The celebrated Lotus name returns to the grid in 2010 although it is a debatable heritage for the Malaysian team that started out as 1Malaysia. The team themselves make little secret of that, and are keen to move the team from their current base in Norfolk. The new team was setup by Malaysian entrepreneur and AirAsia airline owner Tony Fernandes but the key member of the operation will be technical director Mike Gascoyne who has more than two decades of experience in Formula One. Of the four completely new teams on the grid, Lotus have probably attracted the strongest driver line-up with the experienced Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, both race winners, and sure to keep the team heading in the right direction.
2009 Position: -
Jarno Trulli
2010 will be Jarno Trulli's 14th season in Formula 1 and Lotus his 6th team after six years with the now defunct Toyota team. In that time he's had a handful of podiums but his moment of glory came in 2004 Monaco Grand Prix, his victory for Renault interrupting what may have been 13 straight wins for Michael Schumacher. However, the relationship with Renault soured and he departed for Toyota just as Renault came good while Toyota never quite delivered.
2009: 8th, 32.5 Points
Heikki Kovalainen
Following in the footsteps of two great Finnish drivers - Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Raikkonen - the latest young Finn had a couple of hard acts to follow. However, his results in the lower categories suggested that Heikki Kovalainen had what it takes for Formula 1 success. Unfortunately, following a first season with Renault, he struggled to keep up with Lewis Hamilton despite a victory in Hungary in 2008 and consistent qualifying performances.
2009: 12th, 22 Points
Fairuz Fauzy
Chosen predominantly as part of the Malaysian teams desire to promote home grown talent, Fairuz Fauzy has been tuning his skills in A1GP with A1 Team Malaysia. However, his stint in GP2 has been less than inspiring - failing to score a point in two full seasons of the main series although finishing fourth overall in the 2008 GP2 Asia Series. Fairuz finished the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 Series as runner-up, notably ahead of Jaime Alguersuari.
THE CAR Chassis: Lotus T127
Engine: Cosworth CA2010
THE TEAM Team Principal: Tony Fernandes
CEO: Riad Asmat
Chief Technical Officer: Mike Gascoyne
Chief Operating Officer: Keith Saunt
General Manager, Chassis: Pascal Vasselon
Head of Operations (Asia): Mia Sharizman Bin Ismail
General Manager (UK): Paul Craig
