Lotus will adopt the famous Team Lotus name from next year, in a deal that is set to be announced at the Singapore Grand Prix.
As the team closes in on finalizing its engine situation and driver lineup for next year, sources close to the team have revealed that there will be a change of official team name, too. Rather than operate under the Lotus Racing banner as part of a tie-up with the car company, the team will switch to the Team Lotus moniker that it last raced with in F1.
It is understood that current Lotus owner Tony Fernandes purchased the rights to the name from its former owner David Hunt. As well as the change of team name, AUTOSPORT reports that Lotus is still pushing hard on securing a switch to Renault for 2011 – even though it has a binding contract with Cosworth.
Discussions are ongoing between the two parties to see if there is room for an agreement that could see the Cosworth engine deal be terminated two years before its original cut-off point. Sources suggest that Lotus is hoping to announce a majority of its future plans in Singapore in two weeks' time, which could include its name, sponsors, drivers, engine and technical staff lineup.