Who is the real winner of the recent driver shakeup in Formula One?

The recent shakeups in the status quo of Formula drivers were expected, and yet still a surprise. Lewis Hamilton has expressed his feelings in many ways so his jumping ship makes sense. However, leaving a team he has been connected with for 14 years does make one wonder why the Briton walked away from the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team.
Imagine being a team owner / principal and having a brash youngster of 10 walk up to you and claim “one day I want to race your cars!” That is how the story goes on how Hamilton met Ron Dennis. Perhaps the head of McLaren might have thought ‘can you imagine the guts this kid has?’

Podium: race winner Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, second place place Sergio Perez, Sauber F1 Team

Photo by: xpb.cc

Hamilton left an impression and in 1998, Dennis called him, and signed the young kart champion to the McLaren driver development program. In 2003, Hamilton landed his first single-seater title: Formula Renault 2.0 UK title. In 2005, he became the Formula 3 Euro Series champion, and the earned the Masters of F3 title. The next year, he was the GP2 Series champion. The Briton proved his worth in 2007, finishing second I the FIA Formula One Championship as a rookie! The next year, Hamilton earned his only World Championship. But his glory days were short; even though he was a front runner.
This year has been very difficult as the Briton has had mechanical failures and errors in pit lane that either cost him a race win, a podium finish or even point paying positions. Thus far in 2012, the British racer has notched five poles -- the most of any other Formula One driver. However, he has retired twice, and when in the lead of the grand prix event. Still he has three wins this season.
One can see why Hamilton wanted the change, and perhaps his brashness is one reason Ross Brawn was keen to steal him away from McLaren.
In order to snag Hamilton, Mercedes factory team had to shove the seven times Formula One world champion aside. Yet they were the ones who convinced Michael Schumacher to come out of retirement and lead their Silver Arrows team.

Third placed Michael Schumacher, Mercedes AMG F1 in the FIA Press Conference

Photo by: xpb.cc

Truthfully one can understand not resigning the German racer. He has earned just one podium finish since his return in 2010. Placing third in Valencia saw Schumacher smile brightly. Still it seems that Mercedes believes their team is championship contenders, and yes they should be. Neither of their two German drivers, Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, has produced consistent top results. Rosberg did score the pole and the victory in China earlier this year but his best finish since then was second at Monaco.
Is Hamilton making the correct move for his future? Viewing the stats says no; but knowing that he has not been happy at McLaren, it would seem that it is a good move. Perhaps with a new car and a new team will be the best of all worlds for Hamilton.
Schumacher did not retire as many expected. He still might as he has made a fortune over the years and can return to his “castle”. His public appearances will enhance his lifestyle, along with special events. Still he was bitten again by contesting Formula One grand prix events and there are a few possible seats available.
The German still holds records in Formula One, along with the most championships. Yet the recent criticism of his driving style has made more news than the winner of the recent Singapore Grand Prix. His fans are angry with the negative comments of their favorite driver, and now with the Mercedes team. They would be delighted to see Schumacher continue to race.
Peter Sauber’s team is now down to one driver due to the fact that their young hot-shoe from Mexico signed with McLaren. Sergio Perez has shown the skills, and the desire to challenge for podiums, and a potential victory. The current Sauber driver has three podiums to his credit. Next year, he will be racing for one of the top teams!
When one views the changes to the status quo, Perez truly is the winner in the recent changes for the 2013 season, and beyond.

Vettel: The move showed respect for Button

Sebastian Vettel’s home Grand Prix was ultimately a disappointing one. The Red Bull driver was handed a time penalty of 20 seconds for illegally passing Jenson Button while outside the confines of the rack track on the penultimate lap. He dropped from second to fifth position and is now 44 points off Fernando Alonso’s championship lead.
Shortly after six o'clock local time (BST +1), Red Bull published Vettel’s official feelings in their post-race press release:

“We had a decent race today although there wasn’t enough pace when we got close to Fernando and we also lost a position to Jenson who had a good pit stop and came in earlier. A couple of laps before that, I lost some time with Lewis (Hamilton) as he unlapped himself.
“At the end of the race, Jenson’s tyres were gone and we were able to close the gap again. It was then a question of when, rather than where, and I tried to outbreak him. He opened the break again and then was up the inside; I wasn’t sure where he was, I couldn’t see him in that moment, so decided to give enough space and went off line on the slippery paint and I was able to stay ahead and get past him.
“The only intention was not to crash and to give him enough room. I have respect for him and I didn’t want to squeeze him. It was good to be on the podium at the home race, but I have to respect the stewards’ decision.”
The revised result sees Button claim second place as Kimi Räikkönen jumps up to third, with Kamui Kobayashi celebrating a best ever finish in fourth position.

Jenson: Williams and Sauber are faster

Jenson Button suggesting maybe even Williams and Sauber have more pace than McLaren at the moment let alone Red Bull Ferrari and Lotus

Sam Michael on McLaren Problems

Sam Michael of McLaren says that McLaren have to go home and do some homework and come back better.

Other teams are bringing development quicker than us. The strategy did not work in the middle stint with the Option Tyre.
We should not have been making covering moves. We should have been fighting.

Our focus is to be up there in Germany straight away.

Button targets podium in home Grand Prix

Next weekend’s British Grand Prix will be the twelfth for Jenson Button, although the 2009 World Champion is yet to record a rostrum result in his home race. After debuting for Williams eleven years ago, Button’s best Silverstone finishes to date are his fourth place results for BAR and McLaren in 2004 and 2010, respectively.
“Hopefully I can get onto the podium and that’s my aim- for some reason I’ve never been on the podium at the British Grand Prix,” he said in a Tuesday interview for McLaren title sponsor Vodafone.

“I think Lewis (Hamilton) and myself were a bit negative after the (Valencia) race because we just weren’t quick enough. But, looking at it now, we have some good improvements for Silverstone. I don’t know whether it’s going to be enough to fight with the Red Bulls or to get onto the podium, but we have improvements and we’re positive that we’re going to get the best out of them. We’ll see. We want to put on a good show for the British fans and I think that’s why we were a little bit negative after the last Grand Prix.”
When asked if Sebastian Vettel’s championship advantage of 77 points can be cut down, Button replied:
“He’s got a big advantage after eight races but…who knows. We’re not going to stop trying. We’re going to be trying our best, we’re a fantastic team and I feel that, if we keep pushing hard, we’ll slowly, slowly pull them back. I hope so.
“It’s tricky because they’re doing a great job, and they are doing a great job. The only people that have beaten them have been us – Lewis and myself – so we are the challengers.”

F1 Barcelona Day 1 Testing: The line-up

Formula 1 testing resumes on Friday, with the fraternity all present at the Circuit de Catalunya on the outskirts of Barcelona. Following heavy rain for the area on Thursday morning, more showers threaten to affect proceedings on-track today.


The Friday line-up for Barcelona looks like this:


Red Bull Sebastian Vettel

McLaren Jenson Button

Ferrari Fernando Alonso

Mercedes Michael Schumacher

Renault Heidfeld and Petrov (morning, pit-stop practice), Vitaly Petrov (afternoon)

Williams Rubens Barrichello & Pastor Maldonado

Force India Paul di Resta

Sauber Kamui Kobayashi

Toro Rosso Jaime Alguersuari

Team Lotus Heikki Kovalainen

Hispania Narain Karthikeyan

Virgin Jérôme d’Ambrosio


Running time
9am – 2pm, 3pm – 5pm (local time, GMT +1)

2011 to equal 40-year-old 'most F1 champions' record

2011 will be the first season in four decades in which no fewer than five world champions line up on the grid.

Among new champion Sebastian Vettel's rivals next season will be former title winners Jenson Button (2009), Lewis Hamilton (2008), Fernando Alonso (2005-6) and Michael Schumacher

(1994-5 and 2000-4).

The only previous occasion on which the F1 grid boasted five active world champions was 1970, when Jack Brabham, John Surtees, Denny Hulme, Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart were all racing.
And that season's ultimately posthumous world champion Jochen Rindt was killed at Monza in September.

There have never been six active world champions all still driving in F1 at the same time.
But if 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen had returned to F1 from rallying, and Jacques Villeneuve had successfully formed his own team in collaboration with Durango, there might be no fewer than 7 world champions on the 2011 grid.

On a 24 car grid, that would represent almost 30 per cent of the entire field.

F1 chiefs drop the ban on team orders in new rules

The controversial ban on team orders has been deleted from the Formula 1 rulebook in the latest set of changes.

The rule, which forbids teams telling a driver to cede to his team-mate, came under scrutiny after Ferrari were fined for using team orders in 2010.

The adoption of moveable rear wings to aid overtaking were also confirmed in the new FIA rules for 2011 while the Kers power-boost system also returns.

The governing body also confirmed a new 'green' engine for the 2013 season.

Many team bosses predicted the ban on team orders would be dropped from the new sporting regulations after Ferrari caused an outcry by appearing to give Felipe Massa a coded message to allow Fernando Alonso through to win the German Grand Prix.

They argued the rule, which was introduced in 2002 after Rubens Barrichello gifted a win to then Ferrari team-mate Michael Schumacher, was difficult to enforce.

Now the rule has been removed, the teams may tacitly agree not to use team orders as much as possible while article 151.c, which refers to bringing the sport into disrepute, remains intact.

That article warns against "any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition, or to the interests of motorsport generally".

In its new regulations, the FIA aims to improve sustainability by using 'green' engines in two seasons' time.
These powerunits will be four-cylinder, 1.6 litre turbos with energy recovery systems and fuel restrictions, with the aim of increasing efficiency by 35%

The agreement to switch from the current 2.4-litre V8s after months of tough negotiations - exclusively revealed by BBC Sport last weekend - is an attempt to mirror the trend towards fuel-efficiency in road cars and to popularise it, increasing public demand for such engines.

The movable wings, which will be used from the start of next season, are an attempt to improve one of F1's perennial problems - the difficulties of overtaking.

The wings will be operated by the drivers, who will be able to use them when they are within a second of a car in front which they are trying to overtake.

The gaps between the cars will be monitored electronically by the FIA and the wings will be switched on when the driver behind is within the requisite distance.

Rule makers will monitor the way the wings work through the 2011 season and adjust them so they fit the purpose for which they were designed.

While F1 bosses want to make overtaking easier, they want it to remain a challenge.

The calculations as to when drivers should be able to employ the wings are made more complicated by the return of Kers in 2011.

Although Kers remained in the 2010 regulations the teams voluntarily agreed not to use it last season, in particular to help with cost-cutting and the arrival of the three new teams.

These systems - which store energy that would have been wasted during braking and reapply it during acceleration to give a power boost of about 80bhp for seven seconds - were first used in 2009.

The teams have decided to use them again in 2011 as a first step towards 2013, when F1 is trying to embrace sustainability.

Mercedes and Ferrari had been reluctant to agree to the 2013 engine rules as recently as a month ago, believing that it was an unnecessary expense at a time when F1 was trying to reduce costs.

And F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone has been consistent in his view that they were a bad idea.

But, as BBC Sport revealed, the rules were agreed in a series of recent meetings between F1's current engine manufacturers - which also include Renault and private company Cosworth - and the final touches were put to the regulations by a steering group of F1 engineers a week ago.

The aim is for the new rules to improve the efficiency of F1 engines by as much as 35%.

Care has been taken to ensure the performance of cars will not be affected and total power outputs will remain at current levels - approximately 750bhp. The new engines will not do more than 12,000 revs per minute - current F1 engines spin at 18,000rpm.

By adopting the regulations, F1 hopes to widen its appeal to sponsors - commercial insiders say some companies are reluctant to get involved in F1 because of its image of being wasteful with resources.

In subsequent years, complex new turbocharging technology called compounding will be introduced to further enhance efficiency.

The regulations have been framed to encourage the pursuit of efficiency in engine design, dramatically increasing the amount of power that can be produced per litre of fuel burnt.

Those lessons in efficiency can then be transferred to road cars so that considerably less fuel is used for a given amount of performance.

Lotus to start 2011 season without KERS

Lotus

has not changed its mind about running a KERS system in 2011.
In May this year, team boss Tony Fernandes said the Norfolk-based team had "good reasons" to build the 2010 car's successor without the energy recovery technology.

Another new feature of the technical rules for 2011 is an adjustable rear wing to help boost overtaking.

"We will have the adjustable rear wing but not KERS for the start of the season - it's in development - really because of engineering resource," technical boss Mike Gascoyne told edp24.co.uk.

"Over one lap, it's still not a big plus for its effort, involvement and negatives. Strategically off the start and in races, then yes," he said.

"But at the start of the year, KERS is not going to be the thing that gives us the step up.

"It's all the other things, and we've taken the choice to concentrate on all those because if we don't get them right, KERS isn't going to make a difference."

Lotus' new engine supplier for 2011 is Renault, so Gascoyne confirmed that when the team is ready to run with KERS, it will be the French marque's unit.

"Renault are very keen on green technologies and KERS, so it's something we will be pushing," he said.

Source: Motorsport.com

Proton confirms talks for partial Renault F1 takeover

Proton intends to push ahead with a partial takeover of the Enstone based Formula One team Renault.

Previously, it was believed the Malaysian carmaker was only in talks over a potential title sponsorship, with Renault F1 to be renamed after the Proton-owned British sports car maker Group Lotus.

But Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, who is Proton's group managing director, told the Malaysian newspaper The Star that Proton is in fact negotiating to buy 25 per cent of the Renault team before the start of the 2011 season.

"Yes, that's the intent," he confirmed. "A decision will be made soon.

"We're close, just wait for a few days," added Zainal. "(The) 25 per cent (shareholding) is something that we are discussing.

"It's still too premature to disclose the exact percentage but it has to be a position where we can control our brand," he said.

Source: Motorsport.com

Mosley: Race calendar becoming too long for F1

A 20-race calendar is too long for Formula One, according to former FIA president Max Mosley.
2010's tally of 19 races was the equal-biggest in the history of the sport, and next year the rally is growing to twenty rounds.

The USA and Russia are set to join possibly more additional grands prix in the near future, moving Sir Frank Williams to recently muse that he can envisage a 22-race schedule before long.

"For me personally, it's too much," Mosley told the German newspaper Welt.

"In my opinion that's too many Sunday afternoons to expect people to dedicate to Formula One. At some point, it starts to become tiresome.

"And then if you start skipping a race here and there it can quickly become a habit and it can snowball in terms of the TV ratings," he added.

Mosley, whose successor as FIA president is the former Ferrari boss Jean Todt, is also worried that F1 team budgets are still far too high.

"In January 2008 I warned that without cost reduction it won't be only the small teams having problems," said the 70-year-old Briton.

"It has arrived: Honda, BMW, Toyota and Renault have gone because the budgets are out of proportion.

"This continues to be true and it worries me," admitted Mosley.

"There is the risk of a crisis in the short term," he insisted. "Currently, a great season is being celebrated but the future looks bleak.

"For 2011 you need $100 million, with 30 or 40 from Bernie Ecclestone, perhaps 20 to 25 from sponsors or the drivers. I'd say six teams are wondering where the rest is coming from.

"It's quite possible we'll lose two or three teams," warned Mosley.

His final act as FIA president was to entice new privateers onto the grid with very small budgets, but Lotus, Virgin and HRT have been criticised for lacking competitiveness.

"I don't agree," said Mosley. "They need to be given time to improve.

"Virgin's development has been downright revolutionary. Their car was built entirely without a wind tunnel and that's a warning for the likes of McLaren because their wind tunnels are like running a small town.

"On the other hand Virgin developed a car only with computer simulation and it's only two or three seconds slower.

"No one can argue that the huge cost of the wind tunnels is justified."

Mosley said a quick fix to the looming crisis would be a budget cap for 2012 and 2013, requiring teams to tighten their belts immediately.

Source: Motorsport.com

Di Resta better than champion Vettel - Franchitti

Paul di Resta is even better than F1's new world champion Sebastian Vettel.
That is the claim of triple Indycar title winner Dario Franchitti, who is Scot di Resta's cousin. 

Di Resta, 24, is on the cusp of his Formula One

debut, having secured the 2010 DTM title and forged a strong link with Force India by spending last season as reserve and Friday driver. 

"He definitely has the skills," 37-year-old Franchitti told Germany's Sport Bild. 

"He is one of the most talented drivers I've ever seen," he added. "He beat Vettel in the Formula 3 Euro series (in 2006). 

"Sebastian is a good driver, but Paul is better," said Franchitti. 

Di Resta told Motorsport-Magazin.com: "Sebastian and I have had some ding-dong encounters, and I hope and feel sure that we can continue this in the Formula One arena." 

Source: Motorsport.com

Glock rules out Virgin departure

Timo Glock says he is “100% certain” that he is staying at Virgin for a second season, adding that the team has only held off from officially confirming him as it wants to announce its two 2011 drivers together.

The German, who joined the start-up Formula 1 squad from manufacturer giant Toyota last winter, signed a multi-year contract at the team but, despite issuing a statement on his personal website during the summer break in which he stated that he remained fully committed to the Virgin project, speculation has continued that he could yet seek a move up the grid.

That was fuelled by his absence from the draft 2011 entry list issued by the FIA earlier this week, Virgin one of three teams listed as having no drivers confirmed.

But in an interview published on Virgin’s website on Friday, Glock confirmed he was staying put for next season and thinks the team – which trailed Lotus in the new teams’ battle for the majority of its debut campaign – is ready to make progress in the new year, when it will have extra financial backing from Russian sportscar maker Marussia.

“I’m excited. And yes I am definitely driving for Virgin Racing,” he said.


Timo Glock says he is “100% certain” that he is staying at Virgin for a second season, adding that the team has only held off from officially confirming him as it wants to announce its two 2011 drivers together.

The German, who joined the start-up Formula 1 squad from manufacturer giant Toyota last winter, signed a multi-year contract at the team but, despite issuing a statement on his personal website during the summer break in which he stated that he remained fully committed to the Virgin project, speculation has continued that he could yet seek a move up the grid.

That was fuelled by his absence from the draft 2011 entry list issued by the FIA earlier this week, Virgin one of three teams listed as having no drivers confirmed.

But in an interview published on Virgin’s website on Friday, Glock confirmed he was staying put for next season and thinks the team – which trailed Lotus in the new teams’ battle for the majority of its debut campaign – is ready to make progress in the new year, when it will have extra financial backing from Russian sportscar maker Marussia.

“I’m excited. And yes I am definitely driving for Virgin Racing,” he said.

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“There has been a lot of speculation about me wanting to leave the team, but it is not about leaving a team, it is about wanting to do better and keep moving forward.

“It is not just 99.9% certain that I will stay, as has been reported - it is 100% certain that I am staying!
“Since the beginning I have had a long-term contract with the team and I said then that I was doing this to help build a team for the future. It would not be possible to do that in one year from nothing.

“Plus I think with everything we have learned this year we can take a very good step up next season. This is a great team of people who have given blood, sweat and tears to our first season. Some people haven’t seen that with their own eyes, like I have, so it’s easy to criticise or be cynical.”

Glock was partnered by rookie Lucas di Grassi this year but there have been strong suggestions that Jerome D'Ambrosio will take the Brazilian’s seat for 2011, Virgin having evaluated the Belgian in several first practice sessions towards the end of the season.

He thinks the team is right to bide its team over the second driver so to ensure it picks the perfect candidate to compliment his greater experience.

“Well, I am already confirmed so there is nothing new to announce about me,” Glock explained.

“But I understand that the team wants to announce the line-up together when the second seat is confirmed.
“I think it is right to take our time and make sure we have the best combination of youth and experience, plus make sure we have the best information going back into the team at testing and races to ensure we can develop as quickly as we want to and keep moving forward.

“I don’t think we will have to wait too much longer for that news – hopefully before Christmas!”

Glock admits there were times during the team’s debut campaign when frustration got the better of him, but says setbacks were to be expected and that as a whole Virgin’s year can be seen as “pretty incredible”.
"2010 was a tough test for us all, but we survived and it was ultimately very rewarding for me,” said the three-time podium finisher.

“There were frustrations along the way and when things don’t go well, as a driver who is ambitious, I admit it was sometimes difficult, but I joined Virgin Racing knowing there would be difficult times ahead so it wasn’t really a surprise to me. We were building something from zero – no team, no factory, no previous year’s car to develop from and no data.

“Everything we have we have built ourselves in the space of less than a year.

“We should also remember that we were also taking a pretty revolutionary design approach to the VR-01 [the team used a purely CFD philosophy].

“If you look at our season from that perspective, we have achieved something pretty incredible.”

Source: ITV-F1

Lotus season review

Lotus was the big success story among the three new teams this year. It was the pacesetter in its group virtually all season, wrapped up the critical 10th place in the constructors' standings, and snapped at the midfielders' heels on several occasions.
Having secured Renault engines, Red Bull transmission systems and some handy new technical signings for 2011, it looks set for a very promising future - though what it will actually be called next year remains uncertain...
With its 2010 entry not granted until September 2009, Lotus had less time than anyone else to get ready for this season - and yet it ended up comfortably the most successful of the new teams, and the one most likely to get among the established midfielders in 2011.

It was far from a flawless season, with reliability issues hard to shake off, and a row developing over the Lotus name which could yet see Tony Fernandes' squad rebranded over the winter, but overall, this was a triumphant debut for whatever this alliance between Malaysian and Norfolk talent ends up being called long-term.

Being out-qualified by Virgin's Timo Glock in Bahrain proved to be against the trend, as in the race not only did Lotus assert itself at the front of the unofficial new teams' class, it also got both cars to the flag at the first attempt.

By the end of the season, Lotus had taken 14 'class poles' and 12 'class wins', and had the three new teams been in a championship of their own, Lotus' Heikki Kovalainen would've won it by a colossal 120 points, with team-mate Jarno Trulli in second.

Lotus also claimed the highest placing for a new team in the constructors' championship, claiming the vital 10th place in the standings.
This was always likely to be decided on a tie-break of best results as for any of Lotus, Virgin or Hispania to actually get into the top 10 in a race was a long-shot.
Kovalainen's 13th place in Australia gave Lotus an early headstart in this quest, and it then pretty much put its position beyond doubt by taking 12th and 13th at Suzuka.

While Lotus had its rival backmarkers under control, one thing it couldn't do was get on terms with the rest of the field.

The T127 was a deliberately conservative creation - with such a tight timescale, the team felt its only option was to design a basic car that would get it on the grid and see it through 2010.
A revamp for the Spanish Grand Prix shaved off some of the car's excess weight, but the fundamental redesign it really required to get near the points was never on the cards, with Lotus declaring early on that as it was confident it had enough in hand to see off Virgin and Hispania this year, it would focus all its efforts on its 2011 car from the summer.

Although Virgin, which said it was also working with one eye on 2011, did get a little closer later in the season, in general Lotus' prediction that it was fast enough to win the new teams' race without any further developments proved correct.

There were a few occasions when Lotus had a shot at some giant-killing.
Inclement weather helped it reach Q2 in both Malaysia and Belgium, while Kovalainen gave his absolute utmost to get through in the dry in Monaco and Canada as well, just falling short on both occasions.

Strategic choices saw Kovalainen run as high as sixth in China too, and in the Monaco GP he did well to keep Vitaly Petrov's Renault in sight.
But Kovalainen's efforts to take the fight to teams ahead did provoke some controversy, when his Lotus became a launchpad for Mark Webber's Red Bull in Valencia.

Webber couldn't see why Kovalainen was trying to race the much-faster car (which was down among the backmarkers after a very early pit stop) when it was inevitably soon going to cruise past him, while Lotus strongly defended its driver's right to battle for position with whoever he pleased.

Overall, Kovalainen emerged from 2010 with his reputation fully restored after a disappointing McLaren stint, having been the class act among the new teams.

His team-mate Trulli actually ended up with the superior qualifying record, having rediscovered some initially missing speed following a change of chassis and adjustments to the steering system.

But Trulli's luck was abysmal, and he didn't have a single weekend without mechanical problems intervening at some point, with the fragile hydraulics proving particularly troublesome on his car.

Always a perfectionist who is only at his best when the chassis handles to his liking, Trulli admitted very early in the season that the T127 was not ideal for his style and that this was going to be a poor season for him.
Yet while he was very open about the problems with Lotus' 2010 package, Trulli was also quick to point out that in the fraught circumstances of the late entry, Lotus had done the very best that was possible, and that while he was writing this year off, he was very optimistic about the team's future.

Plans for the future dominated much of Lotus' season.
Next year it will receive the Renault V8 and Red Bull transmission system - effectively giving it a large part of the package that took Sebastian Vettel to this year's world title.

And steps have been taken to get the rest of the car up to scratch too, with technical chief Mike Gascoyne going on a recruitment drive that will see several key colleagues from earlier in his successful career rejoining him, led by Force India's Mark Smith, who also working alongside Gascoyne during Jordan's rise and the early days of the current Renault works team.

With the drivers both back on board for 2011 and a very promising technical and personnel package in place, the only lingering headache for Lotus is what it will actually be called.

The now Proton-owned Group Lotus is frantically expanding its motorsport activities, and wants to be representing the brand in F1 as well, mostly likely in partnership with Renault.

The current Lotus team is adamant that it has the rights to the Team Lotus title, insisting that the F1 racing and sportscar sides of the company were always separate operations and that Proton did not buy the former when it acquired Group Lotus.

Initially it seemed that Fernandes would seek a compromise and agree to rename his team, but then the 2011 entry list appeared with the Team Lotus name still listed for his cars.

The Malaysian declared that fan support - and Lotus seems to be earning a level of crowd affection reminiscent of Jordan's 'favourite underdog' status from its glory days - had convinced him to fight on, and if there's one thing this team has proved in its first year, it's that it shouldn't be underestimated by its rivals, whatever the battle...

Highlights: Managing to frighten the established midfielders in Monaco and Canada, getting both cars to the finish at the first attempt in Bahrain.

Lowlights: Every time Truli's car ground to a halt again, the name row, Kovalainen's tangle with Webber in Valencia.

Source: ITV-F1

2011 F1 drivers and teams Confirmed

The FIA released the teams and drives that have been confirmed for the 2011 season:

No.	Driver	Team	Constructor
1 2	Sebastian VETTEL (DEU) Mark WEBBER (AUS)	RED BULL RACING (AUT)	Red Bull Racing Renault
3 4	Lewis HAMILTON (GBR) Jenson BUTTON (GBR)	VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES (GBR)	McLaren Mercedes
5 6	Fernando ALONSO (ESP) Felipe MASSA (BRA)	SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO (ITA)	Ferrari
7 8	Michael SCHUMACHER (DEU) Nico ROSBERG (DEU)	MERCEDES GP PETRONAS F1 TEAM (DEU)	Mercedes
9 10	Robert KUBICA (POL) TBA	RENAULT F1 TEAM (FRA)	Renault
11 12	Rubens BARRICHELLO (BRA) Pastor MALDONADO (VEN)	AT&T WILLIAMS (GBR)	Williams Cosworth
14 15	TBA TBA	FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM (IND)	Force India Mercedes
16 17	Kamui KOBAYASHI (JPN) Sergio PEREZ MENDOZA (MEX)	SAUBER F1 TEAM (CHE)	Sauber Ferrari
18 19	TBA TBA	SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO (ITA)	STR Ferrari
20 21	Jarno TRULLI (ITA) Heikki KOVALAINEN (FIN)	TEAM LOTUS (MAL)	Lotus Renault
22 23	TBA TBA	HRT F1 TEAM (ESP)	HRT Cosworth
24 25	TBA TBA	MARUSSIA VIRGIN RACING (GBR)	Virgin Cosworth