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Throughout 2011, Tony Fernandes and Group Lotus continued their fight over naming rights, and following a ruling in May that the Malaysian team could continue using the "Team Lotus" name and Team Lotus roundel, but could not use "Lotus" on its own. The ruling also confirmed Fernandes as the owner of the Team Lotus name, having bought the rights to the name from Hunt.
However, the court ruling stated that Group Lotus had sole right to use the name "Lotus" on its own, and could enter Formula One using "Lotus" for a team name, the black and gold livery, and the Lotus roundel.
In a further hearing in July, Justice Peter Smith expressed discontent towards Tony Fernandes and Team Lotus after they made no mention of the purchase of Caterham Cars during the initial hearings. Furthermore, Fernandes had claimed that Caterham would remain entirely separate from Team Lotus, but a promotional video for the company showed Fernandes wearing Team Lotus apparel. Justice Smith commented that had this material been submitted at the original hearing it would have had the potential to influence him enough to rule differently in May.
In the end it was all sorted out and in 2012 the Enstone team - formerly Toleman, Benetton, Renault and Lotus Renault GP - was to race as Lotus F1 Team, while Fernandes outfit would compete as Caterham F1 Team... sticking with the Lotus green and yellow livery.
In terms of drivers, Kovalainen and Trulli were both retained. While there was surprise that one of the bigger teams didn't snap up the Finn, there was an equal amount of incredulity that the Italian was being given another season.
The relationship with Renault and Red Bull continued, the world champions now supplying KERS also. This came on top of the recruitment of Renault's sporting director, Steve Nielsen, and McLaren aerodynamicist, John Iley.
Slowly but surely, Fernandes and his partners were assembling an impressive little squad in Norfolk however, it remained to be seen whether Caterham - nee Lotus Racing and Team Lotus - could take that next big step and take the fight to the likes of Williams and Toro Rosso.
On February 17, days ahead of the second pre-season test, the team announced that Vitaly Petrov had been recruited to replace Jarno Trulli and while the Anglo-Malaysian outfit thanks the Italian for his contribution to the team one couldn't help it was the Russian's contribution - in terms of sponsorship - that mattered more.
Initially slow, the Caterham CT01 gradually began to pick up pace only to ease off again. Although at times the team appeared to be closing the gap to the back of the midfield, until the closing stages of the season finale the team looked in danger of losing out in the standings to Marussia, a move that would have been financially very costly.
In Bahrain Kovalainen made it through to Q2, eliminating Michael Schumacher in the process, doing it again a few weeks later in Valencia.
While reliability was good - the team completing 93.9% of the laps that comprised the 2012 season - though this was compromised by Petrov's engine failure on the way to the grid at Silverstone, it wasn't enough to seriously allow the team to challenge for points. Indeed, had it not been for KERS the team might have struggled even more.
While Kovalainen dominated on Saturdays, out-qualifying Petrov 13-7, generally it was the Russian who performed better in the races ultimately saving the team's bacon by bringing his car home eleventh in Brazil and thereby allowing Caterham to leapfrog Marussia in the Constructors' Championship.
That said, Kovalainen's consistency was amazing, the Finn enjoying a string of 19 races in which he finished the race - albeit with no points. On the other hand, once it was clear that there was little on offer for 2013 - hard to believe when one considers that at one stage he was being touted as a replacement for Massa - his head dropped.
In late November it was announced that Charles Pic had signed a multi-year contract with the Anglo-Malaysian team however, it was not until February 1, four days ahead of the launch of its contender that Giedo Van der Garde was named as the team's second driver.
Statistics - at the end of the 2012 Season
Drivers' Titles: 0
Constructors' Titles: 0
Seasons in F1: 3
Grand Prix: 58
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest Laps: 0
Best result in 2012: 11th (Petrov - Brazil)
Best qualifying 2012: 16th (2 times)
Worst qualifying 2012: 23rd (Petrov - Japan)
2012: Kovalainen out-qualified Petrov 13 times
2012: Petrov out-qualified Kovalainen 7 times
2012: Completed: 2189 out of 2332 laps (93.9%)
2012: Finished 36 times from 39 starts (92.3%)
Management
Caterham Group Chairmen: Tony Fernandes
Caterham Group Chairmen: Kamarudin Meranun
Caterham Group CEO: Riad Asmat
Team Principal: Cyril Abiteboul
Technical Director: Mark Smith
Operations Director: Jody Egginton
Performance Director: John Iley
Head of R&D and Vehicle Dynamics: Elliot Dason-Barber
Head of Production: Graham Saunders
Chief Engineer: Gianluca Pisanello
Team Manager: Graham Watson
Race Engineer Car No 20: Juan Pablo Ramirez
Performance Engineer Car No 20: Yoshihiro Iwashita
Engine Engineer Car No 20: Cedrik Staudohar
No 1 Mechanic Car No 20: Chris Bethell
Race Engineer Car No 21: Tim Wright
Performance Engineer Car No 21: Nicola Palarchi
Engine Engineer Car No 21: Peter Meseure
No 1 Mechanic Car No 21: Charlie Haggstam
Chief Mechanic: Stuart Cramp
Director of Partner Services: Quentin Warren
Head of Communications: Tom Webb
Content Manager: Sarah Dryhurst
Digital Marketing Manager: Steven English
Brand Manager: Christian Clogger
Head of Events and Hospitality: Cyril Francis
Graphic Designer: Jason Pooley
Commercial Manager: Richard St-Clair Quentin
Technical Specifications
CT03
Chassis & Bodywork material : Carbon fibre
Front Suspension : Twin non-parallel wishbone, pushrod actuated
Rear Suspension : Twin non-parallel wishbone, pullrod actuated
Dampers : Caterham F1 Team, Penske & Multimatic
Steering : Caterham F1 Team
Gearbox : Red Bull Technology
Clutch : AP Racing
Discs : Various (Carbon-Carbon)
Calipers : AP Racing
Pads : Various (Carbon-Carbon)
Cooling system : Caterham F1 Team – Aluminium alloy fabrication
Exhaust : Caterham F1 Team – Inconel alloy fabrication
Cockpit instrumentation : Various
Car to Team radio transmission : Riedel
Telemetry : McLaren Electronics
Seat belts : Schroth
Steering wheel : Caterham F1 Team
Driver’s seat : Caterham F1 Team
Extinguisher system : Caterham F1 Team
KERS : Red Bull Technology
Rims : BBS – magnesium alloy
Fuel cell : Caterham F1 Team & ATL
Battery : Caterham F1 Team
Fuel provider : Total
Lubricants provider : Various
Dimensions
Wheel base : More than 3000mm
Overall Length : More than 5000mm
Overall Height : 950mm
Engine: Renault V8 RS27-2013
Capacity: 2400 cc
Architecture: 90° V8
Weight: 95 kg
Max rpm: 18,000 rpm
ECU: MES SECU
Fuel: TOTAL
Oil: Elf (a brand of TOTAL)
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