Sep.11 (GMM) Tony Fernandes has hinted strongly that he will drop the Team Lotus name for his formula one team ahead of the 2012 season.

The Malaysian entrepreneur has been locked in a bitter dispute with Renault sponsor Group Lotus but won the legal right to keep deploying the name for his Hingham-based team.

But Fernandes, also the owner of the AirAsia airline, has subsequently bought the British specialist sports car maker Caterham and renamed his GP2 team Caterham Team AirAsia.

He said at Monza: "I always had a problem with 'am I really Team Lotus?' because there's a big question mark on that.

"You can't have a name and not monetise it. So we will have to wait and see ... I don't think this is healthy for anyone, having Lotus-Renault and Team Lotus."

F1's Enstone based team, currently widely known as Renault, might also be heading for a name change, with the Guardian newspaper reporting that sponsor Group Lotus could finally be set to buy in.

The report said current owners Genii are "reportedly in discussion about selling the team", with Lotus "in pole position to get it".

Latest F1 News - Mobile version

26 Feb: New Ferrari not quickest in field - Domenicali 26 Feb: Red Bull still best in 2013 - Tost 26 Feb: 2014 French grand prix 'possible' - Prost 26 Feb: Danica Patrick 'not interested' in F1 switch 26 Feb: Report - Gilles Simon working on F1 engine for Honda 26 Feb: Gutierrez plays down link to Carlos Slim 26 Feb: Caterham exhaust 'legal' insists van der Garde 26 Feb: McLaren replaces Mercedes-bound Lowe 25 Feb: 'Engine maps' trouble for Red Bull, Lotus - report 25 Feb: Mercedes-bound Lowe to miss 2013 opener - report 25 Feb: Mercedes 'in group of teams' behind Red Bull - Lauda 25 Feb: Gutierrez expects Hulkenberg to beat him early in 2013 25 Feb: New Ferrari 'much better' than 2012 - Massa 25 Feb: Teams 'will adapt' to new tyre situation - Gutierrez 25 Feb: Tight rules make today's F1 cars 'the same' - Forghieri 25 Feb: Williams removes controversial exhaust trick 25 Feb: Contract 'conflicts' cause of Marussia test snub - Razia 25 Feb: Lotus to fight Red Bull for title - Gutierrez 25 Feb: Marussia 'ahead of Caterham' - Chilton 25 Feb: Sutil will not stay in F1 as test driver The latest F1 News - Mobile Version