Lotus to Become Fourth New F1 Team in 2010

While it seems odd to be talking about a company with such a rich racing heritage in these terms, Team Lotus is to become the fourth new Formula One team in 2010, according to recent reports by the BBC.

Having competed at the sport’s summit for long periods in the Twentieth century – housing driving champions Jim Clark, Emerson Fittipaldi and Ayrton Senna (not to mention Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet) – Lotus’ return will undoubtedly delight the sport’s followers, having been absent since 1994.

As a result, the grid for 2010 is beginning to look rather full: 14 teams have been granted slots, including Campos Grand Prix, Manor and US F1, all of whom join Lotus as new teams for 2010. The fourteenth slot has been awarded to BMW Sauber, whose future in competition looked to be coming to an end, following announcements last month. The FIA stated that there is “a good case…for expanding the grid,” seemingly opening the door for the German manufacturer’s team, and has, it continued, received an “impressive application” from BMW Sauber. However, uncertainties remain about the ownership of the team, since it was previously announced that BMW would not support Formula One in 2010.

The FIA said that it “will be consulting urgently with the existing teams regarding the introduction of an appropriate rule change to expand the grid to 28 cars in time for the first Grand Prix in 2010,” should BMW Sauber – or a new iteration of the team – take up its grid position.