Adam Cooper F1

Lotus Cars has today issued a bizarre press release in a counter attack against suggestions that the company is in trouble.

While it took  pot shots at Tony Fernandes, Mike Gascoyne and others, it also provided some useful detail about the current relationship between Group Lotus and Lotus F1.

As I revealed last month on http://www.speed.com, the F1 team is no longer sponsored by the car company. Instead the new arrangement takes the form of a £30m loan from Proton, and today’s statement gives precise details of the deal – including the fact that the F1 team in its entirety has been put up as collateral, meaning that if the loan is not repaid, Proton will gain control of the team.

With regard to the F1 involvement, the statement reads as follows: “Lotus F1 Team and Group Lotus have reshaped their commercial relationship earlier this year. The new governance agreement signifies the continued commitment of Group Lotus to the team and the sport.

“Group Lotus’ branding and marketing rights and subsequent activities remain unaffected by the new agreement until at least 2017. Alongside continued branding and title partnership status, Group Lotus is also the exclusive master licensee for all Lotus F1 Team merchandise.

“The new agreement was reached following Group Lotus owners Proton providing team owners Genii with a £30m loan which is repayable within three years. In order to secure the loan Genii used 100% of the F1 team’s assets as collateral meaning that under the conditions of the loan agreement Proton have been given full title guarantee to all plant, machinery, show cars, computers, office and the Lotus F1 Team headquarters.

“In addition Proton retains the rights to purchase 10% of the F1 team. Another 10% share option will be activated if the team default on their loan obligations with Proton.”

Lotus has issued a statement distancing the team from a Bahrain press release that threw a positive light on events in the country.

BIC quoted a report from Lotus employees who recently visited Bahrain and who implied that the race should go ahead.

Lotus had not given BIC permission for those quotes to be used publicly. The team said tonight:

“Earlier today, the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) issued a press release attributing quotes to our team showing support for the Bahrain GP. These quotes were part of a full internal and confidential working document, that was also sent on a confidential basis to all F1 team managers last week.

“Lotus F1 Team is one of 12 contestants of the Formula 1 World Championship and we would never try to substitute ourselves for the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), which is the only party entitled to determine if a Grand Prix should go ahead or not, and we endorse the FOTA statement that was issued earlier to this effect.”

The Lotus quotes can be found here:

bahrain-hits-back-with-positive-lotus-report

FOTA has pointed out that it does not have the power to cancel the Bahrain GP – despite Bernie Ecclestone suggesting that they could contribute to such a call.

Ecclestone said today that he could not force teams to go to Bahrain and implied that they had the power to stop the race going ahead.

FOTA’s Oliver Weingarten said today: “There’s been some media speculation recently to the effect that the teams may seek to cancel this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix. That wouldn’t be possible. Teams are unable to cancel Grands Prix.

“We race in an international series called the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, and it is therefore for the FIA to offer the Teams guidance on these issues.”

The Bahrain organisers have hit back against recent negative speculation about their race by compiling some positive quotes about the situation in the country – including a view from Lotus personnel who recently paid a visit.

A press release was issued tonight on behalf of BIC by London PR firm Dragon Associates.

It says that two Lotus personnel visited Bahrain and quoted a report they sent to team principals on April 5 as follows: “Yes there is a need to keep the circuit and the teams secure and they are doing this and they feel very comfortable about the arrangements. If there is going to be protestation then it will be confined to peaceful protests – you will maybe see some banners being waved and maybe some tyres on fire but that is all that they expect.

“We came away from Bahrain feeling a lot more confident that everything is in hand and to be honest if it wasn’t for a few more police you wouldn’t know any difference from the last year we were there.”

Exactly who told Lotus to expect only burning tyres and waved banners is not explained.

BIC also quote positive views from Ian Lindsay (British ambassador), Ben Wallace (Chair of the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Iran) and Professor Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni (Chairman of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry), all of whom say the race should go ahead.

One of the more intriguing quotes comes from John Yates, described as “a former assistant commissioner in the London Metropolitan Police Service who is an adviser to Bahrain’s Interior Ministry on policing.”

Yates says: “It is very much hoped that the policing will be low key and discreet. But if there are problems, they…must be able to escalate their response if need be. People can be assured that if problems arise, then there will be a plan to deal with that, as there would be with any public event in the world.”

BIC boss Zayed Al Zayani concludes by saying: “What has been happening is that armchair observers – who have not been sufficiently interested or committed to investigate the situation for themselves – have been driving this debate, at the expense of those neutral parties who have taken the trouble to investigate the situation at first hand. This, combined with the scaremongering tactics of certain small extremist groups on social networking sites, has created huge misconceptions about the current situation.”

Bernie Ecclestone said today that he can’t force the F1 teams to go to the Bahrain GP.

Tensions have been rising in Bahrain due to both the imminent arrival of the F1 circus and a hunger strike by a prominent imprisoned activist.

Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was jailed for life after last year’s uprising, and will be the subject of an appeal to be held the day after the Grand Prix.

On Monday evening seven policemen were injured when what was described as a home made bomb exploded during a skirmish with protestors. A government spokesman said it was being treated as an ‘act of terrorism.’

Ecclestone insists that the race is still on, although his latest statement appears to be an attempt to divert responsibility for any decision away from himself, as clearly the teams themselves are waiting for action from the FIA and FOM.

“We’ve no way we can force people to go there,” he told Ian Parkes of Press Association Sport. “We can’t say ‘you’ve got to go’ – although they would be in breach of their agreement with us if they didn’t go – but it doesn’t help.

“Commercially they have to go, but whether they decide to or not is up to them. I’ve had no-one say anything other than ‘we’re going to be racing in Bahrain’.”

Regarding the prospect of the race being cancelled, Ecclestone insisted that the Bahrainis were happy for it to go ahead.

“We’re not involved in any of the politics in Bahrain, over who is right or wrong. When you go to somebody’s country you have to respect exactly how they run their country and the laws of that country.

“The National Sporting Authority in that country are the people who can say ‘well, we think we’d prefer not to run the event’. The promoter [ie the government] can also say we don’t want it because there is too much risk.

“We’ve an agreement with the FIA that Bahrain is a round of the World Championship, and we’ve a contract with the promoters, but I want to make clear it’s nothing to do with finance.”

Pirelli has confirmed that Jaime Alguersuari and Lucas di Grassi have both been signed up as test drivers for the tyre maker’s 2010 Renault R30.

The company says that there will be four development tests at Jerez, Spa, Monza and Barcelona, which be “aimed at defining the 2013 range of Pirelli tyres, which will have new compounds and structures, as well as trying out compound developments that could be seen later on this season.”

BBC Radio pundit Alguersuari, who spent much of his Malaysian GP weekend in the Pirelli hospitality building, said: “I can’t wait to get started with this very important and challenging job of developing the new tyres for the future, which I’m looking forward to a lot. I have a huge desire to get behind the wheel of a Formula One car again and return to competition, so this is a brilliant chance for me.”

“We learned a lot together and so we are both very happy to continue,” said Di Grassi of his return to the job. “This is a good opportunity for me to carry on the work that we started last year, which allows me to compare and contrast with all the tyres I have tested so far. These tyres are now a fantastic feature of Formula One.”

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery explained: “Our commitment to providing the best possible spectacle in Formula One is underlined by the fact that we have two extremely fast and talented test drivers this year.

“Lucas will provide us with the reference point that we need from the development programme so far, while Jaime brings an extra dimension from his experience of racing at the sharp end of the field throughout the last three seasons. We’re going to be using the drivers for all of our single-seater testing activities, including GP2 and simulator development as well.”

A brilliant performance from Bruno Senna inevitably went largely unheralded in Malaysia, given the attention focussed on Sergio Perez.

However the Brazilian’s drive to sixth – after a first lap crash led to a nose change and fortuitous early switch to full wet tyres – was almost as impressive.

In effect he gave Williams the result that team mate Pastor Maldonado threw away in Australia a week earlier, and the performance went some way to confirming that Senna deserved the seat.

“In the wet we were very strong, we had some pretty good racing with some good people around me,” he said. “It’s very satisfying when you’re competitive.

“I think when the conditions are difficult the drivers who adapt fastest are the ones who make the most ground, and I had to adapt really quickly, and I wanted to prove to these guys that I can do a good job. Hopefully they are satisfied with the job.”

Senna is confident that the team has some upward momentum.

“I think so. We have a good package and I hope we can continue developing everything. I’m really happy for everybody.”

Christian Horner admits that it’s hard to draw too many conclusions on the true state of play at the front of the field after the first two races.

“I think the only good thing is that the fans are in for a good year,” said the RBR boss. “The pace has moved around an awful lot, and today was quite peculiar because if you look at it, Sergio Perez was the quickest man on track. He was catching a Ferrari and pulling away from a McLaren.

“Based on today’s performance, they were the quickest car/driver combination, so hats off to them for that. But not one perhaps you would have expected.

“You’d have got pretty good odds before the weekend on Sergio Perez harrying Fernando Alonso for a victory! We’re just going to be focussed on our own performance and stick to our own plan.

“It’s difficult to draw too much out of the first couple of races. We know we’ve got things we can improve on, and that’s what we’ll be focussed on for China. But it’s fairly unpredictable at the moment.”

Horner concedes that keeping on top of tyre management will be the key.

“I think it will be about consistency and understanding the tyres. The tyres seem to be the biggest variant, they seem to have probably changed the most from last year. As you can, [it was] see different cars at different points – suddenly Kimi Raikkonen came alive at the end of the race and started setting purple sectors. The tyres appear to be a key factor.”

Williams boss Adam Parr has tended his resignation and will leave the company on March 30.

The team says that Nick Rose, already a Non-Executive Director of WGPH, has been appointed Non-Executive Chairman.

No explanation has been given other than a suggestion from Frank Williams that family life is involved.

In a team statement Parr said: “I am very grateful to Frank for giving me the opportunity to work for Williams over the past five years – a period that has been both challenging and rewarding. Williams is a unique team with over 500 great-hearted and talented people and many superb partners in and out of Formula One. Williams is now set up to move forward and I wish everyone at Grove well.”

Sir Frank Williams added: “I asked Adam to join Williams at the end of 2006 to support me in the running of our team. Over five years, Adam’s achievements have surpassed my expectations and I must thank him for his service. Not least for the decisive role he played in the technical changes made last year which are beginning to show through in the team’s improved competitiveness this season, and for leading this company to a successful IPO.

“Adam leaves us on good terms to pursue a better balance in his life for which I wish him and his family well. He has left us in good shape and I have every confidence that the Board and senior management team at Williams will continue to drive the business forward into a promising future.”

Stefano Domenicali has echoed Fernando Alonso by saying that the Malaysian GP win does nothing to change the fact that the Ferrari F2012 is off the pace of the frontrunning cars in normal conditions.

The team boss conceded that the win would be a useful morale boost as the Maranello crew seek to find the missing speed.

“First of all as you can imagine I am very happy about the result of today,” said Domenicali. “Because considering that we are not happy at all about the level of our performance, and looking at the numbers [the fact that] we are leading the championship with Fernando is really great news.

“But the result of today doesn’t change at all what we are doing at home, because as we know we need to improve the performance of this car. What I’ve urged to my people is to make sure that this will happen as soon as possible.

“This is a good emotional moment, a breath in a moment of a lot of pressure, that I hope can be really a boost for the people at home to bring new developments as soon as possible.

“Fernando did an amazing race. I’m very happy because it’s quite a long time that – touching wood as you say in English, touching other things in Italy – in terms of strategy the team is working very good, in terms of choices and calls.”

Domenicali said the result would take some pressure off his shoulders – but not for long.

“For two days. I will go home on Sunday with a little less pressure, but on Monday, the pressure is the same. As I said, nothing will change. If we have another bad race or bad qualifying in China, the situation will be exactly the same. So we need to stay cool and calm, and that’s it.

“We know in terms of pure performance where is the limit of our car, so we calculate that, we are working knowing that we have to recover in dry and qualifying conditions almost seven-eight tenths to the leaders, and this is the target that we need to make sure that we decrease as soon as possible.”