Lotus F1 to stay in Britain

[roguejuror]

When the Formula 1 team was relaunched back in September 2009 it was revealed the planned move of Lotus Racing to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, home of Proton - team owners.

Now it appears the plans have been put on hold and the Racing team will continue to operate out of its traditional home in Norfolk, England. It is unknown how deep the collaboration between Group Lotus, the car manufacturer, and Lotus Racing is. The ambition of Proton and its Malaysian capital partners have been to house the racing project in their home country but Racing team principal Tony Fernandes said Right now, stability is important and there are no plans to move to Malaysia yet.

That indicates the involvement of Group Lotus is deeper than originally believed and a greater integration is desired. Even if most of the staff of Lotus Racing comes from the defunct Toyota F1 team, that should make U.K. racing fans happy as they once believed there would be little resemblance (inside and outside the hood) to the legendary Lotus team of years past, specially with the move to the far east.

Speaking of resemblance, Lotus Racing unveiled their F1 car late last week, and many fans are joyous with the retro look. We can only hope for retro lostaches to be grown by Trulli and Kovalainen.

 

[Dunder]

The sheer length of these machines is going take some getting used to this year.
Obviously the teams have had to make big adjustments to accommodate much bigger fuel tanks, but am Genuinely surprised that the wheelbases have been lengthened to that extent.
The one exception I have seen is Williams, will be interesting to see how they compare in testing.

 

[roguejuror]

so any unknowns

man its gonna be great

an Argentine will be making it also for USF1 :thumbup:

 

[Dunder]

so any unknowns

man its gonna be great

an Argentine will be making it also for USF1 :thumbup:

Are you a tifosi, Juror?

 

[roguejuror]

nah

i just follow the drivers be it where ever they race

Alonso, Massa, Vettel, HUGE takuma sato fan :thumbup:

 

[Polaroid]

Like the car design. Unfortunately, despite the revving sounds added to the video, it looked like it was going about 40 around the track.

 

[Saulty]

I only follow Ferrari.

 

[Fu Manchu]

I only drive a Ferrari.

do we have to get bread to dig up what kind of car you really drive pavy?

 

[Dunder]

so any unknowns

man its gonna be great

an Argentine will be making it also for USF1 :thumbup:

Two rookie drivers with zero testing miles does not bode well, if they make it on to the grid at all.

 

[Dunder]

I only follow Ferrari.

Scum.
I would love to see Massa do a number on Alonso but am not sure if he will be the same after the accident. I also think that all the cars this year will have a greater tendency to understeer which should suit Alonso more.

 

[roguejuror]

Two rookie drivers with zero testing miles does not bode well, if they make it on to the grid at all.

ya you're right, i was thinking of the fan excitement down there

a once great f1 country the interest has gone down the past few years, now everybody is excited again

raised $6 of the 8 million he needs already, i think he'll drive

 

[Dunder]

USF1 have now asked for permission to miss the first four races.
Lotus and Virgin teams look to be about 3 seconds off the pace of the front runners.

Based on testing at Jerez, the pecking order would appear to be

Ferrari
Mclaren, Renault, Mercedes
Sauber, Red Bull

Thursday sees the start of a four day test (will be the final tests for most teams) at Barcelona. This test will be very revealing.

Button, Alonso and Rosberg will be at the wheel on Thursday.
Hamilton will take over for Mclaren on Friday and Schumacher will do likewise for Mercedes (it will be the first time that these two have ever shared a track).

I will definitely be there on Thursday and Friday, not sure about the weekend yet.

 

[roguejuror]

Why USF1 want the extra time?

 

[Dunder]

Why USF1 want the extra time?

The car isnt ready, obviously funding is the main issue.
The new rules allow the new teams to miss the first three races. It appears that they wont even be able to meet that deadline - doesnt look good.

 

[roguejuror]

Peter Windsor is heading that team. I like him, I hope they solve everything just in time.

 

[Dunder]

Peter Windsor is heading that team. I like him, I hope they solve everything just in time.

They have now asked to defer their entry until 2011, which the FIA will not agree to.
Look like the end of the road.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iQgewCAWj7LhNDJpLtWU5MRu3Y8Q

After a painstaking review of last weeks test, I have the pecking order as follows:

Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren locked together. McLaren with a tiny advantage in terms of outright speed but with the other two being slightly gentler on the tyres.
+0.2 Mercedes
+0.3 Toro Rosso,
+0.4 Williams, Renault
+0.5 Force India
+3.2 Lotus
+3.9 Virgin

The rate of tyre degradation and fuel burn leads to a situation where I am sure we will see different strategies employed by the top teams. Qualifying is going to be even more important.
Looks like we are set for a cracking start to the season, albeit it would not be a great surprise if Ferrari and McLaren pulled ahead in terms of development as the season progresses.

I already have my money down on Hamilton to win in Bahrain. It is a circuit that demands mechanical grip and brakes. Two areas where the McLaren looks very strong.
McLaren might struggle at more aero dependent tracks (Sepang would be the first).

 

[roguejuror]

yeah USF1 is dead. hm a balkan team, interesting.

Do you know if FIA allows team sponsorship from betting companies?

 

[Dunder]

yeah USF1 is dead. hm a balkan team, interesting.

Do you know if FIA allows team sponsorship from betting companies?

There would be no problem with this. The tobacco sponsorship was only stopped to comply with EU laws.