After Group Lotus' parent company Proton decided not to back his F1 team anymore somewhere towards the end of last season, Fernandes aimed to set up a scheme similar to Peter Sauber's, in a sense that he would continue to support the team financially for a while, until several sponsors would want to join in.
However, with his team still caught in the legal battle for the “Lotus” naming rights – a definitive response is to be issued on the matter by the London High Court sometime this month – Fernandes feels sponsors are being chased away.
“The only blip in [following in Sauber's footsteps] is this court case, which has probably put some sponsors off,” argued the AirAsia boss in an official interview posted on Team Lotus' website.
“The thing is that people just don't know who's right and who's wrong, it's confusing for people. But it's changing. I think many people now realize that it doesn't matter what our name is, you're investing in the people and the attitude. Sponsors who realize that will like us.”
For the time being, there are two teams bearing the name of Lotus in F1, namely Team Lotus and Lotus Renault GP. While the former brags that it has purchased the rights to use the name “Lotus” in the series from former rights holder David Hunt, the latter is the result of an undisclosed partnership between Group Lotus and Genii Capital's Renualt F1 team.
Google News