Lotus F1 Cars to Feature AirAsia Logos in Spain

Lotus' 2010 Formula One challenger, the T127, will soon feature the logos of AirAsia, the company whose owner is none other than the Lotus F1 Team principal Tony Fernandes. According to a recent report from Finland's leading newspaper Turun Sanomat, the logos will be part of the car's livery from as early as the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix.

After the first couple of races in the 2010 season, it surfaced in the media that Fernandes doesn't want to have the logos of his company on the Lotus cars, as AirAsia is already partnering Williams-Cosworth in the series. Consequently, the logos are already painted on the FW32.

However, with the new developments coming from Lotus for the European season of Formula One – believed to cut the T127's lap time by a full second – the Malaysian businessman seems to have changed his mind. Of course, the confirmation for this move is yet to come from Lotus F1 Team.

As reported in late March by several media, the car was already supposed to feature the logos of famous Brazilian oil company Petrobras from as early as Barcelona, but the same Finnish newspaper revealed the deal was not made in time for the livery to be completed by early May. Consequently, it seems Petrobras' logo will be seen on the T127 in Monaco, although the team is yet to confirm it.

The Spanish GP, scheduled May 7 thru 9, will see some heavily revised Lotus T127 cars, as Mike Gascoyne confirmed his team will debut a completely new aerodynamic package aimed at further close the gap on the established F1 teams. From all the newly entrants, Lotus F1 Team is by far the most reliable (75 percent finishing rate), followed by HRT (65.2 percent) and Virgin Racing (33.8).