Team story
Origins
Tony Fernandes brought Lotus lettering back to the grid in 2010 with a new team backed by Malaysian interests. Mike Gascoyne led development of the Cosworth-powered T127, and the seats went to two experienced drivers: Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen. Green and yellow recalled the marque’s past, but the staff and car belonged to a newly established organisation.
The Formula 1 journey
Kovalainen was twelfth at Suzuka in 2010, the best placing of the period covered here. The team finished tenth in the Constructors’ Championship without points, ahead of the other newcomers. In 2011 the T128 adopted a Renault engine and Red Bull transmission components; that season also ended without points, although the team retained tenth place in the standings.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Lotus Racing
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · Bahrain Grand Prix
Heikki Kovalainen · Bahrain Grand Prix 2010. The recorded position is P15; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · Japanese Grand Prix
Heikki Kovalainen · Japanese Grand Prix 2010. The recorded position is P12; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · Brazilian Grand Prix
Jarno Trulli · Brazilian Grand Prix 2011. The recorded position is P18; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
The most controversial change concerned the name. Following Lotus Racing in 2010, Fernandes used Team Lotus in 2011, while Enstone raced as Lotus Renault GP. The two teams were rivals with different origins.
The dispute over branding rights accompanied a programme whose sporting aim was primarily to close the gap to established teams, not to recreate Chapman’s old workshop.
What remains
The purchase of Caterham gave Fernandes another identity, and the team raced under that name from 2012. The archive therefore groups the two years of the T127 and T128 together, but separates the subsequent Caterham and Enstone’s Lotus F1. Trulli and Kovalainen remain the principal figures in this brief attempt: two veterans in new cars, within a commercial story that made the name more famous than the results.
