NOVEMBER 8, 1999
Lotus and Malaysia
According to the reports in Malaysia, Petronas will commission Lotus Engineering to design and build Formula 1 engines at its headquarters in Britain as a first step towards reintroducing the Lotus name into Grand Prix racing. Whether this will involve Peter Sauber's operation in Switzerland or David Hunt, the man who owns the rights to the Lotus name in F1, remains to be seen. If Sauber was not willing to have his team renamed and moved to England - and all the signs are that he is not keen on the idea - Petronas might simply buy another existing team and build an operation in Britain.
It is worth noting that while Petronas and Sauber have a deal until the end of the 2000 season, the departure of Fritz Kaiser from Sauber will not have gone down well in Malaysia. It was Kaiser who first convinced Petronas to support Sauber, despite bids for the Malaysian money from a number of other F1 teams notably Jordan, Arrows and the now defunct Pacific GrandÊPrix.