However its did also decide that Norfolk team could not call their chassis a “Lotus” (this is not a problem as it is a “Team Lotus T128”), and leave Group Lotus to continue backing the Genii Capital owned Renault team. Eventually after the very protracted court case was resolved it was decided that Team Lotus was indeed the real Team Lotus and Group Lotus could not claim to own the brand and trademarks. ![]() Since then the team has struggled with the aerodynamic development for the FW33, with many new parts introduced but little benefit showing up on track.Ī bitterly fought naming dispute kept Team Lotus in the headlines during the early races of the season, with both this team and Group Lotus claiming ownership of the brand. Michael openly admitted that he and his team had not thought of the concept when the Renault R31 was revealed at Valencia. ![]() The FW33’s innovate rear end has not been the huge success that many thought it would be, with its tiny gearbox initially proving troublesome but the aerodynamic advantage of such a clean rear negated by the use by other teams of hot blown diffusers. The team is bottom of the constructors championship for established teams, ahead of only the three new teams and technical director Sam Michael became the sacrificial lamb. The Williams of 2003 is a distant memory, manufacturer support is nothing but a memory, and the team is set to replace its bought in supply of Cosworth V8’s with Renault power for 2012. Unsurprisingly heads have rolled there, but other teams have also lost key figures. Williams is the real surprise here as you would expect based on its pre season form to be much further up the grid, but with Team Lotus promising a much better second half of the season the nine times champion could drop out of the top ten for the first time since the team entered the World Championship. In the first of this three part series we take a look at the back of the grid at the much ignored but still crucial fight for 10th position in the constructors championship and the vital funding that comes with it. As the Formula 1 teams drift back from their summer break we take a look at how each of them has done so far.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |