Team Lotus to be resurrected with Renault engine
In part of a dramatic make-over, Lotus will enter into the 2011 F1 Championship season under its old heading, “Team Lotus,” and include a brand new engine by Renault. Echoing the name which brought the team prominent success in the 1960’s and 1970’s, principal Tony Fernandes hopes that reviving a bit of tradition, as well as implementing new technology, will help to forge a promising future for the car.
Though yet to be officially confirmed, the new Renault engine will replace the current Cosworth contract. The lack of efficiency in the gear-box and transmission has led the team – which has been fairly successful but still slow this year – to turn to a different product. Fernandes remarks, “We have to do something different and it will be done soon. There's nothing wrong with the engine but we've had some issues. Lots of negotiations have gone on over the last couple of weeks and we're very happy with the outcome. We want to move up the grid and we want to be up there with the Red Bulls and Ferraris in years to come - we're not going to do that overnight but we've got to make those constant steps forwards.”
As for who takes the wheel, only Italian Jarno Trulli is confirmed as a driver for next season, with the vacant spot left open. Heikki Kovalainen is a possibility, and Fernandes expresses his eagerness to keep him. “Heikki's the kind of person we love at Lotus – tons of energy, he's always positive and hope that we have a long, long career together, and that we can deliver to him the type of package that can really get him where he should be.”
Founded by Colin Chapman in the 1950’s, Team Lotus has enjoyed a prestigious F1 career with six drivers’ titles and seven constructors championships during its golden age, and has featured the legends of Graham Hill, Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, and Mario Andretti. A historic icon to the British cultural landscape, Lotus encountered difficulties in 1994 when the team collapsed. David Hunt (brother of racing star James Hunt) purchased the name rights, later bought by Fernandes, who wishes to restore Team Lotus to more than a mere shadow of its former glory. “The whole ownership structures of Lotus are very complicated, but we've unraveled them. We want to own our own future and not license it from someone else. The future of Lotus Racing and Team Lotus is very secure and it is now in our hands.”
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