Team Lotus owner Tony Fernandes hoping to make common brand with Caterham – Formula 1 news
Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes has said that he is looking to create a very strong bond between his company and the recently acquired Caterham Cars.
Fernandes’ recently bought the road car company Caterham and is hoping that it benefits his Formula 1 team in every way. However, he added that the future bonding of these two companies would rely on the decision of the London High Court regarding the naming
dispute between Team Lotus and Group Lotus.
“My aim would be at some stage to have a common brand. I think that both have their aspirations. I think the way they come together will depend on the legal case and some of it will depend on how it looks and feels. But it's all to play for and to play with,
which was the objective,” said Tony.
On the other hand, he added that he is currently not sure about the future of both of the companies individually but is confident that the decision would prove to be beneficial for both entities.
“It's something we never thought about to be honest. We've thought about bringing them together, but we have never thought about one substituting the other,” he added.
Other than that, Tony revealed that the brand Caterham would appear on Team Lotus’ Formula 1 car in some form but he was not quite sure how at the moment.
“There will be one [car manufacturer brand on the F1 car] and that is Caterham. Team Lotus has nothing to do with Group Lotus and they've made it very clear about that,” said the team boss.
He added that the team was yet to decide how both of the companies would work or bond together in each field. He clarified that the team is going to have to wait and hope for the best regarding the High Court’s decision before making any plans.
Tony hinted that Caterham are going to come up with a new closed-roof car which is going to be a bit similar to the Lotus Elise but it is going to be an expansion in the Asian market.
Team Lotus are doing well in Formula 1 but they are not producing results they were hoping for before the beginning of the 2011 Formula 1 season. The team has been unable to challenge the mid-field teams of the sport but they are hoping to bring in some
upgrades which they claim will boost their car’s performance noticeably.
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