F1-drive

[SinglePic not found]The new Lotus team officially launched their 2010 car on Friday, as the Cosworth-powered T127 was unveiled in the UK. The Malaysian-backed squad, one of four new entrants this season, will put the legendary Lotus name back on the grid for the first time since 1994.

At the wheel of the green and yellow-liveried machine will be former Toyota star Jarno Trulli and ex-McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen. Both were in attendance as the wraps came off their new charge in front of around 500 guests at London’s Royal Horticultural Halls.

Trulli and Kovalainen were joined by team principal Tony Fernandes, chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne and test driver Fairuz Fauzy. Fernandes expressed his delight at launching the car just five months after the team was granted its entry to the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.

“I am extremely proud to be here today and to be able to show the world the fruits of the team’s hard work over the last five months,” he said. “It’s humbling for me and my fellow shareholders, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin to see how a team that five months ago didn’t even exist is now a thriving workforce, full of enthusiasm and passion for Lotus Racing and the challenges ahead and capable of producing such a beautiful machine in such a short time.

“Now we’ve achieved two major milestones; confirming our entry and unveiling our car, but now the real work starts. Next we move on to testing and the season ahead and I’m confident that the team will exceed expectations wherever we go, and will do so on a wave of support around the world that has been growing daily since we first unleashed Lotus Racing back in September ’09.”

Gascoyne added his thoughts, saying “The last few months have been some of the most challenging of my career, but it’s been a challenge the whole team and I have thrived on since we first started work on the car up in Norfolk. I’m delighted that we’ve reached this point, and now we have a beautiful car that gives us a great base to work from for the season ahead and a fighting chance of going racing in the right way, with a winning mentality. The hard part starts now, and I know everyone in the team and I are up for whatever lies ahead.”

The Lotus Racing T127 is powered by Cosworth and will use an Xtrac gearbox and, in line with all 2010 teams, will be running on Bridgestone tyres.