Lotus F1 and A1 Team Malaysia to Merge?

Lotus F1 Team and A1 Team Malaysia may join efforts to set up a competitive Formula One team next season. The term “merger” might come into play a few weeks from now, according to a late report issued by The Malaysian Insider.

The aforementioned newspaper cited a source from within the team, revealing that there have been “deep discussions” between Lotus team officials Tony Fernandes and Mike Gascoyne and A1 team boss Jack Cunningham during the course of the Singapore Grand Prix a few weeks ago.

“A1 Team Malaysia feels that the technological know-how and vast experience it has could be put to good use in helping out the Lotus F1 team,” said the aforementioned source, by the Malaysian newspaper.

The rumors regarding this potential merger between the two organizations appeared shortly after Lotus F1 Team presented the images of their brand new wind tunnel model for 2010. The fist two pics appeared on the team's personal site, alongside a short interview with chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne.

Asked about the nature of the governmental support provided by the country of Malaysia to their F1 operations, Gascoyne revealed that the team will receive financing from both the Malaysian private sector and government. Also, the team will “essentially be flying the Malaysian flag in Formula One” and will seek Malaysian employees for positions like administration, marketing and PR.

In addition, it has emerged that A1 Team Malaysia will not attend the season opener of the A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport this season. The official reason for the team's withdrawal from the entry list is the poor health of the aforementioned series, which was very close to going bankrupt prior to its 5th consecutive edition.