1634 replies to this topic

[Nustang70]

This logo itself is okay, it is simple and classic enough to evoke the brand's legacy without directly claiming it.

But, the exiting part (to me) was this:

Fernandes: "I hope everybody likes the logo and enjoys a small glimpse into the livery of our race cars for our first season."

http://www.autosport...rt.php/id/80567

[chdphd]

http://www.lotusf1racing.my/

[Captain Tightpants]

But, the exiting part (to me) was this:

Fernandes: "I hope everybody likes the logo and enjoys a small glimpse into the livery of our race cars for our first season."

Well, the old Jaguar liveries were some of the best of modern times. Here's hoping for something similar.

[bonneville]

This logo itself is okay, it is simple and classic enough to evoke the brand's legacy without directly claiming it.

But, the exiting part (to me) was this:

Fernandes: "I hope everybody likes the logo and enjoys a small glimpse into the livery of our race cars for our first season."

http://www.autosport...rt.php/id/80567

Judging from the logo, I expect more white lines than historical liveries.

This should ressemble the Hanmer version:

2010 Lotus by DeviantArt's Hanmer.

[teejay]

Not a bad looking car if it came through like that.

[djellison]

I thought we were looking at the 2010 season - not the 1970 season. As logo's go - it has a hint of the old Maths tutorial on the OU late on BBC2 about it. Just feels old.

[WorldChampion]

I thought we were looking at the 2010 season - not the 1970 season. As logo's go - it has a hint of the old Maths tutorial on the OU late on BBC2 about it. Just feels old.

+1

although it would feel odl even for 1970, It would be more suited to 1965

[Enkei]

http://www.lotusf1racing.my/

Looks like the design studio that was responsible for the Brawn GP website got some more work. Hideous..

[dank]

Their Flickr page looks like it could be well worth following: http://www.flickr.com/photos/1mf1t

[Lazy Prodigy]

I thought green was bad luck in racing

[RacingMonk]

I thought green was bad luck in racing

Eh?

[Mansell4PM]

Eh?

Yep! Green is considered unlucky. I've read a biography of Donald Campbell where (from memory) I think he banned green cars from parking anywhere near his support crews etc. when going for the record at Coniston in Bluebird.

Having said that, it didn't seem to be bad luck for Jack Brabham - 3 world championships in green cars, and still with us at a ripe old age.

[glorius&victorius]

http://www.flickr.co...f1t/3963023623/

this will be the livery

[bogi]

http://www.lotusf1ra...evelopment.html

Nice

[Mansell4PM]

http://www.flickr.co...f1t/3963023623/

this will be the livery

I hope not. It looks like it was caught in an explosion at a Dulux factory.

If this livery comes to pass it'll be one hell of a test for the diecast manufacturers to replicate it.

[DOF_power]

They're not really (gonna be) Lotus F1, not matter how much they'll claim.

[Tony Matthews]

although it would feel odl even for 1970, It would be more suited to 1965

It is terrible. However, it is probably a tidied-up version of what the management thought would be really good. As a designer there is nothing more depressing than to hear the words " We've all had a go and come up with this, can you just make it neater?"

[One]

Terrible, terrible. It is vulgar national anthem livery.


All what they wish for is NOT to be the Lotus team.


No connection is wished form the team owners, at all to the Lotus. Not at all.


If they so wish, I have this feeling that All team will now agree to the name change request from the Lotus.


In such case I am starting to doubt if the team should have got a green sign at all.


Bad, bad development...

[slideways]

I love the **** out of it. Let's hope Mike gets them pointed in the right direction quickly.

[Grabar]

Isn't the name "Lotus F1 Racing" illegal? I mean wasn't USF1 supposed to rebrand themselves to US GPE because teams aren't allowed to use F1 in their name? Or Force India when they were forced to change their logo because their "FI" was very similiar to "F1"..

[slideways]

It's trademarked by Bernie meaning they need his consent before using it.

[Mansell4PM]

Another thought on this: when Jaguar launched their first F1 car it was a dark green colour ( a PROPER British Racing Green), but a short while later it appeared again in a lighter shade. The justification for this was supposedly that green paint was heavy (?!?!??????). Making the paint a lighter colour supposedly making it lighter on the scales. This didn't happen in April either, before anyone comments..........

Would Lotus not be adding weight by going for a predominantly BRG livery?

[lustigson]

It's trademarked by Bernie meaning they need his consent before using it.

The terms 'Formula 1' and 'F1' aren't trademarked. FOM applied for it, but it has not been granted. At least, that's what I always hear.

[byronbolscher]

Isn't the name "Lotus F1 Racing" illegal? I mean wasn't USF1 supposed to rebrand themselves to US GPE because teams aren't allowed to use F1 in their name? Or Force India when they were forced to change their logo because their "FI" was very similiar to "F1"..

Only when they wheren't an official F1 team yet, now that USF1 is an official F1 team they can use the term F1 again. Same as Renault F1 Team and go on.

[Captain Tightpants]

Terrible, terrible. It is vulgar national anthem livery.

The model it's attached to pre-dates 2008. In other words, it's over two years old.

[Clatter]

Isn't the name "Lotus F1 Racing" illegal? I mean wasn't USF1 supposed to rebrand themselves to US GPE because teams aren't allowed to use F1 in their name? Or Force India when they were forced to change their logo because their "FI" was very similiar to "F1"..

I would hazard a guess that as they are named US F1 on the official entry list, along with BRAWN GP FORMULA ONE TEAM, RENAULT F1 TEAM, FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM, LOTUS F1 RACING the use of F1 in the title is not illegal.

[Grabar]

I just discovered that the use of "F1" is only legal when combined with the "Team" word.. So I'm still not quite convinced ;)

Renault, Toyota and Force India all employ 'F1' in their official names, but FOM is understood to accept this as in each case the term is followed by the word 'Team'

http://www.crash.net...e_to_usgpe.html

Edited by Grabar, 14 December 2009 - 11:42.

[Rinehart]

Isn't the name "Lotus F1 Racing" illegal?

Renault F1...

[Owen]

Looks like the design studio that was responsible for the Brawn GP website got some more work. Hideous..

Totally agree with you. Not the best of starts. Hope the rest of the car is a bit more 'considered' than the logo.

[potmotr]

I'm starting to think this Lotus entry is the most credible of the new entries.

Clearly good money behind it, and they've hired a couple of decent race winning drivers.

I've got my reservations about Kovalainen, but think he and Trulli will serve Lotus well.

I think Manor will be equally credible.

Can't say I've the same faith in Campos or, especially, USF1.

[V8 Fireworks]

Would Lotus not be adding weight by going for a predominantly BRG livery?

you can be sure the livery will be black, yellow and white NOT british racing green. It a Malaysian team not a British one.

In backing and for now, F1 teams constructing cars in Asia is impractical, so they shall make their base in some far-off land where they speak some hillybilly "English" some crude language spoken by chaps incapable of conversing in classical long-established formal tongues like Latin, Arabic, Pali or French.

[One]

The model it's attached to pre-dates 2008. In other words, it's over two years old.

I C.



Still the car was hold by say Malay premier? He must have beenhappy to have his dream come true, perhaps. Let us wait and see, but I am sure FOM knows whole a lot more ...

[WorldChampion]

I thought green was bad luck in racing

americans....

[Captain Tightpants]

Still the car was hold by say Malay premier? He must have beenhappy to have his dream come true, perhaps. Let us wait and see, but I am sure FOM knows whole a lot more ...

Fernandes says the new logo is a teaser to what their main livery will look like. Green is not a part of the Malaysian flag, though I wouldn't rule out its being work into the livery in some way. Perhaps the top of the engine cowling, or the sides of the rear wing will take the form of a stylised Malaysian flag. Perhaps the nose will carry the yellow sun motif with red and white stripes not unlike the yellow and black ones on the Brawn. But a candy-coloured kaleidosope design? Not likely. These days, most liveries are designed based on sponsor colours, and few sponsors are willing to have their name appear in colours other than their own. Petronas did it for BMW Sauber, and AirAsia might do it since Fernandes owns it. But I doubt any would agree to the national flag design since they'd want their logos to be as large as possible and the constantly-changing colours would interrupt that.

[Jackmancer]

The model it's attached to pre-dates 2008. In other words, it's over two years old.

It's uploaded 20 november.

[Clatter]

I'm starting to think this Lotus entry is the most credible of the new entries.

Clearly good money behind it, and they've hired a couple of decent race winning drivers.

I've got my reservations about Kovalainen, but think he and Trulli will serve Lotus well.

I think Manor will be equally credible.

Can't say I've the same faith in Campos or, especially, USF1.

I agree. Not my favourite of drivers, but a good choice for a fledgling team and the contracts show the team is looking long term.

[Captain Tightpants]

It's uploaded 20 november.

Uploaded, yes - but I've seen other shots of the same model of car that were floating around back when Lotus were granted entry. It was a much clearer shot, too, and it's clearly not a 2009-spec car. Since it lacks a front wing bridge, it's pre-2008.

[Rinehart]

I'm starting to think this Lotus entry is the most credible of the new entries.

Clearly good money behind it, and they've hired a couple of decent race winning drivers.

I've got my reservations about Kovalainen, but think he and Trulli will serve Lotus well.

I think Manor will be equally credible.

Can't say I've the same faith in Campos or, especially, USF1.

That's how I read it too.

The only one I really worry about is USF1. I'm yet to be convinced that they're serious.

[Jackmancer]

Uploaded, yes - but I've seen other shots of the same model of car that were floating around back when Lotus were granted entry. It was a much clearer shot, too, and it's clearly not a 2009-spec car. Since it lacks a front wing bridge, it's pre-2008.

I think it's 2009 spec. Look at the rear wing, it's as high as the upper air intake of the car. No chimneys or other rear bodywork stuff either.

[Anomnader]

Another thought on this: when Jaguar launched their first F1 car it was a dark green colour ( a PROPER British Racing Green), but a short while later it appeared again in a lighter shade. The justification for this was supposedly that green paint was heavy (?!?!??????). Making the paint a lighter colour supposedly making it lighter on the scales. This didn't happen in April either, before anyone comments..........

Would Lotus not be adding weight by going for a predominantly BRG livery?

yes, because on tv, BRG looked too much like black

[FlatOverCrest]

Yep! Green is considered unlucky. I've read a biography of Donald Campbell where (from memory) I think he banned green cars from parking anywhere near his support crews etc. when going for the record at Coniston in Bluebird.

Well considering how that sadly turned out....maybe he SHOULD have had green cars nearby!

[robracer]

They're not really (gonna be) Lotus F1, not matter how much they'll claim.

But they are Lotus F1, the Colin Chapman run team was Team Lotus.

Anyway, Lotus is the most promising of the new teams with good people like Mike Gascoyne on board and a driver lineup which could best be described as solid.

Edited by robracer, 14 December 2009 - 13:21.

[EVO2]

I wish Mike Gasgoyne and all his people at Lotus F1 well. They seem to have all the right ingredients to be the best of the new teams and their driver line up should be by far the fastest and most experienced of the four. As for the colour, BRG wasn't exactly unlucky for Colin Chapman ( except for the sad loss of Jim Clarke )

In a way it's pleasing to see that the new team are not pretending to be "Team Lotus" - they are certainly not hiding the Malaysian connection and ownership under a cam cover !

We know they have a long term plan to base the team in Malaysia but for obvious reasons are making life a whole lot easier by starting off in the UK.

This opens other questions: What's in a name ?, What defines the nationality of a F1 Team ? Who ultimately owns a team seems to matter little, and certainly who manages the team is not relevant.
( Frenchman Todt at Ferrari, Italian Flavio at Renault for example ). Regretably, for many years, many British teams have failed to develop and employed British Drivers but Williams and McLaren have not been less British as a result. Obviously McLaren have made real efforts in their driver development programme and are reaping the rewards with Lewis and for 2010 an all-Brit lineup.

Perhaps team nationality must come down to a combination of where and by whom the car is designed and built and, to a lesser extent, maybe the predominant nationality of the workforce ?
I know that already makes Renault a British team but at least the engine is designed in France. If Prodrive get the deal and Dave Richards runs it, we can surely then regard Enstone to be a genuinely British team.

Nobody is going to pretend that Mercedes GP is really German. At least not while Ross Brawn is still in place and even the engine is made in the UK.
Others will no doubt remember the Ferrari design office run by John Barnard based just down the road from McLaren but the car and engine were built and run from Italy.
I don't think Ferrari was any less Italian as a result.

As for "Lotus", as a Brit I would find it very hard to accept a Malaysian-based and predominantly Malaysian staffed team operating under the Lotus name.
that would be as hard to deal with as Ferrari moving lock stock and barrel out of Italy.

I would love to have a British Lotus Team to support, but until we see a permanently UK-based "Team Lotus", I'm afraid "Lotus F1 Team" is not it.

I still wish them well.

[Anssi]

Congratulations for having an excellent driver pairing.

[One]

As for "Lotus", as a Brit I would find it very hard to accept a Malaysian-based and predominantly Malaysian staffed team operating under the Lotus name.
that would be as hard to deal with as Ferrari moving lock stock and barrel out of Italy.

It is a tricky attitude to accept false self, is not it? Someone from Malay enter the Formula One with no aspiration to Lotus,... If the team loved Lotus, which I could imagine not being Brit but being as such, then I can agree with them what they have done...

[Paco]

I have to admit that I was looking forward to Lotus being back in F1...

However, their website and logo selection is looking very unprofessional.

Nice to see the small museum but wow do these guys need a good Brand Manager on board to bring in the new century. Sad really. I hope they don't muck it up but let's just say.. they've already started too... it's not too late but they need someone in there FAST to make sure the overall brand has a good solid look to hopefully was is a decent car from MikeG.

Paco
(Lotus.. if you're reading, feel free to contact me.. you might be surprised at what i can do for you brand image wise..)

[ferruccio]

It is a tricky attitude to accept false self, is not it? Someone from Malay enter the Formula One with no aspiration to Lotus,... If the team loved Lotus, which I could imagine not being Brit but being as such, then I can agree with them what they have done...

I think you have little to worry about. The PR spin portrays Malaysians occupying positions in the team but the reality is most of the positions especially the technical positions are filled by Europeans. Have a close look at the team if you attend an F1 race next year. It is reported that the the team is made up of roughly only 20-30 Malaysians. The entire team is expected to be 200-220 strong.

As for the Lotus (car) brand itself, be rest assured that Malaysians appreciate and value the marque. The car brand is admired and there is a strong following in KL. They understand the core values of a Lotus sports car. Of course when it comes to the F1 heritage, they know Lotus was in F1 but they may not yet appreciate the depth of strength of the F1 heritage.

The odd bit in my view would be the nationailty. I'm quite the team is registered as a Malaysian entity which means the Malaysian national anthem will be played when Lotus F1 Racing wins a race..

[Anssi]

It is quite interesting the UK vs. Malaysia aspect of this...

I imagine for example Mike Gascoyne would probably not be very keen to move their F1 factory to Malaysia. What motive would there be for him to do that? I don't see anything else than money. If he can keep the team well-funded and alive by moving its factory to Malaysia from the UK, then he will probably accept to do it if the Malaysians really insist on it.

But I don't see what other sense would it make. I don't see F1 switching it's "Center of Gravity" so much to Asia that it would make sense logistically or resource-wise. So I see from an engineering, manufacturing and logistics point-of-view that it would have to be done purely to keep the Malaysian investors happy.

Of course without them the team wouldn't have been born at all so they are supposed to have a lot of say in where the factory is located at if they really insist on moving it elsewhere from the UK. But I think also the Malaysians need to think about this very carefully - should they really insist on moving the factory to Malaysia? Will that give them better chances at success than having the factory in the UK? That's the key question. Would they just be making it more difficult for themselves to achieve success by moving a factory, which has just been started up and has perhaps just started functioning well, to Malaysia? That's a huge risk right there for the whole operation and they need to be absolutely sure they want to do it before committing themselves into actually doing it. I think once they sit down after all the nice PR talk during the first few months they will actually also agree that they should not just jump and do it just because they thought it would be nice to have it in Malaysia.

Of course if this line of thinking is completely wrong then I present my apology to the team and to Mike Gascoyne.

I of course wish this team well and I am happy to notice that they have shown to be very serious about what they are doing by signing excellent drivers who are even Grand Prix winners already. Their driver line-up will be very hard to match for the other new teams. This is certainly a good sign about the seriousness of the whole operation.

Edited by Anssi, 14 December 2009 - 15:39.

[EVO2]

I suspect that Mike Gascoyne will be with the team only for as long as it remains UK-based. We can be sure he will be doing everything with the aim of winning ASAP and having major parts of the car manufactured 6,000 miles away is not the best way to go. (This is what the website says they are planning to do prior to a permanent move).

I think Mike fell out with Toyota because they wanted a management structure he knew would not be in the best interests of success and look what happened there.
At least he emerged from the team with reputation intact.

With this achievement at least, he outperformed both Toyota and Honda !

F1 has changed little in the last 30 years : Most of the successful teams have been British based and predominantly British run. Even Ferrari achieved their best results under Ross Brawn and that little Frenchman !

Shame we are crap at running larger manufacturing industries !

Edited by EVO2, 14 December 2009 - 16:11.

[Nustang70]

Another thought on this: when Jaguar launched their first F1 car it was a dark green colour ( a PROPER British Racing Green), but a short while later it appeared again in a lighter shade. The justification for this was supposedly that green paint was heavy (?!?!??????). Making the paint a lighter colour supposedly making it lighter on the scales. This didn't happen in April either, before anyone comments..........

Would Lotus not be adding weight by going for a predominantly BRG livery?

I've always thought that heavy green paint story was fishy. If Jaguar were going that far to save weight, then they must have either had an awesome car or were using diversionary tactics.