Lotus F1
The Lotus F1 Team is a UK resident, the Luxembourg investment firm Genii Capital belonging Formula 1 racing team which participates since 2010 under various names in the Formula 1 World Championship. He emerged from the former Renault factory team. The team was supported by the spring of 2012 by the British sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars; the team name to refer to this connection. A relationship to the traditional, from 1958 to 1994 in Formula 1 racing team active Team Lotus does not exist; there is no connection to the booting with Malaysian license Lotus Racing team, which in turn took the name Team Lotus in 2011.
- 2.1 2010 and 2011: Last ties with Renault 2.1.1 2010: Renault F1 Team
- 2.1.2 2011: Lotus Renault GP
- 3.1 Statistics in Formula 1
- 3.2 All drivers in Formula 1
- 3.3 Results in Formula 1
Team history
Formation
The Lotus F1 team is the successor to the Renault works team, which participated between 2001 and 2009 Formula 1 World Championship. Renault had 1977 maintain its own, France-based Formula 1 team until 1985 and established with him the turbo technology in Grand Prix racing. After interim withdrawal, the French state-owned enterprises returned to the beginning of the Saugmotorära 1989 as a pure motor supplier with success again in Formula 1 back. Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve (all Williams ) and Michael Schumacher ( Benetton ) won between 1992 and 1997 five Renault's Formula 1 World Championship. At the beginning of the new century Renault decided to bring back a full Formula 1 team at the start. Instead of building its own team, the French company took over the UK-based team Benetton, which dropped his hand to the first time in 1981 is incurred Toleman team.
In 2001, the team was called, regardless of the new owner initially Benetton; the 2002 season then the name change has been completed through to Renault F1. The run the team was Flavio Briatore, who brought a number of drivers from his squad to the team. The most successful pilot was the Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who after years of Ferrari domination came to an end in 2005 and 2006, for Renault won the Drivers' World Championship. In both years, the team was also Constructors World Champion. After Alonso 's team had to leave the end of 2006, the performance of the Franco-British racing team broke a strong. Low point was the discovery of the so-called crash gate affair, one a strategic advantage should be procured at the Singapore Grand Prix 2008 deliberate use of accident Renault driver Nelson Piquet junior, by the Piquet's team-mate Alonso. The image damage to the responsible end of Briatore and Pat Symonds affair moved to itself, in addition to economic considerations was a reason for the decision Renaults to retire at the end of the 2009 season of the Formula 1 World Championship.
In December 2009, Renault sold first 75 percent of the team shares in the Luxembourg-based company Genii Capital and withdrew from the operating business of the racing team. Later Genii Capital took over the team completely. Renault is limited since 2010 on several Formula 1 teams - including the former own works team - to supply them with engines.
In 2010, the team reported still with the name Renault F1 team; 2011, after an agreement had been signed with Lotus Cars, sources said Lotus Renault Grand Prix. With the start of the Formula 1 season 2012, the Renault name is omitted entirely; the team has since been known Lotus F1 Team.
Name dispute
In the 2011 season were two separate teams that led the name Lotus in the name: on the one hand emerged from Renault team Lotus Renault GP, on the other hand, the racing team founded in 2009 by Tony Fernandes, traveling with Malaysian license Lotus Racing (2011 reported as Team Lotus ). While Lotus Renault GP led back his name on the still active British sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars, the Malaysian team made reference to the former British Formula 1 racing team Team Lotus. Both companies - Team Lotus and Lotus Cars - had been founded by Colin Chapman; at least since the 1980s, but they were legally separate and apart from the name had no reference points. The rights to the name Team Lotus are the British racing driver David Hunt, who had acquired it following the bankruptcy of the racing team in 1995. Hunt allowed Fernandes in 2010 to use the traditional name for the Malaysian team.
The use of the name Team Lotus was the reason for a dispute between the Malaysian team and the company Lotus Cars, which had participated in the former Renault factory team. Both teams wanted the name "Lotus" exclusive, ie use to the exclusion of the other, for themselves. 27 May 2011 confirmed a British court that the Malaysian Team Lotus is the official successor of the well-established name and this name leads cope. At the same time, the court allowed the company Lotus Cars to use the Lotus name in Formula 1 sport; Lotus Cars but had to forgo the addition of " team ". This Lotus Cars and Genii Capital had the right to designate the former Renault factory team as Lotus Renault GP. Tony Fernandez decided in autumn 2011 to his Formula 1 team from 2012 to report under the name of Team Caterham. Thus the name dispute ended after more than a year.
Collaboration with the Lotus Group
The British car manufacturer Lotus, which is majority owned by the Malaysian Proton group in early 2011 entered into a connection with Geniis Formula 1 racing team. First, it was reported the team working in technical terms, together with the car manufacturers, who had also acquired shares in the team. In fact, Lotus Cars had 2011 and 2012, only the position of a title sponsor and also had the option to take shares in the team. Of Lotus made , however, no use.
2012 was the team as agreed under the name Lotus F1 Team at the start. After two races were run, ended Genii and Group Lotus their cooperation in April 2012. Lotus Group, which had failed to meet their payment obligations for several months, was due to financial difficulties of their position as the main sponsor with immediate effect. Genii waived payment of the outstanding sponsor money and in return received permission to continue to place the team under the name Lotus at the start. The team received the rights to use the Lotus name until 2017.
The Formula 1 involvement
2010 and 2011: Last ties with Renault
2010: Renault F1 Team
The team in the first year of its independence from the Renault R30, an engineered by James Allison and Tim Densham car. She was equipped with an eight-cylinder engine from the Renault RS27 type, which was also used in an identical specification of Red Bull Racing. Drivers were Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov. Kubica was the more consistent and successful drivers: It turned out only three races and scored 136 World Cup points, so he finished the drivers' world championship in eighth. His best result was a second place at the Grand Prix of Australia; next he reached two third places and a further twelve positions in the points. Petrov came four times to the target, reaching five positions in the points. His best result was the fifth place at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He finished the season with 27 points from as Thirteenth. Renault reached fifth place in the constructors' championship with 163 points. Red Bull scored three times the score was and constructors champions.
2011: Lotus Renault GP
For the 2011 season the team was given the name Lotus Renault GP. He set up so that a connection to the mid- 1980s had been successful: The Team Lotus had in the turbo era for several years based six-cylinder engines from Renault as a customer team. The lacquered in black and gold car had been driven by drivers such as Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell and had some notoriety. In memory of this long-established car Team Lotus Renault took over in 2011 for his cars, the black and gold color scheme.
As a race car, the Renault R31 was reported, an evolution of the previous model. It was powered by the Renault RS27 engine, which now also the Malaysian Team Lotus was standing next to Red Bull available.
For the 2011 season the continuation of the driver pairing Kubica Petrov was planned. On 6 February, Kubica, however, was seriously injured in a rally in Italy and had to undergo several operations. The team replaced him for the first eleven races of the season by Nick Heidfeld; from the Hungarian Grand Prix Bruno Senna drove Kubica's car.
Heidfeld came in eleven races eight times the finish. His best result was the third place in the Grand Prix of Malaysia. After he was both excreted in Germany and the Grand Prix of Hungary as a result of driving errors, the team set him free in summer 2011. Team Intern Heidfeld was at this time with 34 to 32 points, just ahead of Petrov. At the end of the season, he finished in eleventh place in the World Cup. Bruno Senna, who had previously debuting in at Hispania Racing, came only once in eight attempts in the points; Grand Prix of Italy, he was ninth. Vitaly Petrov scored 37 points; his best result was the third place in the season opener in Australia. The team was able to demonstrate fifth place in the constructors' championship again, although in 2011 with 73 points considerably less counter reached the previous year.
2012: Lotus F1 Team
In the 2012 Formula 1 season, the team went under the name Lotus F1 Team at. As a driver were Kimi Raikkonen, who returned after a two year break in Formula 1, and Romain Grosjean committed. Use car was the Lotus E20, which was again driven by a Renault engine. The team was more competitive than the year before. At the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Grand Prix of Hungary both riders reached the podium, and in Abu Dhabi for the first time the team won a Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix of Italy, there was a driver change, Jérôme D' Ambrosio replaced Grosjean, who had been disabled for this race. When previously discharged Belgian Grand Prix he had triggered a pileup, which resulted in next to him, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sergio Pérez failed.
Raikkonen came seven times on a podium finish, Grosjean twice. Thanks to the good race results the team was in the intermediate ranking until summer 2012 to third place in the constructors' championship. The team finished the season in fourth place from the constructors' championship, which had been decided before the last race of the year.
2013
In the 2013 season the team went again with the drivers Raikkonen and Grosjean at the start. Emergency vehicle is the Lotus E21. The season was a success. Raikkonen won the season opener in Australia and came with six other race in second place. There were a total of six third places of Lotus drivers. The team scored 315 points during the season and finished as the year ranked fourth in the constructors standings.
Notwithstanding the sporting successes, the year 2013 was marked by economic difficulties. Kimi Raikkonen's salary was paid only with a considerable delay after he publicly threatened to leave the team in the current season. After the 2013 season Lotus lost numerous employees who switched to competing teams. In January 2014 Éric Boullier left the financially troubled team and moved to rivals McLaren, where he carries out the function of the Race Director.
2014
The 2014 season contests with the Lotus driver duo of Pastor Maldonado, who came from Williams, and Romain Grosjean. Emergency vehicle is that of Nick Chester and Martin Tolliday designed Lotus E22, which uses as the cars of Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Caterham hybrid engines from Renault (Renault F1 Energy 2014). During the tests before the season showed that the Lotus had numerous problems in the field of the drive. The pilots were able to shoot a few test laps. At the first race of the season in Australia, the problems continued. In qualifying Melbourne Maldonado put back due to technical difficulties not a single timed lap. He was nevertheless admitted to the race, as he had achieved a lap time in the third free practice session, which was less than 107 percent of the ( later ) pole time (so-called 107- percent rule ). Grosjean, the " frustrating " found the situation of the team, was more than six seconds slower than pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton. Both Lotus start in Melbourne from the last row.
Facts and Figures
Statistics in Formula 1
Status: Bahrain Grand Prix, April 6, 2014
All drivers in Formula 1
Status: Bahrain Grand Prix, April 6, 2014
Current drivers are shown in yellow.