RE: Does New Lotus Boss Have F1 Plans?
Friday 4th September 2009
New Lotus top man has F1 credentialsThe last time we heard from him, Bahar was speaking in his capacity of Senior VP, Commercial and Brand for Ferrari SpA, where he was responsible for worldwide road car sales, aftersales, road car and F1 marketing, as well as Ferrari licensing and merchandising. Phew, sounds pretty busy, so perhaps it's no wonder he fancied a move from Maranello to the rather more bucolic heart of Norfolk...
Lotus could be back on the grid in 2010"I am looking forward to taking on the challenges as CEO of this legendary and iconic company with a peerless motorsport history. Lotus has a worldwide reputation for innovative engineering and superb sportscars that lead the world in efficiency, design and dynamics. With the recent launch of the award-winning Evora, there is proof that Lotus is better placed than many to capitalise on the rapidly changing automotive market. I can't wait to get my plans underway in October," he says.
Does New Lotus Boss Have F1 Plans?
Former Ferrari exec takes top job at Lotus as F1 rumours fly
Remember that video we posted a couple of weeks back with a suavely dressed bloke spouting-off about the Ferrari 458 Italia? Dany Bahar was his name and, as of October 1st he'll be the new Chief Exec of Group Lotus, replacing Mike Kimberley who retired in July.
New Lotus top man has F1 credentials
Alternatively, instead of seeking a quieter parish, it may be that Bahar is part of a grander scheme to put Lotus back into the limelight with a return to F1. Reports have suggested the Lotus Group could be planning to purchase the BMW Sauber team, in a deal largely funded by the Malaysian government, although it's also deemed possible the factory instead intends to officially back the Litespeed/Team Lotus F1 application being pursued by former Toyota technical chief Mike Gascoyne. Either way, only one slot remains open in the 2010 World Championship.
With a high profile background in global F1 and sports marketing - before Ferrari he was head of Corporate Projects Business for Red Bull, setting up Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso among other things - Bahar sounds just the man to implement such a scheme.
Lotus could be back on the grid in 2010
And we can't wait to hear what those plans are!
Discussion
GranTurismoMan said:
Lovin the sound of this! Won't quite be team Lotus as most of up remember it but it'll do for starters. The only worry is that its taken years for Lotus to drag themselves out of the financial mire they were in and running an F1 team is a great way to burn money!
you mean great way to burn the sponsors money ?
LCR270 said:
GranTurismoMan said:
Lovin the sound of this! Won't quite be team Lotus as most of up remember it but it'll do for starters. The only worry is that its taken years for Lotus to drag themselves out of the financial mire they were in and running an F1 team is a great way to burn money!
you mean great way to burn the sponsors money ?It would be nice but really I think Lotus's F1 days are over. It was a different sport back then when people like Colin Chapman could make a difference and the cars were more unique.
I think they would be better of build a Le mans rocket or anything else. If the worlds biggest car manufacturer and BMW can be shown up in F1 do you really thing Lotus would be able to compete?
I think they would be better of build a Le mans rocket or anything else. If the worlds biggest car manufacturer and BMW can be shown up in F1 do you really thing Lotus would be able to compete?
roland82 said:
It would be nice but really I think Lotus's F1 days are over. It was a different sport back then when people like Colin Chapman could make a difference and the cars were more unique.
I think they would be better of build a Le mans rocket or anything else. If the worlds biggest car manufacturer and BMW can be shown up in F1 do you really thing Lotus would be able to compete?
Given that without KERS a Force India would have won last weekend. And with a bit of cash/smart management Minardi/Torro Rosso are doing ok. Yes there's every possibility they could.I think they would be better of build a Le mans rocket or anything else. If the worlds biggest car manufacturer and BMW can be shown up in F1 do you really thing Lotus would be able to compete?
Munter said:
Given that without KERS a Force India would have won last weekend. And with a bit of cash/smart management Minardi/Torro Rosso are doing ok. Yes there's every possibility they could.
I agree. If they have a good basic car, good team and equally importantly a sharp 'man' at the top then it's very possible for Lotus to return and be successful.Fire99 said:
Munter said:
Given that without KERS a Force India would have won last weekend. And with a bit of cash/smart management Minardi/Torro Rosso are doing ok. Yes there's every possibility they could.
I agree. If they have a good basic car, good team and equally importantly a sharp 'man' at the top then it's very possible for Lotus to return and be successful.
Munter said:
LCR270 said:
GranTurismoMan said:
Lovin the sound of this! Won't quite be team Lotus as most of up remember it but it'll do for starters. The only worry is that its taken years for Lotus to drag themselves out of the financial mire they were in and running an F1 team is a great way to burn money!
you mean great way to burn the sponsors money ?
Munter said:
Given that without KERS a Force India would have won last weekend.
Not necessarily....without KERS this year's Ferrari might well have been quicker, as it wouldn't have had to cart all the extra weight around. The idea that the Force India was disadvantaged by not having KERS, as a lot of coverage seemed to suggest, ignores the fact that Ferrari has also been disadvantaged by the extra weight and complexity of running the system.The KERS teams do not have an unfair advantage, in fact it appears to have been a disadvantage for most of the season. It seems that they are now reaching the point where KERS may be turning into an advantage, but it is still a fair one as all teams could have developed a system if they had decided to do so.
CG
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