Lotus v Lotus: Whats in a name?

In the glitz and glamor world of Formula One, image is everything.

The leading teams such as Ferrari and McLaren have built formidable reputations off the back of on-track excellence.

Another constructor with a similarly lofty reputation is Lotus, a team which has origins dating back to a car made by Briton Colin Chapman which first raced in 1948.



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Lotus went on to win six drivers' championships and seven constructors' titles before withdrawing from the elite division of motorsport in 1994 after entering administration.

The opportunity to reintroduce such an historic name into F1 was one not be missed for a businessman looking to put a car on the track.

And so it proved. Malaysian Tony Fernandes, the owner of Air Asia and English football team Queens Park Rangers, resurrected the name for the 2010 season with the CNN-sponsored Team Lotus.

But the issue was complicated in 2011, when the Renault team announced a sponsorship deal which would see them renamed as Lotus. So how could a situation arise where two teams were competing under the same name?

'Last year we had the weird situation where two teams were calling themselves Lotus,' associate editor of MotorSport magazine Ed Foster told CNN.

'Team Lotus had the naming rights to use the name 'Team Lotus'. And of course there was Lotus Renault which was the Renault team that was sponsored by Lotus the car company.'

A lengthy legal battle ensued, the result of which saw Renault buy the Lotus name from Team Lotus who were subsequently rebranded as Caterham F1. But why did both constructors go to such extreme lengths to secure the Lotus name?

'It's a huge name in the history of the sport and they wanted to heighten their profile,' explained Foster. 'If you've got a big name you'll attract the big sponsors.

'Even if Lotus wasn't at the front of the grid last year, they are still going to attract more sponsors than for example HRT.

'Nobody knows who HRT are outside of F1, however I can ask my mother and she knows who Lotus is and that's the big difference. They can attract the sponsors, they get the money in and from that they can build a stronger team.'

Lotus have a rich history in F1, with a list of former drivers which includes British double world champion Jim Clark, Austrian 1970 title winner Jochen Rindt and legendary Brazilian racer Ayrton Senna.

'Certainly Lotus dominated F1 to such an extent in the 60s that it became recognised as the place to go to get a quick car,' explained Chapman's son, Clive. 'My father had the reputation for designing fast cars.'

Understandably, Renault, now Lotus, are delighted to have acquired their illustrious name. The two men who will be behind the wheel for Lotus in 2012 are 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen and Frenchman Romain Grosjean.

'We found a great partnership with a brand like Lotus which has a huge history in Formula 1,' Lotus chairman Gerard Lopez said. 'It made a lot of sense for us to take advantage of that.'

Lotus have a rich history in F1, with a list of former drivers which includes British double world champion Jim Clark, Austrian 1970 title winner Jochen Rindt and legendary Brazilian racer Ayrton Senna. 'It's a huge name in the history of the sport and they wanted to heighten their profile,' explained Foster. 'If you've got a big name you'll attract the big sponsors. 'Even if Lotus wasn't at the front of the grid last year, they are still going to attract more sponsors than for example HRT. The opportunity to reintroduce such an historic name into F1 was one not be missed for a businessman looking to put a car on the track. Another constructor with a similarly lofty reputation is Lotus, a team which has origins dating back to a car made by Briton Colin Chapman which first raced in 1948. The opportunity to reintroduce such an historic name into F1 was one not be missed for a businessman looking to put a car on the track. Lotus went on to win six drivers' championships and seven constructors' titles before withdrawing from the elite division of motorsport in 1994 after entering administration. But the issue was complicated in 2011, when the Renault team announced a sponsorship deal which would see them renamed as Lotus. So how could a situation arise where two teams were competing under the same name? 'Nobody knows who HRT are outside of F1, however I can ask my mother and she knows who Lotus is and that's the big difference. They can attract the sponsors, they get the money in and from that they can build a stronger team.' 'It's a huge name in the history of the sport and they wanted to heighten their profile,' explained Foster. 'If you've got a big name you'll attract the big sponsors. The opportunity to reintroduce such an historic name into F1 was one not be missed for a businessman looking to put a car on the track.

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