You’d be forgiven for thinking that now that Tony Fernades’ outfit is named Caterham, the issue of who is the real Lotus, is finally finished. Was it the team that actually owned the name or the team sponsored by a car company with the same name? It doesn’t matter anymore. We can relax, can’t we?

With two seasons under their belts it’s time to take a look at the three newest teams on the grid and to see if they had made any progress towards catching up with the established teams, both in terms of within season gains and how they have compared year on year. It’s difficult to determine how well a team has performed over the full race distance with different strategies in play…

This weekend, the media cooled on the Kimi Raikkonen to Williams rumours – Raikonnen-Renault becoming the new flavour of the month and sure enough, this morning the Finn was confirmed as a Renault, or Lotus as it will be, driver next year. I actually thought Raikkonen was the wrong man for Williams as they try to pick up the team from a terrible season, anyway. However, with Renault suffering a similarly turbulent second half of the year, I wonder if the same will be in store for Lotus next year.

The high court today gave its judgement in the dispute between Group Lotus and Team Lotus and left both sides declaring themselves the winner. That wasn’t a surprise and nor, really, was the decision. So who really won, or was it a score draw? Here’s a summary of the decision…

Later today, the High Court decision on the Lotus naming row will be revealed. In the 50’s and 60’s however, a multitude of Loti forming up on the grid was nothing unusual as privateers lined up with cars supplied by Lotus. Cooper, BRM and Maserati were other popular choices as customer teams filled out the grids of their day. However, fifty years ago, one of those privateers recorded a remarkable victory at Monaco, not that it was Rob Walker Racing’s only Formula One triumph, far from it. However, up against the powerful Ferraris, it was going to need a remarkable drive…

As the battle of the Lotuses (Loti? I’ve never been sure about that) rumbles on, the question I’ve been asking myself is ‘why have Group Lotus suddenly become interested in the Team Lotus brand?’ After all, they’ve lost a case against Team Lotus Ventures before so what makes them think they can win this time and, more to the point, why do they want to? Is it simply a case of protecting their own interests as they claim, or are they simply drumming up PR ahead of the launch of …