Lotus F1 row takes new twist

A new twist in the long-running row over the use of the Lotus name in Formula 1 has emerged with the announcement that the owners of Team Lotus have bought niche sportscar manufacturer Caterham.

Tony Fernandes and his partners see Caterham, which makes replicas of the old Lotus Seven two-seater open-top sportscar, as a company with historic links and "synergies" with Team Lotus that allows them to realise their ambition of diversifying into making road cars.

Their original plan was to do that with Group Lotus, the company that markets Lotus sportscars, but as Fernandes puts it: "That obviously didn't turn out very well."

What the Malaysian businessman, and owner of budget airline Air Asia, is referring to is the increasingly bitter dispute between him and Group Lotus that has ended up in the High Court.

When Fernandes and his partners first set up what was then called the Lotus Racing F1 team last year, it was with the blessing of Group Lotus, which licensed them the name. But in the course of 2010 Group Lotus's new chairman Dany Bahar decided he wanted to go his own way in F1.

He terminated Fernandes' licence, and switched instead to a sponsorship deal with the Renault team. Fernandes, seeing this coming, bought the rights to the historic Team Lotus name as a fall-back.

Both issues - the termination of the licence and the ownership of the Team Lotus name - are wrapped up in a court case that was heard last month, with a verdict expected early in May.

Fernandes is widely expected to win the rights to continue to use Team Lotus. He bought it legitimately from its previous owner, David Hunt, brother of the late world champion James, and Group Lotus has always acted in the past as if it knew it did not own the name.

Nevertheless, buying Caterham does provide Fernandes with an interesting fall-back option should the court case go against him. Now he owns his own car company, he could re-name the F1 team after it should he want to.

Lotus F1 cars and the Caterham Seven

Team Lotus owner Tony Fernandes now has Caterham in his business portfolio

For now, though, he says that is not an option. Fernandes told BBC Sport that he is "absolutely not" going to change the name of Team Lotus. Although he does add: "Obviously we have to wait for the verdict to see exactly what has been decided. But we see a very natural link between Team Lotus and Caterham, and they can be synergistic and promote each other, and there is some DNA between the two anyway. It's not like we've bought a brand that has no association with Team Lotus at all. It's just the opposite."

The Caterham name will, though, soon appear on the Team Lotus F1 cars - although exactly when and how has yet to be decided - and the company will eventually contribute to the Lotus budget as a sponsor.

Assuming he retains the rights to Team Lotus, that still leaves Fernandes in the sticky position of providing free promotion to a company with which he is in dispute and has no links.

Unsurprisingly, he did not want to get into that on the day of his big announcement, but he could not resist a little snipe or two at Bahar.

Fernandes says he sees Caterham as very much following the legacy of the late Lotus founder Colin Chapman. "In some ways," he says, "we have reunited the Chapman history. Lotus is all about lightweight, more is less. That is all the terminology we like, and it fits with F1. We feel there is a huge opportunity for Caterham in a market no one is really looking at right now."

By that, he means lightweight, affordable sportscars that are within reach of ordinary people. This was Chapman's approach, and one which, Fernandes says, "certain people have abandoned". That is a reference to Bahar's plans to take Lotus upmarket and challenge Porsche and Ferrari with his mooted five new Lotus models by 2015.

So far, the dispute between the two Lotuses has not reached the race tracks of F1.

Team Lotus started this season with chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne setting ambitious targets of catching Renault by the end of the season, but that looks out of reach for now - Renault have started the season strongly enough to set their own difficult goal, of beating Ferrari to third place in the constructors' championship.

But Team Lotus have also started the season well. The car has had reliability problems, but it also has underlying pace, and in the last race in China they beat established teams for the first time since entering F1 at the beginning of last year, with Heikki Kovalainen finishing ahead of a Sauber and a Williams.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.


Kovalainen's performance is a clear indicator that Lotus's more realistic target, of scoring points and mixing it with the established teams, is achievable.

Fernandes himself has his feet firmly on the ground. "You build things properly and with the right structure and things will fall into place," he says. "My target this year was to maintain 10th, and hopefully sneak a few points along the way. That is still my target.

"It is beginning to feel more realistic now, but one can't build a challenging F1 team in two years. We are competing against guys who have been there for 30 years but obviously the team smell big steps of improvement. They smell points.

"I never want to kill confidence, I encourage it, but I am also a realist and we are competing against nine guys who have been doing it for years and are very good at it.

"But if you'd asked me do I think at Turkey (the next race on 8 May) you'd be where you are, I wouldn't have believed it.

"We've got a good package and good people, we have put all the infrastructure in place.

"We're working on a new wind tunnel; that's the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle, and I think if you put all the pieces of the puzzle together then the results will come in good time."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/04/lotus_f1_row_takes_new_twist.html

Josef Peters Ronnie Peterson Vitaly Petrov* Alfredo Piàn Francois Picard

Power play over new F1 rules

A major revolution in Formula 1 engine and car design scheduled for the 2013 season is under threat.

The plan is to replace the current 2.4-litre V8 engines with 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbos fitted with extensive environmental technology and for the cars to be made more efficient.

The idea is to help popularise sustainable technologies, which are already being used in road cars, and therefore to insulate F1 from any accusations that it is profligate with resources. As a result, it is hoped F1 will become more attractive to other car companies.

Except that the changes, which we have discussed extensively on this blog over the last year or so, might not happen - at least not in two years' time.

They are already formally part of the regulations for 2013. But F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone has recently given voice to a view within the sport that the changes should either be postponed or abandoned. And he has a powerful ally in the shape of Ferrari.

Publicly, Ecclestone's objections to the new engine focus on three fundamental areas:

  • Spectacle - he believes the new engines will sound flatter, quieter and less dramatic than the current ones, reducing an important part of the sport's appeal

  • Money - he is worried the sport cannot afford the cost of developing the engines, which will be between 40-100 million Euros (£36-89m) depending on which estimate you believe.
  • Ferrari - the Italian legend runs F1's most famous and therefore most important team and its views need to be taken seriously. It is opposed to the new engine formula because it feels it has no synergy with its road cars and because it feels there are cheaper and more effective ways of making F1 more fuel-efficient.
  • Ferrari is as aware of the need to market energy-efficient technologies as anyone. It is embracing environmental technology on its road cars - it has, for example, released a version of its California GT car with a version of the stop-start systems that are becoming increasingly common in road cars, and it has developed a hybrid version of its monster 599 supercar.

    It has objected specifically to the size of the engine - why restrict it to four cylinders, president Luca di Montezemolo has asked, branding the current rule "pathetic"?

    Felipe Massa's Ferrari suffers an engine problem during winter testing

    Will Ferrari's opposition mean the 2013 engine changes go up in smoke? Photo: Getty

    Ferrari is also pushing to ensure the 2013 chassis rules reflect its belief that the importance of aerodynamics is out of all proportion in F1. It wants them to be reined in so other aspects such as the mechanical and suspension set-up have more relevance, as is the case with road cars

    But it is not just Ecclestone and Ferrari. Although the teams approved these rules, which they worked on with Jean Todt, president of governing body the FIA, other team principals have reservations, too.

    One told me the arguments put forward for introducing the new engines do not stand up, in his view.

    One of those arguments was that F1's use of increasingly outmoded engine technology was a barrier not only to attracting new sponsors of the kind that want to be associated with sustainability, but also to new car manufacturers entering the sport.

    The engine change was proposed after German giant Volkswagen Audi indicated that it could be interested in F1 if the engine formula mirrored the future direction of road cars.

    Doubters point out that not only have no new sponsors obviously been attracted, but that VW has since decided not to enter F1 for the foreseeable future.

    As a result, the critics say, all the new rules will do is increase the cost for the existing participants. That is a major concern at a time when, according to one team boss, "there are a few teams on the breadline".

    Equally, it seems that, among the current engine manufacturers, not only Ferrari is getting cold feet.

    Mercedes would prefer not to change the rules; it is concerned about the expense and questions whether it is necessary, although I understand it has told fellow stakeholders it will go along with what everyone else agrees. Independent Cosworth is said to be not that keen either, although it told BBC Sport it was "neutral" and dismissed suggestions that it could not afford to build the engines. Only Renault will publicly say it is in favour.

    The environmental argument is getting a bit of kicking, too.

    The emissions created by an entire season of F1 races are less than those produced by one Boeing 747 flying to Japan. Road car manufacturers are already developing these engines. So why, some say, is F1 bothering? F1, the argument goes, should be about escapism, and the sport should be focusing on delivering more races like the recent thrilling Chinese Grand Prix.

    In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.


    So why not abandon or postpone the plan? Well, it is not as simple as that.

    Renault's backing is rooted in marketing - it does not, unlike Mercedes and Ferrari, run its own F1 team and, unlike Cosworth, racing engines are not its core business.

    Renault's F1 managing director Jean-Francois Caubet says the fact the sport is changing to a new more sustainable engine formula is one of three reasons for staying involved.

    "The proposed rules are road-relevant and completely in line with Renault's road car strategy," he says. "We have already started design concepts on the 2013 engine, as this dovetails with our plans in road cars."

    The French company plans for such engines - let's call them small capacity turbo-hybrid - to make up at least 70% of its road-car portfolio by 2015. It accepts the new F1 rules will cost money, but believes that is a price worth paying.

    Caubet says Renault's presence in F1 is not "dependent on any future engine regulations", but does add the company is "very supportive of any regulations that make F1 more relevant to the overall aims of the Renault group".

    Equally, proponents of the new engines point out that it is unfair to say no new manufacturers or sponsors have come in as a result of the new rules.

    The change is still two years away, so how is it possible to know whether new sponsors will be attracted?

    And just because no new car manufacturers have entered yet does not mean they will not. VW got cold feet, it is believed, because F1 took so long to agree the rules. Either way, the only sure thing is that new companies will not enter F1 if the engine rules stay the same.

    As for Ecclestone, cynics in F1 - and there are many - believe his objections are at least as much about a couple of other issues he has not mentioned publicly.

    One is that he and Todt simply do not get along. As someone who knows Ecclestone well said: "He's against it because Todt is for it."

    FIA president Jean Todt and F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone

    Todt and Ecclestone do not see eye to eye on the new rules. Photo: Getty

    There is also the fact that the sport's stakeholders are embarking on what will be tough and protracted negotiations aimed at extending the Concorde Agreement, the document that binds together the teams, the FIA and the commercial rights holders.

    Ecclestone - representing the commercial rights holders, CVC - knows that both the teams and the FIA are unhappy with their financial arrangements and are asking for an improvement.

    The teams are a potentially major headache for him. Currently, they get 47% of F1's revenues divided between them - and they are angling for as much as 80%. The teams are united under the umbrella group Fota, and have resisted all attempts to break them up over the last few years. Some believe Ecclestone sees the argument over engines as a chance to annex Ferrari and split Fota.

    Of Ecclestone's public concerns, the least plausible is over the sound of the engines.

    F1 used 1.5-litre turbo engines - and a formula restricting fuel usage, which is also part of the new rules - in the mid-1980s. Far from driving fans away, this is looked back on as one of the most exciting eras in the sport's history.

    Insiders point out that only a handful of die-hard aficionados care about the sound of the engines - and that these people will watch anyway. The wider TV audience - which is of far more critical importance to the financial health of the sport - would probably not even notice the difference.

    Equally, even if the sound of the engines is a concern, this can be addressed at least to some degree by tuning the exhaust.

    As for affordability, the argument that the smaller teams will not be able to afford the new engines is easy to resolve - the manufacturers simply have to agree not to pass on the cost of development, and to keep the sale price of the engines the same as it is now.

    In such situations, F1 usually finds a compromise - although that would mean Todt being seen to publicly back down, which is far from an easy sell when this is the first big change in F1 rules under his presidency.

    But what would the compromise be?

    An influential figure has recently proposed that the new rules could be postponed for a year until 2014. This would coincide with the fact that Pirelli's contract as tyre supplier runs out at the end of 2013 and allow the planned change of wheel-rim diameter from 13 to 15 inches to coincide with the new chassis rules, on which the wheel change has a significant impact.

    Perhaps the current engines could be retained but with their Kers systems increased in power, and used to promote efficiency - such as running the cars purely on electric power in the pit lane. Perhaps a fuel restriction - part of the new rules anyway - could be introduced but not the new engines. Or a combination of some or all of the above.

    The problem is that while all these arguments are going on, 2013 is getting ever closer, and engines have a long lead time. Manufacturers have already started work on the new designs, because that's what the rules say will be required.

    Insiders say that, realistically, any decision will have to be made by the end of the summer. Any longer than that, and any objections will be academic - enough money will have been spent on the new engines that they might as well be adopted.

    So if Ecclestone and Ferrari are going to spike the 2013 engine rules, they are going to have to get on with it.

    Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/04/power_play_over_new_f1_rules.html

    Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels Edgar Barth Giorgio Bassi Erwin Bauer

    Rubens Barrichello - classic F1 2011

    Rubens Barrichello is the latest driver to choose his five favourite all-time grands prix for our new-look classic Formula 1 series.

    For those unfamiliar with the format, BBC Sport has asked all the F1 drivers to reveal their five favourite races and we are serialising their choices before every race this season to whet your appetites for the action to come. Highlights will be shown on this website and the red button on BBC television in the UK.

    So far, we have had world champion Sebastian Vettel, F1 legend Michael Schumacher and Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi. Ahead of this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix, we have the most experienced F1 driver in history.

    Barrichello's selection of races cover his life both before and during his F1 career. He has chosen three grands prix from his childhood, and two from his time in F1.

    He gave his choices in chronological order, and his first is a particularly fascinating one.

    It is an event that wraps up in one pretty much all the many aspects that make the sport such a compelling spectacle for millions of fans around the world - from the thrills of the world's greatest drivers battling for supremacy in the fastest cars, to the tragedy that inevitably occasionally visits an activity from which danger can never be fully removed.

    The race in question is the 1978 Italian Grand Prix. It is notorious for a terrible crash at the start which eventually claimed the life of the legendary Ronnie Peterson, but also featured a thrilling fight for the lead between world champion elect Mario Andretti of Lotus (Peterson's team-mate) and Ferrari's Gilles Villeneuve. Brabham's Niki Lauda, who finished third on the road, was classified as the winner after Andretti and Villeneuve, first and second across the line, were penalised a minute for jumping the start.

    This is Barrichello's reason for choosing that race: "The one that I remember from a very long time ago is the very first one I saw in Monza where Ronnie Peterson died in a big accident in 1978. It was the very first race that I saw on television, it's a very sad one but a classic one for me."

    In chronological order, his other choices are as follows, in his own words:

    1983 US Grand Prix, Long Beach

    "It was the race when Keke Rosberg did a 360º spin and he kept on going for Williams. In my head it was just phenomenal."

    1985 Portuguese Grand Prix, Estoril

    "When Ayrton Senna won his first race in Portugal in 1985, it was also special for me. First of all because I had him as a mentor but also because he was just so fantastic in the way he drove every time he got into the car.

    "Though he was to go on to win three championships, that day in Portugal he hadn't won a Formula 1 race before. It was so wet and everyone was crashing out, stopping and so on but Senna held on from pole to lead the race and it was so nice when he hung on to win in the Lotus.

    2000 German Grand Prix, Hockenheim

    "I love to watch my race in Hockenheim in 2000 when I took my first grand prix victory from the back of the grid.

    "I had a problem with my car, it wasn't ready for qualifying, and then 20 minutes into the session it started to rain and I ended up qualifying back in 18th for Ferrari. I just wanted Saturday to go and for Sunday to come. I was sad because Hockenheim's a good race track and I knew I had a good chance of a podium.

    "But I started the race just wishing the weekend to go and then all of a sudden on Sunday, I was overtaking, overtaking and overtaking. I saw my chance to win the race - and I did."

    2008 British Grand Prix, Silverstone

    "The other one that I love to watch is the British Grand Prix in the wet at Silverstone. We Brazilians do like the rain - and I've had a lot of practice in the wet in the Brazil right from my karting days.

    "That race at Silverstone, I was soaked inside the car. When the Honda guys asked me what tyres I wanted, I said 'wet tyres'. Then they told me that others were going out on the intermediates and I said: 'They must be crazy because it's raining really heavily.' But that's how I got up (the order) during the race.

    "I was a lap behind Lewis Hamilton's McLaren. He went on to win the race, but I took that back and I was going on. It felt so great to drive a car that was not that good but with better tyres than the others. I was able to overtake the others and finish on the podium."

    With each driver, we choose one of their races to highlight and for Barrichello we have picked Monza 1978. That's because we have not shown it before, whereas all his other choices have featured in classic F1 over the last two years.

    Usually, we would show the entire 'Grand Prix' highlights programme that was broadcast on the evening of the race. In this case, however, we have had to edit it because we felt some of the coverage of Peterson's crash was inappropriate.

    As a result, the video starts with commentator Murray Walker summing up the events at the first start before reconvening for the second one.

    The long highlights are embedded below. Underneath them are both short and long highlights of last year's Turkish Grand Prix, to further whet your appetites for this weekend's race.

    In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.


    WATCH SHORT HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 TURKISH GRAND PRIX WATCH LONG HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 TURKISH GRAND PRIX

    I'm sure you'll remember it was one of the most thrilling races of 2010. Red Bull team-mates Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber crashed while disputing the lead. That left McLaren team-mates Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button up front and they had their own little tussle, passing and re-passing before they were told to ease off, Hamilton going on to win.

    We will be showing short highlights from the 1983 US Grand Prix West 1983, Portugal 1985, Germany 2000 and Great Britain 2008 as well as long highlights from Turkey 2010 on the red button on BBC digital television in the UK.

    Satellite and cable viewers will be able to watch them from 1500 BST on Wednesday 4 May until 12 noon Saturday 7 May.

    They will be on Freeview from 0940-1150 BST on Friday 6 May and 1010-1050 BST on Saturday 7 May. The shorter window on Saturday means there will only be time for US West 1983, Portugal 1985, Germany 2000 and Great Britain 2008.

    We hope you enjoy them.

    Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/05/rubens_barrichello_-_classic_f.html

    Massimo Natili Brian Naylor Mike Nazaruk Tiff Needell Jac Nelleman

    Alfa Romeo 8C Spider by Novitec


    A lot of us have tuning companies that we like to call our favorites, or at least one of our favorites. Some of you might share different opinions, but in our case, one that stands on top is Novitec Rosso. The German tuning company has not been shy in building fabulous works in the past, and to their credit, they never rest on their laurels. Their latest piece of work is proof of that fact.

    Using an Alfa Romeo 8C Spider, Novitec Rosso gave the fastest and most powerful Alfa Romeo even more reason to be feared, thanks to a new supercharger system and a stainless-steel exhaust system that takes the output of the Italian supercar from its stock 450 horsepower all the way up to 600 horsepower. The power upgrade translates to new performance numbers for the 8C Spider, particularly a new 0-62 mph time of just 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 189 mph.

    On top of the supercharger and the exhaust system, Novitec Rosso also gave the 8C Spider a new water-to-air intercooler, a custom injector, and a set of 21? and 22? alloy wheels. All told, the whole package for the 8C Spider comes out at 19,900 Euros, which is about $29,400 based on current exchange rates.

    Not bad for an upgrade of an Alfa Romeo 8C Spider.

    Alfa Romeo 8C Spider by Novitec originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 3 May 2011 17:00 EST.

    read more




    Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/alfa-romeo/2011-alfa-romeo-8c-spider-by-novitec-ar109057.html

    Mack Hellings Brian Henton Johnny Herbert Al Herman Hans Herrmann

    Michael to leave in Williams shake-up

    Williams technical director Sam Michael and chief aerodynamicist Jon Tomlinson are to leave the team at the end of the season. A statement said that both men had resigned but, in an unusual move, would stay on until the end … Continue reading

    Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2011/05/03/michael-to-leave-in-williams-shake-up/

    Mike MacDowel Herbert MacKayFraser Bill Mackey Lance Macklin Damien Magee

    Ramcharger trail rig

    Thought i'd get on here and post my latest project. havent takin as many progress pics as planned but oh well. Building a Ramcharger trail rig from the gone fishing set.....found it at a swap meet  and grabbed it a couple years ago. I'm a big off-raod fan and have been since i was real young, thought i'd do a little something different this time besides building hopped up cars and lifted 4x4s. Comments and criticism are welcome, let me know what ya'll think of it.

    Steve86

    The body...Scratch built winch bumper with D-rings. plan on building something similar for the rear.

    Spare tire carrier and the motor...which the box say it's a 383 but i dont know. No different than a 318 or 360 just cubic inches. would make a great powerplant in real life if it was a 383 stroker....havent decided if i want to put an air cleaner on the motor or make a snorkel coming out of the fender or firewall through the interior or run it out along the cab pillar and in the air....any ideas??

    Some added pics of the body after completed. over detailed it a little i think, when i was putting a few dents in the fender i got to close to the edge with the lighter and melted it "up" a bit. Crapp! easy fix lol, i decided to make it a rust spot and cut it jagged with my knife and added rust color....which is now covered with too much mud. plan on maybe using real dirt for some added realism of built up  mud on fender edges and on the rock sliders when i get those made.

    Some pics of the interior....built a full rollcage and used a decal of a Nascar seatbelt. added a "tack" and used the factory seats. also added a set of 'Off-road fuel tanks" that were in the 72?? Chevy Blazer kit. (Model King) but wanted them to represent over the wheel well tool boxes. added a High Lift jack from the parts box. Any ideas on other doo dads to add in the interior?

    Chassis....cut the leaf springs out of the front axle, built custom coil spring set up. Not exactly waht i wanted for "radius arms" or "trailing arms" but it works sway bar is done. Need to make my steering linkage, plan on adding a steering box and steering shaft on the frame. more to coma later.

    Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/955689.aspx

    Jim Rathmann Roland Ratzenberger Hector Rebaque Brian Redman Jimmy Reece