Lotus F1 Appoint New CEO, Riad Asmat

Lotus F1 Team seem very determined to resolve the organizational issues within their team as soon as possible, in order to switch focus completely to the development of their 2010 challenger in Formula One. After the Malaysian company proceeded to some managerial changes during the past week, their F1 operations also named a new CEO in the person of Riad Asmat.

Only hours before the official start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Malaysian team made the official announcement about their new CEO, who used to be general manager at Proton before accepting the Lotus offer. Asmat will therefore work with Air Asia's Tony Fernandez to bring the new team up and ready to the Bahrain grid next year.

“Riad's expertise, which is a good blend of both corporate experience and motorsports knowledge, will provide the dynamic and success-oriented leadership that the Malaysian team requires. I'm confident that his knowledge of motorsports coupled with vast experience will contribute to the success of the 1Malaysia F1 Team,” said Lotus F1's team principal Tony Fernandez.

Fernandez, however, might not stick around the Lotus F1 outfit too long, as he revealed earlier this year that his role within the organization is merely interim. He will only guide the steps of the newly launched team until someone more experienced will take over, but did not issue a definitive term for that change.

In the meantime, Lotus announced a new motorsports director in the person of former Maserati and Fiat employee Claudio Berro. The naming is believed to be directly linked with Lotus' F1 entry next year, as Berro is expected to get personally involved in the well-being of the Norfolk-based organization in the years to come.