AirAsia Ensures Quick Travel for Lotus F1 Team

Several teams have had a hard time reaching their European bases in recent days, as the cloud of volcanic ash that travels above the old continent influenced the air traffic worldwide. However, one team that found it particularly easy to leave China by air was Lotus F1 Team, whose team principal owns an airline company.

Tony Fernandes, the boss of AirAsia, made sure all the members of his team would reach their homes safe and quickly. Additionally, he also eased the team's freight travel back to the Norfolk factory, as Lotus are preparing a major update for the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix.

As each day counts in developing a performing F1 car, the fact that Lotus' programme for the 3-week break until the Barcelona race was left untouched will provide the team with a major boost as compared to its rivals. They'll have some extra days to focus on the new components, which are expected to bring one second per lap to the T127.

“Firstly I want to say thanks, on behalf of the whole team, to Tony and Air Asia for literally taking us under their wings and getting us home so quickly,” said the team's technical director Mike Gascoyne.

“With their help, we’ve faced minimal disruption to our travel plans, and have minimized the impact it could have had on our ability to work to our pre-Barcelona timetable, and it was a great effort from everyone in Malaysia to help us out.”

“We will go through our normal procedures to unpack all the freight that’s arrived from China, and will then turn our attention to applying the Barcelona update package to both cars. All in all, we’re just glad to be home and able to focus on our jobs again, rather than worrying about the forces of nature!” added Gascoyne.