Team Lotus will change its name
Tony Fernandes, owner of Team Lotus, announced on the sidelines of the Italian Grand Prix that his team will change its name starting in 2012.
There will no longer be two teams bearing the name Lotus on the starting grid in 2012. Indeed, this ridiculous situation will come to an end as Team Lotus, owned by businessman Tony Fernandes, will take the name Caterham F1 starting in 2012. This decision was made by the Malaysian despite the victory proclaimed by the High Court of Justice in London regarding the legitimacy of his team’s name.
Clearly, this situation was hardly suitable for the Team Lotus boss: « I’ve always had a problem with knowing if I was really Team Lotus. You can’t have a name and not profit from it financially. I think this situation is unhealthy for anyone. I’ve always had the door open to change the name, and there could be a consensus that would satisfy everyone. »
Fernandes recently acquired the British automotive company Caterham. He could therefore give his Formula 1 team this name, as he has already done in GP2 with the Caterham Team Air Asia.
He also hinted that the team was likely to move from its Norfolk base to head toward Silverstone: « The ideal would be to start from Australia for the first race of 2012, to return to our new home in England. »
The future ex-Team Lotus already seems fully focused on the next season and a fresh start.
