team came up with its final design as it launched its wind tunnel programme.
As the team got ready for its first Grand Prix, Gascoyne and Fernandes said in a joint interview that they were, “feeling the pressure of the famous name.”
The 2010 car is called T127, which was formerly launched on 12th February, 2010 in London.
As Lotus Racing became a part of the Formula One squad, the team proudly declared, "We've got a great heritage that we've got to live up to".
With the first season already gone, the team was not able to bag a single point.
With six races of the season yet to go, let’s see if they would be able to bring home some points or would keep striving for their survival with drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen.
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