NO NAME - BUT IT'S SAID TO BE TRULLI

November 16, 2009
By Alan Baldwin

The new Malaysian-backed Lotus Formula 1 team has signed its first driver, team principal Tony Fernandes said during the weekend.

The driver was not named but is widely believed to be Jarno Trulli, who drove for the Toyota F1 team which ended its association with F1 at the end of the 2009 season.

"One Malaysia Formula 1 team – also known as Lotus - has signed its first driver," the aviation entrepreneur announced on a Twitter feed. "There will be a public announcement soon."

The team's technical boss is former Toyota technical director Mike Gascoyne. Malaysian Fairuz Fauzy is expected to be the reserve driver. Lotus is one of five teams due to debut in 2010. Toyota and BMW have quit.

Malaysia's Bernama news agency earlier quoted the team as saying it had successfully crash-tested one of its race cars. The nose crumpled on impact but the vertical line which must remain intact after impact remained unscathed.

Lotus still has to pass official F1 crash tests. Under the IAF's strict rules on safety, all cars must comply with mandatory crash tests before being allowed to race.

The Lotus team was launched in September in collaboration with the Malaysian government (which has no equity in the team), and a trio of entrepreneurs. It plans to show its car in mid-February 2010 and test it before the first race of the season at Bahrain in March. - Reuters