The fight over the use of the Lotus name in F1 stepped up a gear when Lotus Racing brought former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir into the dispute.
Mahathir ran the country from 1981-2003 and was very much behind the birth of the Malaysian GP. He’s also been a keen supporter of Lotus Racing. Still a big player in the country, he is now closely associated with Proton.
A statement from the team today said: “In a bid to alleviate the public confusion surrounding the ongoing matter between Lotus Racing and Proton/Group Lotus, Lotus Racing shareholder and Deputy Team Principal Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun recently had the opportunity to meet Proton Adviser Tun Dr Mahathir. The meeting was to discuss the matter in person and agree a future course of action for Lotus Racing.
“Lotus Racing believes it is acting within its own rights, and as a result of this meeting, the team will now refrain from making any further comments on the matter. This action is upon advice from Tun Dr Mahathir, and it is out of our respect for him that we will act upon his wishes as he has supported us since our inception, and his backing has been invaluable in our growth.
“We are very grateful for having had the opportunity to put forth our case and have complete trust that a fair review will be made, and a decision on the matter will be announced in due course.”
Reading between the lines it sounds like Mathathir is siding with the team rather than Dany Bahar and co…
Adam Cooper F1 
…whereupon will ensue a long period of external silence and senior Proton people being told where they get off, concluding with something vaguely Bahar-shaped being dropped out of a Lotus-liveried Air Asia plane over Lake Geneva.
All’s well that ends well!
Dr Mahathir, if forced to pick sides WILL pick the govt’s side. He is a patriot and is unlikely to turn his back on the govt for Tony who is considered a loose cannon or even a rogue.
Proton would not have come out on Monday and made such terse statement and stuck their neck out in the way that they did without knowing that they have the Msian govt’s full support. In fact the statement was not made by their MD but rather their chairman who represents the interests of the govt.
I don’t agree that Dr Mahathir is siding Tony. He is just protecting the country because Malaysia has been made to look silly.
I’ve seen some of Lotus Cars’ new designs from the Paris Motor Show. They’re really pushing the whole “motorsport heritage” thing in promotional material; Bahar in particular keeps dropping names like Andretti.