New Lotus set for Tuesday shakedown [Archive]

DazzlaF1

7th February 2010, 22:32

I disagree with that Jaguar run by a bunched of idiots who know nothing about f1, after red bull all smiles, but this not a jag thread, good luck for lotus, cosworth sound like a wolf.

The dreadful mis-management at boardroom level screwed them over completely, so i felt sorry for the likes of Niki Lauda and Bobby Rahal who were broguth in to "run the team", in reality, they and TBF the whole team did not know one iota about what was going on.

Lotus is very different in my view, Proton have allowed them to use the Lotus name (presumably in return for some advert space on the car) and thats their only involvement, so no BS boardroom bureaucracy. Just Tony Fernendes and his team he set up the way he sees fit. And so far I cannot fault them. a top-notch designer, 2 solid and experienced drivers signed up and a state of the art facility next door to the Sepang circuit already in the works.

They've done everything right so far, long may it continue.

Sonic

8th February 2010, 08:54

I hope the Silverstone run is published - the Virgin time seems to have been entirely ignored by the media.

Still only three studio pictures available and nought else!

There are a few extra pics on the virgin launch thread St.D - although it was pouring with rain. Besides 44 laps round the stowe circuit which takes, what, 30 seconds to complete isn't exactly headline news.

Hopefully the Lotus will be as beautiful as all the others have been.

jens

8th February 2010, 12:41

I also hope that Lotus can build on the decent management they have had so far. I think the Lotus F1 Racing period will be quite a career-defining for Mr Gascoyne himself. There have been really some varying opinions about him throughout years, some say he is overrated, etc. So far it looks like the team might gel together really well, because unlike in the past teams Gascoyne has been given free hands to gather together the right people. For instance several former Toyota employees have already joined Lotus, including Trulli's race engineer. :) I read somewhere that Trulli has seen even some familiar faces in the team from his Jordan and Renault days. Gascoyne has worked in so many teams already that he should have loads of contacts and also quite thorough understanding of more efficient working methods from different teams.

Giuseppe F1

9th February 2010, 13:10

Lotus trucks and motorhome have now appeared in Spain at the test and it seems from the branding on their trucks that:

1) Team name has changed from 'Lotus F1 Racing' to just 'Lotus Racing'

2) Seems team logo has changed to a nice homage to Colin Chapman of the traditional Lotus badge shape and which inside this badge includes a likely representation of

3) the new classic green/gold Lotus livery - Yay!

http://www.f1today.nl/fotos/kugai1e92.jpg

http://www.f1today.nl/fotos/jegtu8k93.jpg

Loving the lines of the motorhome - old school, classic Lotus retro - Love it! This is likely only an intermin livery for the trucks until they have a fully branded version with all the team sponsors etc however hope the retro lines remain :)

Cant wait to see the team launch this week and what sponsor portfolio they have been able to line up etc - also whether the team will have a title sponsor which they had of course hoped would have been Petronas - I still thought Petronas may have done a deal ala Marlboro/Santander have done in the past and supported 2 teams but alas it seems not.

The teams website will also be re-launched on the 12th which is very welcome as their current version looks like something a first year IT college student may have put together for a class project - especially when viewed against the slick new website of Virgin Racing and so looking forward to Friday.

Any spy shots released of the Lotus shakedown today at all? Anyone even know at which track the shakedown is happening at? Silverstone??

Sonic

9th February 2010, 13:33

OMG just messed my pants! The livery (badge esp) is awesome!

I would hazard a guess at stowe. The GP layout is a muddy hole and the south circuit is being revised for the arena track.

DazzlaF1

9th February 2010, 14:11

Oh I love it already, cant wait to see what the car looks like now

And yes, the shakedown is at Silverstone but it'll be the test/reserve driver Fairuz Fauzy who gets the privilege of being the first man in 16 years to drive a Lotus Formula 1 car

9th February 2010, 14:33

I like the fact that we may have the old British racing green and yellow back in F1. All the signs are there. :)

Surely that's now Malaysian Racing Green?

maximilian

9th February 2010, 15:47

If they are ready to shakedown today, then why aren't they trying to get in a couple days of testing with the rest of the gang?

DazzlaF1

9th February 2010, 16:06

If they are ready to shakedown today, then why aren't they trying to get in a couple days of testing with the rest of the gang?

Thats because they have an official launch on Friday, plus they wont be able to ship the car there in time for the first Jerez test

Giuseppe F1

9th February 2010, 17:21

http://www.f1today.nl/fotos/kugai1e92.jpg

Some guys over at the Autosport.com forum have said they find this new Lotus logo an insult to Colin Chapman - in how 'new Lotus' have kept the iconic Lotus badge shape yet removed the Colin Chapman initials from inside it and replacing with the new livery graphic - likening this approach to to taking the Ferrari badge and removing the Prancing Horse from it and replacing with some other graphic....

.... I personally like to think of the new Lotus logo as being a nice modern, well not modern 'take', but a modern, sympathetic homage to the traditional one - but what do the guys here think?.....

..... Do the guys over at the Autosport forum have a point? Is it sacrilege to mess around with such traditional, iconic logos or is it instead a nice 'tip of the hat' to honour the past?

gloomyDAY

9th February 2010, 17:22

http://cdn.images.autosport.com/editorial/1265734646.jpg

christophulus

9th February 2010, 17:24

That's my new favourite livery. Awesome :)

K-Pu

9th February 2010, 17:59

This... is getting better than ever!!!

Cars (I know there´s another thread) look the best since... I don´t know when. We´ll see how it performs, but the livery is in tune with the rest of the field.

Giuseppe F1

9th February 2010, 18:04

Josti

9th February 2010, 18:07

It looks incredible, the best so far in my opinion. I also really like the "angular" shape of the Lotus.

Pulidor

9th February 2010, 18:13

It's a nay for me. Ugliest so far.
Sorry guys.
Some things should remain in the past ;)

DazzlaF1

9th February 2010, 18:24

Some guys over at the Autosport.com forum have said they find this new Lotus logo an insult to Colin Chapman - in how 'new Lotus' have kept the iconic Lotus badge shape yet removed the Colin Chapman initials from inside it and replacing with the new livery graphic - likening this approach to to taking the Ferrari badge and removing the Prancing Horse from it and replacing with some other graphic....

.... I personally like to think of the new Lotus logo as being a nice modern, well not modern 'take', but a modern, sympathetic homage to the traditional one - but what do the guys here think?.....

..... Do the guys over at the Autosport forum have a point? Is it sacrilege to mess around with such traditional, iconic logos or is it instead a nice 'tip of the hat' to honour the past?

We have to remember that this is not the original "Team Lotus" meaning they have borrowed the name from Proton. So personally I dont find this new logo an insult at all. Infact i think its a sleek modern and smart homage to Colin Chapman taking the outline of the original badge and replacing the inside of it with his first traditional racing colours, 2 tributes in 1 in a way.

If it were a continuation of the "Team Lotus" name, then there would be a direct link and only then I think would there be an issue of "insulting his legacy" But seeing as its a whole new team just "borrowing" the Lotus brand, then I cant see what "legacy" they have for them to insult.

Anyway looking at the car, AWESOME, unlike the laughable Jaguar team, that is proper British Racing Green on that car, and I think I can just make out the famous Lotus "yellow stripe" on the nose which continues along the top of the sidepods.

We'll see it properly on the Friday but WOW does'nt this bode well for that?

DexDexter

9th February 2010, 18:24

OK, but nothing special IMO. The Virgin is much prettier. ;)

maximilian

9th February 2010, 18:25

It looks OK, and it's great to see it, but the design of the car itself looks rather conservative or behind the Zeitgeist! ;)

DazzlaF1

9th February 2010, 18:35

Does the green look that dark beacuse of the lighting or is it really that dark?

I know the traditional BRG IS rather dark but just thinking how the colour will read in press and on TV and if it could look too dark?

I remember watching a behind the scenes 1 hour documenmtary of Jaguars entry to F1 in 2000 and there was a lot of boardroom discussion with Stewart and Nasser on which shade of green to use to compensate for the effect of TV etc and in the ned they went with a lighter green than traditional BRG to compensate

Personally I didn't see the Jaguar livery as proper British Racing Green, it looked more like the shade of green used on the 1994 Larrousse

1994 Larrousse
http://www.f1wolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/1994-larrousse-2.jpeg

2000 Jaguar
http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/ecars/Jaguar/PiCs37/2000JagF1.jpg

Dr. Krogshöj

9th February 2010, 19:03

The paintjob is exactly what one could have expected from the official logo and the car shape is exactly what one could have expected from Mike Gascoyne. No surprises here whatsoever.

Stuartf12007

9th February 2010, 19:05

I dont like the livery, looks cheap and nasty.

Sonic

9th February 2010, 19:31

If only we could find a company with the same corporate colours as JPS and we are onto a winner! :D

Livery aside, my initial feeling of the car hasn't changed since I first saw the wind tunnel modle, its a bit too blocky with none of the aggressive slimlining at the rear and horns on the nose that has become the latest thing in car design.

That said, to found a team, build a car, and run it - all in the space of 5 months is a damn miricle! Go Lotus!

VkmSpouge

9th February 2010, 20:03

Very nice livery, though the Lotus looks fairly conservative. I think it is my third favourite behind Renault and Virgin.

Sonic

9th February 2010, 20:19

Anyone know about this "tune group"? Just been to the website and its just a single page which reads "coming soon".

9th February 2010, 20:21

The car looks a little chunky, not pretty like the Virgin but I quite like the livery.

BP would fit well with that :)

9th February 2010, 20:24

Anyone know about this "tune group"? Just been to the website and its just a single page which reads "coming soon".

Owned by the team boss Tony Fernandes, operating business on the 'budget model' (such as Air Asia)

Giuseppe F1

9th February 2010, 22:01

If only we could find a company with the same corporate colours as JPS and we are onto a winner! :D

There is one......and its a very racey company too............Lamborghini!! ;)

Saint Devote

10th February 2010, 00:25

Surely that's now Malaysian Racing Green?

Actually I think its an ideal match-up. The history of British exploration and colonization centered around the East and Malaya - Malaysia was part of the Empire.

The retro Lotus look, the resurrection of the team and the Malaysia connection works well for me - not to forget that Sepang, the teams' designated home track is one of my favorite new one's.

I think Colin Chapman would be happy could he see all this.

Best of luck to the Lotus lads and may they go from strength to strength!

Saint Devote

10th February 2010, 01:08

There are a few extra pics on the virgin launch thread St.D - although it was pouring with rain. Besides 44 laps round the stowe circuit which takes, what, 30 seconds to complete isn't exactly headline news.

Hopefully the Lotus will be as beautiful as all the others have been.

Thanks :D
I wasn't aware that it was the Stowe circuit - thought it was the GP layout.

Once again a Lotus racing through Woodcote! - of course not the original Woodcote Corner.

Saint Devote

10th February 2010, 01:09

.... The Virgin is much prettier. ;)

She usually is :D

Saint Devote

10th February 2010, 01:13

If only we could find a company with the same corporate colours as JPS and we are onto a winner! :D

Go Lotus!

That would be TOO much! :D We'd have a gigantic load of "old codgers" turning up in their old suddenly in fashion, JPS jackets - and would'nt it be wonderful.

Actually I'd settle for David Thieme's post JPS Silver and Blue :s mokin:

RJL25

10th February 2010, 02:03

The car itself looks extreemly conventional and aerodynamically basic... To me it seems they are just trying to put out something that is reliable and will finnish, I will be extreemly surprised if its fast (or even competitive)

turismo6

10th February 2010, 02:52

I think i green looks very meah.
I wait till some better photos come out

truefan72

10th February 2010, 03:41

Personally I didn't see the Jaguar livery as proper British Racing Green, it looked more like the shade of green used on the 1994 Larrousse

1994 Larrousse
http://www.f1wolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/1994-larrousse-2.jpeg

2000 Jaguar
http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/ecars/Jaguar/PiCs37/2000JagF1.jpg

that 2000 jaguar livery was a gem

truefan72

10th February 2010, 03:44

Very nice livery, though the Lotus looks fairly conservative. I think it is my third favourite behind Renault and Virgin.

spot on. Nice livery conservative car. but it was to be expected.

I think we will see extensive modifications tot hat car by midseason.
I would have gone with a touch lighter green to stand out a bit more and would have also made it more metallic too. That would have been sweet

jens

10th February 2010, 12:22

The weird thing is that the car looks... short somehow?! As for being conservative, let's be realistic now. They were handed an entry as late as in September, so I think they have done a fantastic job to get a car out in time for the new season at all. I think future development pace will be a better indication of the potential of Lotus. By now they just had to get some kind of a machine ready in a hurry.

Great to see a green car on the grid again. I certainly liked the Jaguars too, when they were racing, and shame they weren't very successful. Hopefully Lotus will do better in the long run. :)

Some guys over at the Autosport.com forum have said they find this new Lotus logo an insult to Colin Chapman - in how 'new Lotus' have kept the iconic Lotus badge shape yet removed the Colin Chapman initials from inside it and replacing with the new livery graphic - likening this approach to to taking the Ferrari badge and removing the Prancing Horse from it and replacing with some other graphic....

.... I personally like to think of the new Lotus logo as being a nice modern, well not modern 'take', but a modern, sympathetic homage to the traditional one - but what do the guys here think?.....

..... Do the guys over at the Autosport forum have a point? Is it sacrilege to mess around with such traditional, iconic logos or is it instead a nice 'tip of the hat' to honour the past?

I'm not sure if the goal of modern Lotus should be a direct successor of Chapman's spirit, although in rhetoric they have used that a bit. I think the new Lotus is more aiming to build a Malaysian theme around the team, probably this has prompted the logo change too to make it more visibly understandable. But it would be certainly interesting to know, what would Colin himself think about this team!

Anubis

10th February 2010, 12:54

The weird thing is that the car looks... short somehow?!

Does look very "stocky" compared to the others, but mayne it's just the angle of the picture? Seems very upright to me, although again, maybe that's due to the angle of the picture or perhaps not running in full trim, assuming that was a shakedown? Have to say, in terms of livery, there are some very pretty cars this year. I have no idea how it'll go, but the VR01 is the pick of the bunch to my eyes, closely followed by the Renault. Not a fan of the shark fins mind you.

ArrowsFA1

10th February 2010, 12:54

For me this team will always be 1Malaysia F1 Racing. It's been formed through a partnership between the Malaysian government and a consortium of Malaysian companies, not just Proton who now own Lotus Cars.

That doesn't make them any less worthy of a place on the grid, but equally IMHO the link with Colin Chapman's Lotus, particularly his F1 team, is tenuous to say the least, particularly as the team known as Lotus has not existed for more than 15yrs. They may be based near the where the original team were based, and Mike Gascoyne may be a Norfolk lad, but that doesn't make them Lotus any more than Comtec Racing. Nor does adopting the colours and badge style once used by the original team, nor parking Jim Clark's Lotus 25 in their foyer, or having the Type 88 in their race bays.

All that kind of thing is well designed for people to make the association themselves, while the team can maintain they are indeed a 'new' team.

Lotus is an iconic racing brand, which is largely why I think 1Malaysia F1 Racing are using the name. It gives them some credibility, and a link to an F1 history, they otherwise would not have had.

Had they entered F1 as 1Malaysia F1 Racing I do wonder whether they would now be facing the same struggles as Campos Meta and USF1.

Still...good luck to them :cool:

Dave B

10th February 2010, 12:57

I'm with you, Arrows. For me the car is not much more that a Proton painted in classic colours. I honestly wish them well, but I can't honestly bring myself to see them a "Lotus" in any sense other than as a marketing exercise.

jens

10th February 2010, 13:15

As Lotus is owned by Proton and hence is officially "owned" by Malaysians, you can hardly blame their decision to name it Lotus? At least they have some link to the name and I assume they are more trying to integrate with Lotus Cars than Team Lotus itself anyway. In the same way one could argue that Americans were unfairly trying to use "false colours" in green to promote Jaguar brand in F1.

As has been mentioned, the marketing goal of Lotus F1 Racing is to present the brand as Malaysian via their participation in F1, to give a new image and identity to the brand. And who can blame them, what do they want to do with it, since it's "theirs" now. There was little doubt that several British motorsport enthusiasts will be annoyed about it and have some kind of a grudge - "Lotus a Malaysian - wtf?! It's OURS!" But with time people tend to get used to everything (even with those odd-sized front/rear wings :p :) , so time will soften the general attitude. Let's try to be less nationalistic!

All in all, IMO we are too much concentrating on the name. I personally don't care that much about it - it's just a word, a facade. To me the more important questions are what is this team about and who are the people involved in this project. And those aspects are what have made the team likable to me. Also to have a green car racing again (named Lotus or not) is quite refreshing IMO. And by the way, Proton's "classic colours" are green too (a different shade though). Shouldn't they run with it then?

Finally, I must admit that thanks to the F1 project my interest has risen in Lotus Cars themselves too, so obviously whatever they are doing, it's working. :)

ArrowsFA1

10th February 2010, 13:59

There was little doubt that several British motorsport enthusiasts will be annoyed about it and have some kind of a grudge - "Lotus a Malaysian - wtf?! It's OURS!"
National borders have nothing to do with my views about the Lotus name returning to F1.

When it was rumoured that the Brabham name could return to F1 I had the same objections because, as with Lotus, there was no continuous history. The Lotus F1 team ceased to exist at the end of 1994 after a continuous history that went back to 1958.

All in all, IMO we are too much concentrating on the name. I personally don't care that much about it - it's just a word, a facade
Ross Brawn considered using the Tyrrell name for what became Brawn GP. The link with Tyrrell did exist because Honda had been BAR which in turn had bought Tyrrell in order to enter F1 in 1999. Fortunately he decided against the idea because he was creating something new, not creating associations with the past.

1Malaysia F1 Racing are creating something new, but they are doing so in part by creating an association with a past that is not theirs. They are doing that through the use of a name that, in F1 terms, represents a history, sometimes successful, sometimes not, but one that was often innovative.

I would have preferred that they had entered F1 under their own name and created their own history. That's all.

jens

10th February 2010, 14:15

National borders have nothing to do with my views about the Lotus name returning to F1.

When it was rumoured that the Brabham name could return to F1 I had the same objections because, as with Lotus, there was no continuous history. The Lotus F1 team ceased to exist at the end of 1994 after a continuous history that went back to 1958.

Ross Brawn considered using the Tyrrell name for what became Brawn GP. The link with Tyrrell did exist because Honda had been BAR which in turn had bought Tyrrell in order to enter F1 in 1999. Fortunately he decided against the idea because he was creating something new, not creating associations with the past.

1Malaysia F1 Racing are creating something new, but they are doing so in part by creating an association with a past that is not theirs. They are doing that through the use of a name that, in F1 terms, represents a history, sometimes successful, sometimes not, but one that was often innovative.

I would have preferred that they had entered F1 under their own name and created their own history. That's all.

Well, at least they didn't choose 1Malaysia as their name and at least found something meaningful, which IMO is a much better choice than what Force India and USF1 have done. And their choice of name has actually some point, even if it can be argued, how justified it is in the view of spectators.

The choice of name could be tricky and questionable, but then again time evolves and things change. IMO the Lotus from the 90's wasn't one of "real Chapman's spirit" any more anyway and it could be argued that despite the factor of continuation the current Lotus doesn't represent it less. Also I don't think the current McLaren is quite what the old Bruce McLaren team used to be. And quite frankly, to me even Ferrari isn't the "real classical" outfit any more it used to be. Renault was racing as their own team in 1977-1985. In 2002 they returned and it had nothing to do with the old team by buying Benetton, which used to be a former Toleman. But no-one questioned, where the name of Renault was a continuation or legit.

To me current Lotus has some legitimacy due to their connection with Lotus Cars (not Team Lotus, which IIRC parted ways with Lotus Cars back in 1986?!). With Brabham and Tyrrell I agree with you. I am personally not seeking for a direct "continuation" from old Lotus, I'm viewing the current team and find the choice of name justified, even if it "happens" to be the same as the old one. Overall I think we need a bit more time to see, what is this team exactly about and what kind of an impression/impact will they create in F1.

ArrowsFA1

10th February 2010, 14:31

You make good points jens :up: :s mokin: and I am looking forward to seeing how this team does.

CNR

16th February 2010, 20:51

http://www.viagogo.co.uk/News/Lotus-reveal-new-F1-car/_A-376

Q:Lotus = Lotus( or Lotus = New Team ?

'When you win will it be the first win for Lotus Racing or Lotus' 80th win?', and Tony was very clear -- it would be Lotus's 80th win," said technical boss Mike Gascoyne.

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=357722&FS=F1

Saint Devote

17th February 2010, 00:51

Does it really matter? Mercedes after all is Brawn GP and the MGP W01 is really the Brawn BGP 02 and as German as Ross; the RBR 07 is as Austrian as I am and Force India is Indian in name only too.

F1 is full of "images" - tear away the veneer and the paddock would have teams flying almost only the Union Jack!

These days it is brand names that count and Lotus has a proud name with a great history.

Guys from Malaysia who clearly appreciate this have decided - and with Clive Chapman's blessing - decided to ressurrect the name and maybe they will succeed.

They are doing it with respect, with understanding of who Chapman and Clark were as well as those who raced after to victory.

From what I know of Colin Chapman - I think he would be cheering them on ecstatic if they win, and he would shout, flinging his corduroy cap into air on the start-finish line as he did when SuperSwede won his first grand prix: "you did it boy!!"