Lotus Exits F1, But Lotus Name Remains
Despite terminating its title sponsorship deal with Group Lotus, Lotus is committed to keeping its name in Formula 1 for the imminent feature. Confused? You should be.
Group Lotus was recently sold by Proton to Malaysian automotive corporation DRB-Hicom, causing Lotus F1’s team owner Genii Capital to end its formal relationship with Lotus. Just a week ago, we reported that Proton might be interested in acquiring Team Lotus F1, but that appears to be off the table now.
Despite the end of the Group Lotus sponsorship, Genii owner Gerard Lopez remains committed to the Lotus name. Lopez has recently agreed to a deal for title sponsorship on the F1 team, something he originally put together back in 2010, but that has been canceled and Proton’s option to buy 50 percent of the team has also been removed.
“We are happy to carry the Lotus name as we believe it is a good name for F1,” Lopez explained in a recent interview with Autosport. “We funded the team last year and the year before for whatever delta was missing. We would prefer to have sponsors up to the full amount – but if we have to fund it then we will fund it.”
Sponsorship deals that Genii had secured included Unilever and Microsoft, two companies that were arguably game changers in F1. Lopez also elaborated that buying Group Lotus isn’t entirely out of the question yet, but the organization would like to know what the new owners plan on doing with it.
[Source: Autosport]
Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
More by Jason Siu
![Lotus F1 Team E20 Teaser Takes Unexpected Direction [Video]](https://cdn-fastly.autoguide.com/media/2023/06/08/12431086/lotus-f1-team-e20-teaser-takes-unexpected-direction-video.jpg?size=350x220)
Comments
Join the conversation