Yesterday was a big day for Team Lotus, when it bought over British carmaker Caterham, which defining model Seven started life as a Lotus. Some see this move as a “Plan B” if Tony Fernandes and friends lose the Lotus name battle to Group Lotus.
Domain names with Caterham in it have been booked, along with a possible title sponsor, which strengthens this idea.
But Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes isn’t committing to anything yet. “I don’t know yet, to be honest. I am waiting to see what happens with the case, and all these sort of things. But an ideal scenario would be a marriage of the two. The ideal world is both,” he told Autosport.
“People have said that Lotus has its own F1 team, but so what? There is Manchester United and Manchester City. People will come to understand what each brand stands for, and say – we want this, or we want that. It is no different to me, and I really hope we can keep both,” he added.
On the failed relationship between him and Group Lotus, he has no regrets. “Obviously we thought Group Lotus was an unpolished diamonds in many ways, and with an F1 team we could have done many things together. That didn’t transpire but it is funny how in life if you go down one road, it gets blocked heavily, and so you switch to another road. But then, in fact, the other road looks a lot nicer.
“I believe that if you are doing things well, you give it the right attention and you have the right people, luck will find a way for you. And certainly, fortune favoured the brave here – and if I was to redo things, I would have much rather gone down this route to be honest.
“It is a simpler, easier one. It is a profitable business, it doesn’t require lots and lots of capital and the F1 teams adds a lot to it to grow the business. Without sounding like a cliche, it is a marriage made in heaven in many shapes and forms,” he said. We’re not sure if the “profitable business” bit is a dig at Proton and Lotus, though.
So there’s no Caterham F1 team, yet, but there will be a Caterham GP2 team if it’s allowed. “I can confirm pretty clearly that there will be a Caterham GP2 Team. I have to check with the regulations, rename the team ‘Caterham’ and AirAsia will become a sponsor. So AirAsia Caterham… but when we do it and how we do it, I don’t know yet,” he revealed.
© 2011 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.
This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Fri, 29 Apr 11 10:06:23 +0000.
Related posts:
- Tony Fernandes to take the helm of Malaysian-backed Lotus F1 Team only temporarily
- VIDEO: It’s official, Team Lotus and Caterham join hands!
- Lotus vs Lotus court battle starts today, Tony Fernandes’ dispute with David Hunt over payment surfaces
- Tony Fernandes rejects Lotus’ out of court settlement offer
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