Lotus F1: Proton to finalise Lotus branding for LiteSpeed’s F1 team next month
It was revealed that national auto maker Proton will finalise the brand licensing of Lotus for the Lotus F1 team sometime next month. The auto maker received a draft agreement from the Tune Group over the matter last Friday. Proton Holdings will now go over the agreement before finalising it next month.
Managing Director of Proton Holdings Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir told Bernama, “We are studying the draft and hope to finalise it next month.” Datuk Syed gave the statement at Proton’s Hari Raya open house event at the auto maker’s Centre of Excellence in Shah Alam yesterday. Also to be confirmed next month is the driver line-up.
October 20, 2009 @ 9:53 am
IMHO.
Better not use lotus brand but use the proton brand instead.
If they fail to perform, the lotus reputation will remain good. But if proton win, many still know behind it was Lotus. But if they fail, proton brand fail will doesn’t matter. It’s only for exposure.
Let me suggest, Lotus Evora as safety car for F1 Sepang next year?
It could be nice right?
October 20, 2009 @ 10:09 am
Notice that the iconic ‘Team Lotus’ team name which was what Colin Chapman raced in F1 and which is what F1 fans think about whenever they think of Lotus in F1, is not in the equation. Lotus Group and Proton don’t hold the rights to the legendary F1 team brand and I suspect they still have to appease David Hunt, the rights owner because some branding logo which is similar to what Lotus group uses for their roadcars also falls under Hunt’s rights when it is used in an F1 race environment. I suspect that’s why Proton hasn’t already given them the licensing rights and instead have to finalize agreements
On the Proton brand I think it will benefit the group more to just focus the Lotus branding on the car because Proton is not poised to capitalize fully from the brand exposure because their market is so limited overseas. For Lotus it’s different. They are known, are in most major markets and will certainly benefit from the F1 exposure in terms of car sales.
October 20, 2009 @ 10:11 am
better using both name la… Proton & Lotus technology…marketting strategy…
October 20, 2009 @ 10:30 am
I think probably it will be somewhat like Ferrari. A small Fiat brand appears on the car. Same thing could be done on the Lotus F1 car for the Proton brand
October 20, 2009 @ 11:54 am
Ferruccio said,
October 20, 2009 @ 10:09 am
Notice that the iconic ‘Team Lotus’ team name which was what Colin Chapman raced in F1 and which is what F1 fans think about whenever they think of Lotus in F1, is not in the equation. Lotus Group and Proton don’t hold the rights to the legendary F1 team brand and I suspect they still have to appease David Hunt, the rights owner because some branding logo which is similar to what Lotus group uses for their roadcars also falls under Hunt’s rights when it is used in an F1 race environment.
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I’m sure a settlement can be arranged. Maybe they could buy the rights from Hunt? Is David Hunt clinging on to nostalgia? I know he has a family connection with F1 since his late brother was the 1976 F1 Champion James Hunt, but why should he continue to own the brand if he doesn’t intend to use it?
October 20, 2009 @ 12:26 pm
Yes I think he would expect a settlement. It is pure business. No other significant reason why he would have held on to the rights. It’s an investment and he may have wanted to run the name in F1 too. We’re speculating of course
October 20, 2009 @ 1:26 pm
its business…but wd be interesting how much thy pay proton for the name rights
October 20, 2009 @ 2:17 pm
Which means Proton do earn some sort of income from this F1 program. Right?
October 20, 2009 @ 2:27 pm
This seems confusing..normally companies will pay to get their name and logo onto the F1 cars…but here, it seems that the F1 team will pay proton to have the Lotus logo on their car…or am i wrong??
October 20, 2009 @ 3:22 pm
If Team lotus performs, everybody happy. if Team Lotus is at the bottom of the constructors/drivers championship for the 1st year or worst year after year, it’ll bring down everybody’name. Lotus brand as sportscar, Proton as commercial car companies, AirAsia as the main sponsor etc etc, even Malaysia name also will go down as being the nation sponsor of the losers F1 team.
Anyway, I hope its not gonna happen, I’m hoping that Team Lotus would be at least at the middle of the championship table, so go Lotus go….!!!
October 20, 2009 @ 4:06 pm
Team Lotus is the name of the iconic F1 team run by Colin Chapman many decades ago with Senna driving in the 80s before he switched to McLaren.
The team for next year will be called Lotus F1. They do not have the rights to use the legendary Team Lotus name
October 20, 2009 @ 4:39 pm
Brawn quit from F1 on 2008 for create prefect car for 2009 & become 1st team be champion on 1st year debut in F1 hstory.
But 1MF1T only create their car half before season 2010 start, so how can 1MF1T challeger with other team in 2010?
October 20, 2009 @ 4:47 pm
fIat owns Ferrari, don’t see a Fiat F1 car right. I’m just not too sure about red cololur scheme. Lotus is Green, but Aisasia is red. Ferrari is red. I like green, jaguar no longer there with green.
October 20, 2009 @ 5:10 pm
Well it is reported that Tony Fernandes is involved in this project on his own capacity, not through AirAsia. The car I suspect would carry the traditional Lotus Green/Yellow racing colours as it is perceived as a Lotus F1 team regardless of what is being said about the 1MF1 campaign here in KL
October 21, 2009 @ 7:46 am
do you think what type livery colour they might be use at Lotusf1team cars.. ??hehehe.. mybe darkblack with 1malaysia logos at both sides.. can’t wait 2 see that car!!!
October 21, 2009 @ 8:20 am
Dont be stoopid la……..
- if yellow/green color – its UK racing team
-if yellow on white /black – its malaysian racing team
read la msian wooiiiii………dont be a bongers….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_auto_racing_colors
October 21, 2009 @ 9:58 am
Proton + Lotus = PROTUS
nampak cam senang.. tapi mahal kalu nak memperkenalkan branding baru.. betul tak??
October 22, 2009 @ 11:21 am
The ‘traditional’ British colour for racing is just a single colour tone, ‘British Racing Green’
The traditional racing colours for Lotus has been Green/yellow and so it is likely the LotusF1 team, will be green/yellow as it is officially entered as LotusF1 and listed as such under FIA.
All this is just tradition anyway. There is no hard and fast rule.
The sporting colour for Malaysia is yellow. There is NO traditional sporting colour for Malaysia in motorsports since we don’t have any significant tradition in racing to begin with.
The only racing outfit that has raced in the name of Malaysia is A1 Team Malaysia and it is just coincidence that it is yellow/white or yellow black and so the wiki site is just assuming this because A1TM had done this.
In reality A1TM chose the yellow base for commercial reasons. They wanted to be visible on TV, like Jordan F1 was in teh 90s and they didn’t want to adopt the white/blue/red flag livery like so many other A1GP teams. By coincidence yellow is our royal and sporting colour. There has never been a motorsport before them that raced in Malaysian sporting colours.
The ‘rainbow’ coloured 1MF1 mock up car based on our red/blue/white flag would not work commercially in F1. Just too messy. A1TM knew 5 years ago that livery would not work.
November 2, 2009 @ 12:49 am
Just put malaysian flag, national emblem and proton logo.simple.