The row over the Lotus name in F1 won't be settled by the opening race of the season on 13 March, it seems, after a High Court judge decided the issue will go to a full trial.
The saga, in which both Group Lotus and Tony Fernandes's 1Malaysia group are both claiming the right to use the Lotus name, will go to trial on 21 March - a full week after the F1 season begins in Bahrain.
The case centres on car company Group Lotus's decision to terminate a licensing deal it had with 1Malaysia group to use the Lotus name in F1, just one year into a five-year deal.
Group Lotus, which for 2011 has become title sponsor of what was formerly the Renault F1 team, says that it is perfectly within its rights to end the deal. For his part, Fernandes is suing Group Lotus for breach of contract.
...and, er, Lotus will be on the grid
Meanwhile, there is also the row over the use of the Team Lotus name (the name under which the original Lotus F1 team traditionally ran), which Fernandes acquired from David Hunt in 2010.
The idea is to cover all of these issues in the trial. In the meantime, it seems as if there will be four Lotuses (sort of) on the grid in Bahrain in two months time.
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