Team BBC : Renault lumps for Lotus next year, "Team Lotus" may return

duke_toaster · 12 Jul 2010, 09:42 (Ref:2725320)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/moto...ne/8808856.stm

Enginewise, if this is right it's a great deal for everyone. Renault would get their third team (who next year will be a vast improvement, surely), Lotus would get something which appears to be the match of, or superior to, the Cosworth. Yes, one could misty-eyed about the Lotus-Cosworth, but if Lotus-Renault was good enough for Our Nige ...

If they can get a deal together with whoever owns the Team Lotus name (and get Hazel Chapman's blessing), that sounds good - they're effectively restoring the name of the UK's greatest ever sports team*, which can't be a bad thing. If they do bring the name back, I'd rather that they re-registered it under a British competitor licence.

Tony Fernandes and Mike Gascoyne have done a great job just to get the team going, to be leading teams that had a several month head start on development is a great achievement. Some of the midfield runners should be worried for next year ...

* Yes Manchester United/Liverpool, Lotus won seven world championships. You've only won two, MUFC.

steve_r · 12 Jul 2010, 09:55 (Ref:2725331)

Would this be the Renault engine that is generally regarded as being down on power compared with the Merc's and Ferrari's?

The upturn in Williams performance suggests that there is not much wrong with the Cosworth units.

I like the way Lotus are progressing, and hopefully they can latch onto the main field next season.

**GTRMagic** · 12 Jul 2010, 10:49 (Ref:2725359)

Mr Senna was the hot shoe in the Lotus Renault... qualifying day was ALWAYS awesome!

Are there any commercial sponsorships looking to come aboard Lotus? The cars are decidedly bare of names not associated with the team ownership...

Webber to Lotus?

**bella** · 12 Jul 2010, 10:53 (Ref:2725363)

they've had a flood of smaller deals coming through recently - i think considering the key to motorsport sponsorship is knowing a lot of people with money who you can cajole into parting with it in exchange for a nice hat and some champagne lotus are doing pretty well.

i think it'd be brilliant if they were to race with the team lotus name. they've shown they're a credible setup now and they are keeping faith with a lot of the old principles and embracing the past.

NeilB · 12 Jul 2010, 15:12 (Ref:2725532)

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve_r

Would this be the Renault engine that is generally regarded as being down on power compared with the Merc's and Ferrari's?

I don't think it's that down on the Merc and Ferrari power units as Red Bull would try and make you believe. Power isn't everything, as the Renault has a very drivable unit with low fuel consumption which makes up for its short comings in the bhp area.

Fingers crossed for the Team Lotus name to return if David Hunt allows it. The team has impressed me so far with how they have applied themselves this year along with honouring the past, as to start with I was rather cynical of the use of the Lotus name with one of the new entrants.

Try Hard · 12 Jul 2010, 15:27 (Ref:2725541)

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Mr Senna was the hot shoe in the Lotus Renault... qualifying day was ALWAYS awesome!

Are there any commercial sponsorships looking to come aboard Lotus? The cars are decidedly bare of names not associated with the team ownership...

Webber to Lotus?

Maybe Senna/Lotus/Renault again... who knows where Bruno will end up?

gregc · 12 Jul 2010, 16:40 (Ref:2725585)

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilB

The team has impressed me so far with how they have applied themselves this year along with honouring the past, as to start with I was rather cynical of the use of the Lotus name with one of the new entrants.

Same here - and on the red button forum after the race yesterday, Murray Walker said much the same to Mike Gascoyne - at the start, he didn't regard them as "real" Lotus, but now he does. And that's down to the way they've embraced the heritage, got the support of the Chapman family and generally gone about their business the right way.

Seeing the green and gold back on circuit hasn't hurt either

**Born Racer** · 12 Jul 2010, 16:50 (Ref:2725590)

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Webber to Lotus?

We're so predictable, I was thinking of putting the same as soon as I saw the thread.

chillibowl · 12 Jul 2010, 16:55 (Ref:2725592)

a crucial step at becoming a team with long term aspirations in F1.
on a side note, considering Force India's "technical partnership" for lack of a better term with Mclaren have yielded great results in a very short time, i wonder if something similar will happen with Renault and Lotus. either way im glad that Renault are only strengthening their ties to F1 as opposed to slowly pulling out.

herowassenna · 13 Jul 2010, 06:56 (Ref:2725893)

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilB

Fingers crossed for the Team Lotus name to return if David Hunt allows it.

How did James Hunt brother end up with the Team Lotus name?

Yannick · 13 Jul 2010, 07:45 (Ref:2725905)

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Webber to Lotus?

It would be great publicity if he were able to take the #1 there ;-)

Juarez Jed · 13 Jul 2010, 07:52 (Ref:2725909)

Quote:

Originally Posted by herowassenna

How did James Hunt brother end up with the Team Lotus name?

He bought it when the team folded at the end of the 94 season.

duke_toaster · 13 Jul 2010, 07:52 (Ref:2725908)

Quote:

Originally Posted by herowassenna

How did James Hunt brother end up with the Team Lotus name?

He bought Team Lotus when it looked like it was about to go face first in the brown and smelly, merged the race team with Pacific, and then Pacific went.

OZ_HCR32 · 13 Jul 2010, 09:50 (Ref:2725982)

So with KERS back on the dance cards for next year what does this mean for Cosworth. Are Williams going to give their system to Coswoth and the other teams?

Don't forget that the Renault KERS system was pretty ordinary

Surely everyone will be wanting Mercedes or even Ferrari engines next year

duke_toaster · 13 Jul 2010, 11:23 (Ref:2726030)

All the teams will have had time to develop their KERS systems, though. KERSes aren't frozen.

EDIT : Which one was the Zytek? I'm pretty sure it was either the Renault, the Ferrari or both that was Magneti Marelli.

**Woolley** · 13 Jul 2010, 12:35 (Ref:2726071)

I tend to think of Mike Gascoyne as being a worthy successor to the Chapman legacy as well. Canny and straight speaking, I'd be happy for both him and the team if they can step up to being genuinely competitive.

Lotusonpole · 13 Jul 2010, 12:36 (Ref:2726072)

As a great fan of the original Lotus Team, I'm delighted how the new Lotus has set about doing the job in hand.
I didn't doubt them in the beginning, carried along by hope and wishful thinking I suppose. But the longer the season has progressed the more impressed I have become.

For a team starting from scratch in such a short time to have done so well the future looks good, really good, be it Cosworth or Renault power.

I for one would be very happy if Webber joined for next year.

(So many have touted Webber for Renault for so long...

)

P

Nicholosophy · 13 Jul 2010, 13:43 (Ref:2726100)

The most interesting thing I thought about that article is that Lotus was"

Quote:

The new Lotus team is already being treated by F1 authorities as a continuation of the former one, which was set up by the legendary Colin Chapman, earning prize and appearance money on the basis of Team Lotus's historic results.

This has to be quite an advantage and perhaps why Lotus seem to be doing so well throughout the year? The additional money must be helping with development costs. I'm sure HRT would love some of the additional money.

Seems a little unfair since it really isn't anything near a continuation of the former team, even if the "Team Lotus" name came back into being.

herowassenna · 13 Jul 2010, 14:58 (Ref:2726136)

Ferrari were always my team, but only two others have ever got my affection for their success, Lotus and Jordan.

NeilB · 13 Jul 2010, 20:59 (Ref:2726289)

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickoGP

This has to be quite an advantage and perhaps why Lotus seem to be doing so well throughout the year? The additional money must be helping with development costs. I'm sure HRT would love some of the additional money.

Lotus have had the money from day one, with its investors and Tony Fernandes not short of a few bob to carry the team forward.

The car itself is essentially a Litespeed that Mike Gascoyne was working on before they were denied their entry, due to the decision to scrap the budget caps. Mike more then likely had an idea as to the 2010 regs before Force India let him go, so could design a basic but competent car for a teams first year.

It could be argued that the sorry state for HRT can be placed at the feet of the FIA, for picking a team that's financially not prepared for F1 and overlooking the likes of Lola and Prodrive, who would be better placed in the money stakes to develop the car and be closer to the field.

Alfa Fan · 13 Jul 2010, 21:05 (Ref:2726293)

I can only assume that somehow lump is a synonym for engine?

SennaTheGreat · 13 Jul 2010, 21:06 (Ref:2726294)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alfa Fan

I can only assume that somehow lump is a synonym for engine?

it sure is

duke_toaster · 13 Jul 2010, 21:11 (Ref:2726295)

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickoGP

The most interesting thing I thought about that article is that Lotus was"

This has to be quite an advantage and perhaps why Lotus seem to be doing so well throughout the year? The additional money must be helping with development costs. I'm sure HRT would love some of the additional money.

Seems a little unfair since it really isn't anything near a continuation of the former team, even if the "Team Lotus" name came back into being.

Now it's time to get speculating with the whole Concorde Agreement. While the current one is all smoke and mirrors, the 1997 one was leaked, bearing in mind it was extended to 2007. It should be similar to the current one. Racefax.com published it, it's free registration. I suppose it could be posted. The 1997 CA doesn't mention any prize money going back more than two half-seasons.

Ubique · 13 Jul 2010, 21:24 (Ref:2726302)

I really hope Lotus can become a top team. Just looking around Silverstone at the weekend showed how popular Lotus are in the hearts on F1 fans, it was great seeing how many Lotus fans there were out there and certainly around Luffield it seemed that there were more people wearing Lotus merchandise than any other team apart from McLaren (Ferrari seemed a distant third).

BootsOntheSide · 14 Jul 2010, 11:01 (Ref:2726485)

I think the benefits of a tie-up with a manufacturer might exceed the benefits of having a better engine. The Renault brand makes the team that bit more accessible to non-racing people than Cosworth, which is a bit of a niché name. It's hard to get a definite read on whether the Renault engine is an improvement, but I'd say it is on driveability, fuel consumption and probably reliability, which are more important than outright speed for a backmarker team looking to take steady steps forward. Senna in place of Trulli for 2011 could be a good move too - Heikki has even matched him in qualifying, let alone on raceday. I'd question how big an improvement Webber would be over Kovalainen, or whether pairing those two would be a good use of resources.

I've been impressed with Lotus this year, and can see much more potential than I saw from Force India in 2008. It's unclear exactly how big an advantage the Lotus name and association is, but I don't think it expalins the whole gap back to Virgin and Hispania.

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