Lotus F1 Racing - Lotus T127

Lotus Racing unveiled its 2010 challenger, the Lotus Cosworth T127, at the Royal Horticultural Hall in London. Decked out in traditional green and yellow, although without the official Lotus badge on the nose, the car managed to both remind one of Lotus in years gone by as well as looking like an F1 car of today. On stage were Team Principal Tony Fernandes, Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne, race drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, and test driver Fairuz Fauzy. Given that the team only got the green light in September they can be proud of what they have achieved - particularly when the likes of Campos and US F1 have yet to install an engine, let alone fire it up.

What to say about the T127? First off I'm unsure where the chassis designation comes from. The last Team Lotus F1 car was the Lotus 109 in 1994 and sixteen years moves us on to designation 125. Anyway moving on from the mystery of the chassis designation we have the standard Cosworth V8 in the back married to a gearbox sourced from Xtrac. Like Virgin the team has stuck with known F1 suppliers for other key components - BBS wheels, AP brake callipers, Hitco brake discs and pads and Penske dampers. Mike Gascoyne has had a hand in the design of more than a few F1 cars - especially with Jordan - and knows what's what here. The chassis and suspension are, of course, all made from carbon fibre and the team has resisted the temptation to put a shark fin on the car. Good decision in my view, the shark fin makes the modern cars look rather boxy.

Jarno Trulli is the second Toyota refugee to find a berth with a new (to F1) team, although unlike former team mate Timo Glock he is much closer to the end of his F1 driving career than the beginning. Trulli has an excellent reputation in qualifying but a slightly less glowing one come race day, but that said he is a very good driver with a long pedigree and the experience that Lotus needs.

Heikki Kovalainen comes fresh from McLaren and a bit of a mauling at the hands of Lewis Hamilton. Rarely on the same pace as his team mate his reputation has suffered as a result; Lotus could be a place where he has the opportunity to repair that - we don't know how much of the deficit at McLaren was down to skill, and how much down to psychology. Heikki is a nice bloke and a good driver, I hope he does well with Lotus.

Lotus Racing is not, dare I say it, Team Lotus. The spirit may be there but without the iconic Lotus badge, or any degree of ownership resting with the Lotus road car company that was the parent of Team Lotus it cannot aspire to be regarded as such, or presume to continue adding to the Team Lotus F1 statistics. That said the team has a solid technical base, two good drivers and apparently sound finance. It should therefore be looking to establish itself as a team consistently finishing its races and challenging - and beating - the other new teams on the block. Build from there, guys, and good luck.

author: Phil Haigh