Its official! Lotus is back in Formula 1, with backing from Malaysia

Posted by Harvinder

September 15, 2009

Remember the Lotus F1 Team entry that tried to make it into next year’s Formula 1 gird? Well, we have news that the FIA has given the green light to the entry, since there is a vacant spot as BMW announced its departure. However, the team will carry a different name: 1Malaysia F1 Team, since the team will be backed by the Malaysian Government and a group of Malaysian investors. For the record, Lotus is owned by Malaysian auto maker, Proton. However, some reports indicate that the team will be called Lotus F1 Team.

The team will be based in Norfolk, England (located about 10 miles away Lotus’ headquarters), and will be headed by Tony Fernandes, a Malaysian businessman who is behind Air Asia and the Malaysian Tune Group. The latter will also be funding the team. Formerly with Jordan, Renault, Toyota and Force India, Mike Gascoyne will be the new team’s Technical Director. As expected, the new team, along with Manor, USGPE and Campos, will be powered by Cosworth. According to the FIA, the team’s future design, R&D, manufacturing and technical centre will be built at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit.

The team will also feature Xtrac transmissions and will have the aerodynamics developed by a company called FondTech. With all that, one wonders what actually are Lotus’ responsibilities within the new team? Lotus’ last outing in Formula 1 was back in 1994.

In another development, the FIA is currently negotiating with all the current teams is Formula 1, to allow a fourteenth team to join the line-up next year. The extra spot will be made available to the new owners of the BMW Sauber team, provided it is successfully sold in time.