FIA, or the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, has decisively ended the recent confusion in Formula 1 by adopting a set of chassis name changes for the 2012 season that were proposed earlier this month. Motorsports’ governing body and F1 big boss Bernie Ecclestone have mutually agreed to adopt the following team name changes for the 2012 season: Caterham F1 Team will be the new name for Team Lotus; Lotus Renault GP will be the new name for Renault, and Marussia F1 team is the new name for Virgin.
A year long dispute between Malaysian owned Team Lotus and Renault, thanks to the agreement, which had been operating as Lotus Renault since the British sports car company from Hethel took over the main sponsorship role in 2011, is now settled. Immediately after the announcement of the FIA’s decision, Lotus Renault GP team leader Eric Boullier said “We are very pleased that our chassis name change has been approved. We have said all along that, in the interests of the sport, it is important that we remove any ambiguity on this matter. It is also important that there are clearly identifiable teams on the grid, and today’s announcement goes some way towards ensuring that.” It sounds like this settles the matter once and for all.
Not insignificantly, the latest announcement means that Renault’s direct team involvement isreduced somewhat as the French brand goes back to its more traditional engine supply role. Teams like Lotus, Caterham, Williams, and current champions Reds Bull Racing will keep them on as preferred providers.
The FIA’s announcement further underscores the exit of Virgin from the world of F1 racing.
Currently there are no F1 racing cars sponsored by corporations like adt home security, Amazon.com, or Microsoft, but this could always change in the future. It would be nice to see the titans of tech get more involved in the sport, particularly as they seek to implement the roles of their products being built into cars.
