Team Lotus F1 Cars to Sport Caterham Logo at Silverstone

British sportscar manufacturer Caterham has made a move that will bring it to the pinnacle of open-wheel racing, and motorsport in general for that matter, as it has signed a deal with Team Lotus F1. Under the new agreement, the Lotus cars will sport a Caterham logo starting with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, which takes place this weekend.

Following its purchase by a holding company, part-owned by Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes in April, Caterham will be emblazoned proudly on the sidepods of the two Team Lotus F1 cars, driven by Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli.

“This is a monumental occasion for Caterham Cars. We are a niche low-volume sportscar manufacturer and yet we are

now a key partner for a Formula One team with an extremely bright future. The purchase of Caterham signalled an exciting new era for the company in terms of the continued development of the legendary Seven,” said Caterham Cars managing director, Ansar Ali.

“But in terms of global visibility for the Caterham brand, you don't get much better than Formula One. Caterham has a long and distinguished history in grassroots motorsport but this puts the firm in front of a truly global audience to sit alongside major car brands including Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes Benz,” Ali added.

Lotus and Caterham enjoy a long history of collaboration, as the latter was founded in the 1960s by Graham Nearn to act as a dealership for the Lotus Seven designed by Colin Chapman, who himself went into F1 in 1954. In 1973, Caterham purchased the rights to build the Seven - a car whose shape still makes the open-wheel specialist company what it is today.