21/11/2010
NEWS STORY
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Mat Coch writes:
They may have finished the season as 'best of the rest' in the championship however, the battle is only just beginning for Lotus Racing. Having announced in Singapore plans to rebrand the team in the image of the iconic Team Lotus it soon became clear that behind the PR smoke and mirrors all was not what it seemed.
A dispute erupted between Proton, owners of Lotus Group, and the 1Malaysia Racing organisation, who operate the Lotus Racing Formula One team. It surrounded the use of the Team Lotus name, which Tony Fernandes' company purchased from David Hunt, who had been custodian of the outfit since 1994.
Lotus, as a singular entity, was founded by Colin Chapman in the mid-1950's, though its origins can be traced back to Chapman's own club racing career in the 1940's. When Lotus began building customer racing cars the Englishman created two separate companies, Lotus Group and Team Lotus, the intention being to run each independently and mitigate the risks associated with the racing team; while Team Lotus went motor racing Lotus Group went about the business of building and selling road cars.
The arrangement worked well during Chapman's lifetime, though, following his death, and a number of different owners since, the exact role (and rights) of each company has become somewhat muddled.
David Hunt, brother of 1976 World Champion James, bought Team Lotus as the company was in the final throws of its Formula One life. This gave him the rights and goodwill of the Formula One team, though not the ability to produce road cars branded Lotus.
In 1996 Lotus Group was acquired by Proton, a car company part-owned by the Malaysian Government. Lotus Group is understood to be solely responsible for road cars, though it has been a sponsor of both Team Lotus and a number of other teams in various categories over the years.
Hunt suggests that, when the purchase was made by Proton in 1996, there was insufficient due diligence completed, so while Proton believed they were getting both the Lotus Group car company and Team Lotus racing outfit in reality they only got the former.
Soon after the Lotus Group purchase was complete Hunt and Proton spoke in relation to the possible sale of Team Lotus. The deal never took place, and Hunt remained in control of Team Lotus. During the intervening years very little changed; Lotus Group made road cars while Team Lotus continued to protect the legacy of the Formula One team, and look for a way to return it to Formula One.
Cue 1Malaysia Racing, who entered the fold in 2009 with a view to join the Formula One grid in 2010. Purchasing a license from Proton 1Malaysia Racing created the Lotus Racing outfit, with which it contested the 2010 Formula One championship. Owned by Tony Fernandes, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin the 1Malaysia Racing team was created as a holding company for the racing team.
In Singapore it was announced that the 1Malaysia Racing run Lotus Racing would be renamed for 2011 to Team Lotus. Proton and Lotus Group were not impressed, and withdrew the license they'd issued to 1Malaysia Racing over unapproved merchandising, a point Tony Fernandes has claimed the team are pursuing the validity of. By revoking the license Lotus Group have attempted to ban 1Malaysia Racing from using the term 'Lotus', in effect preventing them using the Team Lotus name for 2011.
Since that time three further announcements have been made. The first came from Lotus Racing, or 1Malaysia Racing, stating that after conversations with Lotus Group there would be no further announcements on the dispute until a resolution was reached.
Next came confirmation of a new engine deal for 2011. Lotus Racing, like all new teams for 2010, entered the sport using a Cosworth power plant. After confirming a deal with Red Bull for what are believed to be older generation gearbox and transmissions Lotus Racing then announced it had penned a deal with Renault to power the cars next season. Fascinatingly the press release from Renault specified 1Malaysia Racing as the customer, nd not Lotus Racing or Team Lotus.
The most recent announcement was that the team would be running a black and gold livery for next season. The black and gold livery is of course famous thanks to the John Player Special backed Lotus team of the 1970s and 80s. The press release droned on about the 2010 green and yellow livery capturing fans hearts while the black and gold is the next logical step, though one observer suggested it was s cynical move given the current dispute with Lotus Group/Proton.
It has since been revealed that the Renault team is to be backed by Lotus Group for 2011. Lotus Group is understood to be taking naming rights, implying Renault will be known as Lotus Renault.
This has naturally stolen the thunder from 1Malaysia Racing who had hoped to re-brand themselves Team Lotus Renault. It also explains why the Renault press release mentioned 1Malaysia Racing and not Lotus Racing or Team Lotus.
Among all this uncertainty what is certain is that Lotus Racing, in its current guise, will not exist in 2011. Without a license the team cannot continue using the Lotus Racing name, and with Lotus Group having already announced plans to link up with Renault it seems difficult to believe that we will have Lotus appearing on four cars.
Losing the Lotus license is a major blow to 1Malaysia Racing, as it will now be forced to change its entry for the 2011 championship. This isn't as trivial as changing the team name and going motor racing; the team will have to reapply for an entry. That in itself should not be a significant hurdle however, the financial impact is substantial. Speaking exclusively with Pitpass in Abu Dhabi, Bernie Ecclestone confirmed that if Lotus Racing are to change their name, which they're forced to do, the team will lose any entitlement to the prize money earned for finishing tenth in the championship. This is what happened to the former Honda team when it was renamed Brawn GP after the Japanese firm withdrew from the sport at the end of the 2008.
All this means 1Malaysia Racing is currently a team without a name, without any entitlement to prize money, set to run a cynical livery using outdated Red Bull mechanicals and a Renault engine understood to deliver less power than the Cosworth they used in 2010.
Tony Fernandes was approached to provide 1Malaysia Racing the right of reply, however he decided he wanted the night off, having rescheduled the interview twice.