Model hints at 2010 colour scheme for 1Malaysia / Lotus F1 car
1Malaysia F1 car model
The FIA announced today that Lotus will get the final place on the 2010 F1 grid. The Malaysian government has backed the bid and the entry was made by a company called “1Malaysia F1 Team”.
1Malaysia is an initiative of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, intended to promote unity among Malaysians. This brightly-coloured car model was on display at an official announcement in Malaysia today.
The team principal will be Tony Fernandes, who is ranked the 15th-richest man in Malaysia and set up Air Asia, the airline which sponsors Williams.
A statement from the government said: ““The cars will be made in Malaysia, by Malaysians [...] The team will announce its two drivers by October 31, 2009. Currently six local and international drivers have been selected.”
Ex-Renault, Toyota and Force India man Mike Gascoyne will return to F1 as the team’s technical director.
Interestingly, FIA president candidate Jean Todt has links to Malaysia via his partner Michelle Yeoh and his role as an ambassador for Malaysian tourism (about which questions were raised earlier this year).
The model above may prove not to be indicative of what the team’s final 2010 livery will look like – but I think it would be great to see such a radical colour scheme on the F1 grid.
But with Force India, US F1 and now 1Malaysia, is F1 slowly turning into A1 Grand Prix?
Update: Alex Yoong yesterday referred to the car as ‘project raibow’ on Twitter. Is this paint scheme serious?
Read more: 2010 F1 drivers and teams
I hope Alex Yoong doesn’t return to F1 as one of the Lotus drivers…
The days of pay drivers seem to be over- now drivers seem more likely to be chosen on their nationality. Bernie Ecclestone wants Force India to take on Karun Chandok, USF1 will run at least one American driver (even though none of them seem to have the credentials right now). Perhaps the Malaysian tourist board will decide employing Alex Yoong for Lotus will draw in a few more tourists to the country…
?
Are sidepods & stuff allowed next year?
Not the winglets, no, this looks like a pre-09 model that someone’s painted.
look like the renault R24 or R25.
it is a renault
Well thats…. different
One way of putting it.
a very nice way of putting it, I had a diff word on my head….
I had several.
I had a stick of rock from the seaside that looked like that once…
as long as red or white aren’t on it i’m happy. these colours are way to common. the old black/gold or the dark green/yellow schemes were the best.
The dark metallic green with yellow would be great.
or blue
i meant as long as it isn’t dark blue or dark blue and white.
I’m a fan of colourful things, so I like it. But then again I like the Renault livery so perhaps I just have bad taste…
Regardless, I’d be very surprised if they actually kept this livery, I think it’s just a publicity stunt. If Petronas are involved, it’s far more likely to be turqouise, a bit like Sauber used to look.
Your not alone, I loved the 08 Renault color scheme the best, and Vettels Bahrain helmet
as ridiculous as that looks, im sure that was just for show.. i looked at it again and if you notice that is actually the colours of the malaysian flag! for anyone who doesnt know what that looks like, its has a blue rectangle with a yellow moon and sun in it. and the red and white stripes. well it looks just like the american flag except the 52 or whatever stars the septics have is replaced by the sun and moon. not too sure about the number of stripes. havent counted either.
Looks like ice-cream to me.
The back looks alright I think but I do not like the front. I like vivid and distinctive liveries but that is just odd…
haha.. Dun be like Spyker or MidlandF1 disappear from the grid less than 2 seasons..
Yeah they will. So will Manor and Campos
I have a feeling this won’t end well.
Lol TommyB one way to describe it!
Maybe they kept running out of paint and just picked up the nearest can?
Haha yeah. Looks a bit like a stick of rock you get from the sea-side or something.
Nice to see Mike Gascoyne will be back for next year…. Well the design and colours are erm.. different!
Now I wont say a bad thing about Renaults ING livery. I love it now as I know there may be worse paint jobs :O
Yes. It’ll soon be half A1GP half Formula Cosworth.
Hopefully F1 will be sorted out with a new president
What if it’s Todt Tommy? Bernie wouldn’t even give Vatanen a pass to the Monza gp. Wish we could vote or get one of us or Keith for president
Yeah that’d be a shame. Isn’t Todt going to run for president then when he gets it make Mosley in-charge again?
I would be very surprised if that livery made it onto the grid.
Please god, no!
That’s horrid, really don’t like it one bit.
The cars will be made in Malaysia, by Malaysians [...]
If that’s the case, why not use a Malaysian name than possibly tarnish a great teams record.
Just my tuppence worth.
Yes I agree. The majesty of the Lotus name should not be tarnished by tacky liveries. They will ruin the brand appeal and commercial value of the name if they do. But try explaining this to people in this Berniefied era – F1 does not seem to have too much awareness of history or classy looks these days (the exception being McLaren)
Well, Mclaren and Williams also.
Mclaren, Williams and Ferrari. Oddly enough they’re the only teams to have won more races than Lotus.
They can even paint it the national flag colors and it would not look so ugly. Gah. When I was last in KL, the ING Renault F1 advertisements were everywhere — you’d think they’d recoil from the horror, not get sunken deeper into the morass…
Ironically, the local Malaysian car makes (Proton and Perodua) tend to be, in my opinion, very elegantly designed, they just have a reputation — not wholly undeserved — for poor reliability and safety.
Oh God……please….no.
If they show up with a color scheme like that it is probably an indication of the performance we can expect from the team…….like none.
What’s with all the Pink on the front wing & nose? It will definitely not be received well in Canada & USA for obvious reasons
I dunno how Colin Chapman will be feeling at this moment. The first thing that comes to mind at a mention of a Lotus is “JPS Golden Black” . I would rather not see a lotus car. This is absolutely going to destroy the legacy of Lotus & Chapman.
Wasn’t Mike Gascoyne fired from Force India last year? I wonder how good will he be. Hasn’t been sucessful despite being the highest paid in 2003 with earnings crossing $8 million per year. Malaysian folks will go mad if this new “Lotus” doesn’t deliver. I just hope this misadventure doesn’t damage the reputation of the original Colin Chapman Lotus brand.
That car is as ugly as it will be slow. That car is really a joke. FIA doesnt which direction to take f1 in.. but allowing a crappy teams and cars in f1 will only spoil the sport
That car is as ugly as it will be slow. That car is really a joke. FIA doesnt know which direction to take f1 in.. but allowing a crappy teams and cars in f1 will only spoil the sport
I hope they don’t do black and gold. It was a great livery, but it matched the sponsor, so dragging it out now seems wrong. I suppose if the sponsor black and gold it wouldn’t matter, but otherwise it seems like exploiting there history. I’d rather they just find a scheme to match a new sponsor or go back to green with yellow.
Bit off topic but Mp4 if you look on autosport there is news about the future of mclaren and mercedes relationship.
Isn’t Lotus being based in Britain first and then being moved across to Malaysia?
I wouldn’t be surprised if McLaren come up with their own engine by 2012. Ron Dennis has clearly stated they are in the process of building a Brand name. McLaren would look awfully incomplete without its own engine. So, the news to me was on expected lines. Ron also made it very clear that they are taking on Ferrari .
Re McLaren building its own engine — well, they’re building their own engine for the new road car — wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to see them aim for their own F1 powerplant in 2012 or 2013 after the Mercedes connection withers…
I see a great future for McLaren, building their own engines and expanding their range of road cars.
I can see Ron entering a Second Youth, and creating wonderful and different things for the times ahead.
I hope the team will be called Lotus and not 1 Malaysia. I was looking for the return of the evocative British brand and team, but this is Lotus only in name. Really sad. And I don’t belive Malaysia has any local driver who is F1 material, except perhaps Fairuz Fauzy.
I can deal (uhum!?) with the livery but is that the best they could do with the name…
they’ll be called Lotus. what’s wrong with that?
over the rainbow (8)
Funny, thats exactly what I was thinking!
But thats an awful colour scheme, they had better be taking the p**s!
I bet the driver will be Fairuz Fauzy, u know what? these are the government cronies business. Another way to siphon the tax payer monies. Sad day for Malaysian. Do we really have the money to spare on F1? Don,t get me wrong, I’m not against Malaysian F1 but the Malaysian tax payer monies.
The ugliest color scheme in all F1 history…
Wholeheartedly agreed!
Oh I dunno – Honda’s ‘Earth Car’ paint job was completely duff at at 200mph. Actually, scratch that – was duff when parked as well.
Cut ‘em a break, no major sponsor yet, but suprised they didn’t do the Malay flag thing, but would prolly get mistaken for USF1 team then I guess.
I quite liked that one actually
The 2007 Honda was slightly worse than this. I assume Lotus have got some hippie thing going on.
I agree. That scheme is hideous. The only thing it is going to do is dilute the Lotus brand. It’s bad!
it reminded me the following car
http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/slacker-sponsors-indy-500-racer-pink-lloyd.html
http://media.photobucket.com/image/pink%20racing%20car/spyboy1/AlexpinkLloyd2009Indyherdrink.jpg
brand ambassador of this Lotus car? probably this person?
To clarify, Force India only uses the word “India” for promotional purposes. The Indian government has nothing to do with Force India. There is probably no Indian in the team apart from its owner.
The use of the word “India” gives the team a very very large fan base in India. Which it can leverage for other purposes.
I don’t know about US F1 or 1Malaysia, but Force India is NOT an A1 Grand Prix team.
Livery is mmm interesting. One positive point is that they dont use white, which far too many teams in Formula1 use excessively.
The US government has nothing to do with US F1 either. 90% of them probably don’t even know what it is. They are using the name US for the same reason as India, so it’s not at all an A1 type of thing. They are just hoping that the US can gain interest by having a homegrown team.
That is a very ugly scheme and the name reminds me of one of those funny Engrish websites….1Malaysia F1….huh?
I hate to point this out but most of the A1 GP teams aren’t run out of the nations they represent, either. The whole ‘World Cup of Motorsport’ is a ridiculously flimsy premise for an international series, which is in no way strengthened by making each nation field a driver from their country. Essentially it’s a marketing exercise, of the type you would be a fool to count Mr Ecclestone out of.
If the same trend of naming teams after nations continues, that day is not far off when F1 will turn into some kind of arcade game like Track Mania Nations.
“They cannot be serious” with that livery. I hope that is only just a mockup. I just couldn’t take it serious like the Honda earth car. Well at least you can spot them a mile away coming down the straight unless your colour blind.
I think Pink Pearl will be very pleased with this livery
I cant take this entry seriously. How can they design and build an F1 can in 6 months and get it racing (within 107%). I think this arrangement will flounder before before March 2010; and the FIA know it. Hence the reason why they want to have ‘Sauber’ lined up to fill the vacancy.
The thought the 107% rule went when we left the old fashioned 12 laps in an hour qualifying?
The = I !
I’m just thinking of Lola 1997.
The 107% rule was dropped in 2002. The last person not allowed to race because of it was Alex Yoong at the 2002 German Grand Prix.
I’m just wondering if this car was just brought out from the wind tunnel ? Looks like they’ve used bad colour combination for Flow-vis paint
Epic Aero(colour) failure.
I would go all the way to a psychedellic design, like the Rolls Royce of John Lennon, or else I would stay with a nice classic colour theme.
I think country names should be banned from team names. F1 is about competition bewtween drivers and teams not nations.
F1 teams used to represent a nation and that’s why F1 is a world championship and the winner is a world champion.
As Force India is for India,
so was and is Ferrari for Italy.
Team used to carry national colours the only time they truly drove for their country, sponsorship stopped that. Only team competing in national colours still is ferrari.
I don’t think it’s a world championship because nations were intended to compete directly (otherwise why so many British teams), it’s a world championship because the racing happened/happens across the world, by drivers from all over the world.
That’s absolutely untrue – neither Formula One nor any of the predecessor championships have ever been a competition between nations. The first championship was the World Grand Prix Manufacturers Championship. The Driver’s Championship came several years later.
Those two teams aren’t racing as countries. Following that logic, F1 is currently a competition between four car manufacturers, two energy drinks, three men, and a country.
If you look at the two teams that have a country in their name, Force India and USF1, they come from countries that don’t really care about F1. If it takes a team with the national flag on the side to get people watching, I don’t see the problem with it.
If and when a second team arises from India or the US, I could easily see those names changing to something more standard, like the
This made me laugh, good call!
F1 did not begin as a world championship and has not been exclusively so since 1984.
The painting of cars in national colours was a differentiator not a competition requirement. Teams didn’t think twice about dropping ‘national colours’ in place of sponsors once money was on the table.
I understand that the teams are not racing as countries, of course – most of the Force India team is not even Indian – that is my point, there should be FIA imposed restrictions on names just as there is in other sports and industries.
As I say, F1 is not a sport between national teams and therefore the teams should not be allowed to be named as such.
Have you forgotten about Équipe Nationale Belge? It’s not like it’s a new thing…
Indeed, it’s not a new thing but that doesn’t mean we should allow it.
It looks like an F1 car shaped boiled sweet, complete in three different flavours – blueberry, custard and raspberry ripple.
ACID FLASHBACK!!!!!!!
Looks crap.
Tommy that’s what many think and I doubt Max would back anyone unless he got something out of it.
Bernard I wouldn’t ban them but I tend do agree it’s better when teams stay awaye from country names, mainly as I have a vision of the USF1 car being the american flag with them blasting Bruce Springsteen’s born in the USA when they arrive next year
You forgot to mention monster truck tires and a “support our troops” magnet on the rear wing.
Couldn’t agree more. All they need now is a Budweiser sponsorship, and they’d be all set!
it has a Benetton flavor
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Thierry_Boutsen_1988_Canada_2.jpg
the 60’s have returned only this time the LSD has been taken by engineers. That hurts.Anyboby remember the Lola in 93′ I always thought that was the worst, I remember walking down the pit lane and seeing it for the 1st time boy was it ugly.
Incredible to say, I agree with Mp4-19.
Would that rainbow be a LOTUS???
it not the lotus f1 livery for next year…c’mon…don’t be such stupid….this is just an awful looking model made by 5 years old kid with a couple can of spray…the team will call lotus f1 team not 1malaysia f1 team…it just a company name..i bet one of the driver will be fairuz fauzy….but fairuz deserve much descent f1 car that this lotus f1 that sure will be one of the back marker next year….the should just buy bmw sauber!!!
And I thought that the front-side shot looks awfull – at least from that angle you can see that they TRIED (and failed miserably) to paint a national flag inspired livery.
I can see them either using British racing green or the yellow-white livery of A1 team
This is FAIL on so many levels.
FAIL team.
FAIL livery.
FAIL Lotus name using.
FAIL Sauber getting a buyer only on the day this is announced.
Sauber most likely had a buyer lined up well in advance, they just chose to annouce it the same day as Lotus was declared team thirteen to maximise their chances of there being a fourteenth team.
It looks like an old Renault model.
As a malaysian, I’m embarrassed. way to stick it in peoples faces… woo…
So this is what Alex Yoong referred to as ‘Project Rainbow’…
Yeah someone just sent me that on Twitter. Very interesting, maybe this is more accurate than we thought!
YUCK! Who was the genius who painted this monstrosity? An group of preschoolers? And the name? C’mon, we have Force India, USF1, and NOW 1Malaysia? I thought nothing could get worse than USF1 with the naming, but maybe the Malaysians need to be a tad more creative. Also, it is a disappointment that this fugly car will have a Lotus badge on it. FAIL on so many levels.
I must change my meds, but I like it. A color for every day of the week or minute of the day. It is trying to please everyone on the planet.
yes keith, but not like this! looks like an ice cream.
Like an ice cream? I wouldn’t eat an ice cream with that many colours!
ever heard of neopolitan?
Hahaha, good call.
It doesn’t look like an ice cream.
It looks like a bad ice cream
A melted one at that.
I kinda think this could be a publicity stunt or something…???
I mean it’s got the forums talking…
O yeah, I really hope I’m right!
When I read on the Beeb that the name Lotus was coming back to F1, I was overjoyed! However, “The cars will be made in Malaysia, by Malaysians”….. Bl**dy disgrace. A name synonymous with Britain & British engineering should definately not be used in such a cheap marketing excercise……
Why couldn’t the “British” keep Lotus afloat?
Irrelevent
Regardless of the paint job, the Hinwil team parked up as the ‘14th team’ at present, can only mean the FIA means to kick Renault and Flavio out of the series, given half the chance. No great surprises there, but Mosley’s final vengence on Briatore and FOTA will hurt Formula 1 commercially, as much as many of his draconian measures have over the last few years.
Even if ‘Crashgate’ did happen, which will remain subjective I suspect, how can this retrospective activity possibly help F1 as a ’sport’ in the eyes of the global media, and thus, it’s sponsors. Suspect CVC directors must be seething that this final lashing out from Max Rufus Mosley, whom by his own admission, has known about this matter for some months. Odd how he waited until the FOTA split was negated with the new concorde agreement in the bag before proceeding with this action.
Well at least the candy-cane car looks different. Defo gonna need a big sponsor for a new paint job though. Wonder where Alonso will be hunting now…
Looks like vomit!
I would love to see a JPS back on the tracks, black and golden… that was one fine piece of art!! Unfortunately, we won’t see it again….