We already have an F1 team in the grid with Lotus in its name but here’s something new, apparently the REAL Lotus Cars is also making an entry into F1 via a tie-up with the current Renault team, as the French manufacturer continues its plans to scale down its involvement in the sport to perhaps being just an engine supplier.
Renault team boss Eric Boullier has confirmed ongoing talks with Lotus Cars, but he said that the team is also in talks with other potential sponsors. Most people are saying that Lotus Cars will likely become the title sponsor of the Renault team first, with a buy-over perhaps in the cards in the future.
The Renault team could just end up being called Lotus-Renault from next year onwards, which would pretty much be Dany Bahar’s dream come true, and if these plans were already on the table for quite some time now it would very much explain the problems that have come between Tony Fernandes’ Lotus Racing team and Lotus/Proton.
Renault will probably end up having its engines in both the “Lotus” teams on the grid. Interestingly, when news broke of the recent engine supply deal between Renault and Tony Fernandes’ Lotus Racing, the press releases from both companies do not mention the word Lotus at all – instead it is referred to as either 1Malaysia Racing Team (UK) Ltd or “Anglo-Malaysian team”, but perhaps this is something to do with the fact that the matter is still at court so they cannot use the name at the moment? The LR8 drink logo on the side of the Lotus Racing F1 car was also replaced by a question mark as seen in last weekend’s race.
Another interesting fact is that while all of this is happening at the exciting race track, in the real world where companies build 4-cylinder A to B vehicles for commute and not for racing, Lotus Cars’ owner Proton also seems to be cosying up with the Renault-Nissan Alliance.
Proton already uses a Renault 1.2 litre engine in the Proton Savvy, an enlarged Renault engine is also used in the Proton Satria Neo S2000 rally car, and most recently there have been rumors for the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s compact car platform and engine to be used to underpin an upcoming production car based on the Proton EMAS Concept.
tony tembam should just change the team to air asia racing just like virgin…and let the real lotus have it’s name.
the team lotus company currently owned by tune group are the real Legendary Lotus…Lotus cars should never step into F1…Lotus cars should go race in GT or other series…NOT single seater racing program…focus sell your toyota powered road cars…
u are the one who shouldn’t comment just for the sake of commenting. without knowledge, u just talk rubish. please go back and learn history of Lotus involvement in F1.
Ferrari won their first F1 race in 1951, seven years before the first ever Lotus F1 car. but Team Lotus was first to achieve 50 Grand Prix victories. In total they won 79 races, and won 7 time Constructors’ Championships between 1963-1978. so, who said they don’t have what it take to be in single seater racing program?
Got to add this… an example of the real malaysian culture of perasaan hasad dengki. Again by David Hunt..
“Indeed, it’s interesting to note that, having never dared challenge us over ownership in 13 years, three days after control was seen to have passed to other Malaysian hands, they came out with that extraordinary press statement. Interesting timing!”
at the beginning, the team is knowned as 1Malaysia f1 (1MF1) team kan..?so why they changed to Lotus Racing… off course la Proton would be angry bout that….don’t use Lotus Racing la senang cerita…kata nak supporting gagasan 1 Malaysia…
not commercial using 1MF1… BETTER lotus racing…. la macha..
What is REAL Lotus?
What is M’sian Lotus?
Real Lotus = M’sian owned Lotus = Owned via Proton Holdings
Lotus Racing = Tony Fernandez playing Tony Stark…but purely on reaping profit….
What M’sian Lotus? The REAL Lotus is the car manufacturing and engineering outfit based in Norfolk England of which Proton has majority shares of. Even TF’s ‘Lotus Racing’ is registered in the UK. No such thing as a M’sian Lotus.
Real Lotus is Lotus Cars, under Proton Group,
M’sian Lotus is Nasi Kandar Restaurant.
Meaning Proton vs AirAsia?
Are we M’sian enough?
now that is what i called a real TEAM LOTUS…way to go…
but just hypothetical question …Can FIA allow both Team Lotus Racing & Lotus Renault F1 Racing both be on track sharing the lotus name ????
Of course, remember Ferrari team and HTR-Ferrari?
What is going on with these people? For the sack of country, collaborate damn it.
Genii capital is doing well in their Renault…plz don’t disturb them spread speculation of Lotus cars to be minority shareholder in Renault and create F1 havoc …..Team Lotus hv the right to use lotus name in F1….Tony fernandes & his group should stand firmly get the right to use Lotus name in F1 since Team Lotus company is belong to AirAsia now….every1 knows this is the political moves by group lotus….can u say genii capital company no money to run renault F1??? then group lotus owned by Proton hv that gold mountain to burn for F1??? is that mean Proton is richer than genii capital??? OMG!!
Nissan and Proton tie-up. Proton GT-R after this like the Inspira?
Just drop the Lotus name la.. Kesian to see the legend is at last two places
agreed.. da la guna statistic F1 team Lotus yg lama/asal.. -_-
Check out tony fernandes’s twitter page and it’s recent post as below
“Much said about our name. To many people reading to much into it. We are lotus racing this season. Next season we are still lotus.
Makes sense for racing team and group to be reunited. How and weather it will and in what form will form discussions over next few months.”
This might hint if all goes well, we will have another Lotus team A and team B, just like how Red Bull is today with RBR and Torro Rosso. Lotus of Dany Bahar and Proton to taker over Renault F1 with Kubica while Tony & Gascoyne to manage the other Lotus team, possibly named as Junior Lotus team?
Both are using Renault engines and funded by Malaysians and seeing that, why not let this happen? Both team should work together rather than having the entire fiasco to taint Malaysia.
Also, on the other front, will this hint Proton to join the Renault/Nissan alliance? I would love so touch of Carlos Ghosn to revive Proton in international markets!
Ops typo, correction on last paragraph:
Also, on the other front, will this hint Proton to join the Renault/Nissan alliance? I would love to have some touch of Carlos Ghosn’s magic to revive Proton internationally!
I’m quite optimistic that Lotus Cars, will definitely prevail in this episode. And Lotus Cars intention to enter F1 by acquiring (or maybe partly acquire) the current Renault F1 team, is a smart move, as it is one of the few teams capable of challenging for podium finishes let alone point scoring positions.
Tony….why dont you revive brand like Brabham…or Tyrell ???
enought with the chaotic situation lor…
or use your own brand if you like it….LOTUS simply not yours…
or call it TONY F1 Racing….sure the biscuit Tiger and Tony mascot want to sponsor u….hehehe
fuhh TONY F1 RACING?? nice name worr
if change to TONY F1, even Tony Roma’s also will sponsor..
yea yea
let’s PROTON burn their money and burn “wang rakyat rakyat” for the sake of dany bahar F1 ambition
go check Dany Bahar profile first..& check RedBull F1 revenue..
if you’re true F1 follower, you should have known by now dany bahar once try so desperately to bodek Dietrich Mateschitz few years back for red bull team principal position
if dany bahar is that damn good by just looking at his profile, why Dietrich Mateschitz didn’t pick him for red bull team principal position at first place..?
I just hope proton didn’t make stupid mistake by kowtow to dany bahar and his F1 ambition.
gentle reminder to proton, you have not come out with a proven 4 star rating vehicle yet, no matter how you try to improve your brand name, if the product behind it is c***p, it still won’t sell, outside of malaysia.
it’s Lotus, not Proton for the F1.
can Tony Fernandez speak in malay,never heard before……are him malaysian?
What is the relevance of him being able to speak Malay? Yes he can speak malay. Never watch local news when he gives press conferences which is quite frequent? And your question should be “Is he a Malaysian?’
you should watch him back in the 90’s when he’s handle several malay singers, including that dang dut chick amelina… lol
he can speak malay la dude!
‘Real’ Lotus?
What does ‘real’ mean?
The REAL Lotus in F1 was ‘Team Lotus’ , now rightfully owned by Tony after purchase from David Hunt.
The REAL Lotus in automotive industry is Group Lotus.
The two have historically operated as separate entities thought Chapman owned both for a time.
The ‘?’ sign on the side of the car in place of ‘LR8’ has been there since the SIngapore GP
Correction… The “real’ Lotus in F1 and its legends + success DOES NOT belongs to Tony Fernandes and it never will be… acquire the name does not not give give to the right to brag about its past successes. You can have the name.. Take it to the toilet or to the grave if you want to… but you will never inherited or own their legend. The ‘Team Lotus’ name bought by TF from Hunt can be considered as nothing since it have been irrelevance in F1 for a long long long time… go play with the name… but don’t u ever relate your crappy team to the Lotus F1 legends… you’ll just tainted their good names…
Why is it that since Proton took control of Group Lotus 1996 there has not been any interest in returning Lotus to F1.
Now we see Tony Fernandes actually doing it and suddenly Group Lotus and Proton are tripping to get in. Why is that? Why suddenly it’s a priority??
Would Group Lotus still be interested in F1 if Tony did not get there first??
it is DANY BAHAR ambition to be in F1
that dany bahar have try to bodek Dietrich Mateschitz for red bull team principal position but failed when red bull choose christian horner instead
so PROTON must be wise not to bow to DANY BAHAR F1 ambition
if proton wants to have some sort alliance with renault, just stick to renault production car not with RENAULTF1.
if DANY BAHAR so desperate wants to be in F1 let him use his own money instead not using behind GROUP LOTUS plc or PROTON budget
Tony Fernandes or Dany Bahar. I wonder which of the two paultan readers would prefer. Both are not saints but I’d go with Tony. He has proven himself to be worthy of carrying the Lotus name in F1. All the european fans who have been protective of the Team Lotus legacy are now supportive of him and prefer that he be the one behind it. That has to mean something.
News already surfaced in some websites indicating that Lotus Racing will change its name to 1Malaysia (Racing?) instead for next year. This is due to Group Lotus exercising its branding rights when entering F1 next year.
Msian Teratai or Msian Terbantai …amacam?
lol
TONY F1 RACING sound more nice
This is almost like Red Bull. They also have two teams in F1 (Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso).
Well, as long as they stop fighting like kids openly, I’m ok with it I guess.
Carlos Ghosn RENAULT and NISSAN CEO said there will be change to RENAULT involvement RENAULT F1 soon
“Beyond this, there may be financial agreements, marketing agreements, to suit our interests” – Carlos Ghosn
“Name changes are everywhere” – Carlos Ghosn, so next year going to be LOTUS RENAULT F1 Team?
“What is important is the expansion of our role as an engine and technology supplier.” – Carlos Ghosn.. RENAULT will still be engine supplier next season
A report in the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper estimated Group Lotus’ likely naming sponsorship of the Renault F1 team at EUR $60 million over three years.
source : http://www.racinginfocus.com/formula-1/ceo-ghosn-admits-changes-in-renault-f1-involvement/
renault lotus team vs lotus racing?? which one is the true lotus chapman???
whichever that could win better than another.. haha :D
It’s a shame that there will potentially be 3 teams harnessing money from Malaysia trying to prove something about nothing. What is Lotuscars or Proton trying to prove by going into F1? Lots of fundamentals about cars still to be learned by Proton and money should better be well spent in those fundamental areas rather than marketing via F1 (e.g. quality, customer service, customer satisfaction, reliability, practicality, meeting market demands, etc). What are they trying to market anyway through F1?
Lotuscars have not been making any profit for many years, are they going to syphoon more money from Proton to satisfy one man’s ego? Bear in mind, F1 is mostly about entertaining the elite or small group of people whereas automotive industry is about bringing benefits to a larger group of people, poor, rich young old all alike. Just because it has 4 wheels, doesn’t mean it’s the same. If all 3 teams, Petronas, LR, GL could collaborate instead of compete or bicker about one another, think how much money they can pool together and truly develop a really good F1 car. When is the mastermind of 1Malaysia going to speak up anyway? Hello??! This row is embarassing the country.
when tony enter F1 with lotus name and proton..
people says it wasting wang rakyat
and now when proton seems want to enter F1 thru group lotus plc and seems to kowtow to one man (dany bahar) everlasting ambition to enter F1.. no one seems to care about wang rakyat…
let this orang putih use proton money for the sake of that orang putih F1 dream…
how much proton have spend on tony’s team at the begining of the year? and how much more will proton spend for this orang putih(dany bahar) cita-cita mau join F1 become true
Tony’s team is self funded. Private money from the 3 shareholders. No wang rakyat consumed. On that basis, as far as I’m concerned they can burn their money however they want.
for lotus rasing, first of all PM’s was announce that malaysia want to be one of F! team on this year… that used bajet from government. when using bajet from government, that mean is will used duit rakyat. that money cam be used for other think that better than create new team on F1.
in case for LOTUS/Proton want to join F1, they money not yet government/rakyat money. that money still under proton’s/lotus’ money. same as petronas giving sponsorship to Mercedes F1 team.
You should really get up to speed with the current facts. Facts:
1. Tony Fernandes, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin poured in their own money to run the team. Between them it is reported that they put in £50m already.
2. PM was only there to show support and endorse the team in hopes they’d get support from local companies. The govt did not invest and is not a shareholder of the team. This was reported.
3. Understand the difference between sponsoring a team and owning a team. Petronas sponsors Merc GP. Tony, Kamarudin, Nasa owns a team. How would Group Lotus/Proton involve in this Renault team? Sponsor or ownership? No budget from govt or taxpayer involved in Tony’s team. Your analogy of petronas/mercgp and proton-lotus is not correct.
Furthermore, read this:
Gascoyne questions Group Lotus’ F1 strategy
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=393861&FS=F1
Gascoyne quoted:
And Gascoyne is now confused about the reports linking Group Lotus with a three-year EUR 60 million title sponsorship of Renault F1.
“If they want to advertise their road cars, why spend so much money on it?” the Briton is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.
“With us, they could do it free of charge.”
They could do it for free, problem is they don’t want to advertise by becoming backmarkers, which is what the current Lotus F1 racing team is. Okay, patience counts, but it seems like Group Lotus & Co could not buy time as they want to have their own F1 campaign goes well and hand in hand with the launching of Lotus latest supercars..
And there in lies the the problem with Dany Bahar’s brilliant plan. He is trying to turn Lotus into a Ferrari which it is not, and rushing to do it for some personal reason.
Lotus is not Ferrari and exists in its own corner in the market place. Though very niche, it doesn’t quite have any real competition.
Rather than strengthening its brand values it seems almost like he wants to ignore it and go head to head with the big boys which is suicidal. Already the current Lotus car fans and owners feel alienated.
I’m sure if he gets it wrong, Lotus will be the last car company he works with. Hopefully his little experiment is not at great expense to Malaysian taxpayers.
from France..
Genii Capital just sold their shares in Renault F1 to PROTON!
Dany Bahar just done it! next year it will be call LOTUS RENAULT and using black and gold colour like Malaysia football team jersey! official colours.
source from France : http://blog.autoplus.fr/moncet/2010/11/06/quelle-idee-sensationnelle/
Naah…that black & gold colour would be a tribute to the golden era of Lotus F1 racing involvement in the late 1970s and early 1980s, John Player Special liveried Lotus.
Hmm.. Why would they want to give subtle brand mileage to the old tobacco company.
That livery was because of John Player Special sponsorship. There was also the orange Camel Lotus car, the red, white and gold ‘Gold Leaf Lotus’ of the 70s. All due to sponsorship.
British racing green is still the intrinsic Team Lotus colours
Alamak, bawang kuning and bawang hijau saga again, this is endless.
MAS vs AirAsia = Who’s earning money?
REAL Lotus vs Tony’s Lotus = Who’s gonna burn more rakyat money? Who’s smarter?
Found this interesting exclusive David Hunt interview:
“Indeed, it’s interesting to note that, having never dared challenge us over ownership in 13 years, three days after control was seen to have passed to other Malaysian hands, they came out with that extraordinary press statement. Interesting timing!”
The whole article is very revealing and interesting – http://www.theracedriver.com/2010/11/david-hunt-exclusive-on-team-lotus/
ooo… its like owning the Liverpool club, just to earn profit out of its name, but dont want to c the team go forward..