1Malaysia F1 Team

[drag_addict]

Are we really gonna be competitive or just something filling up the grid?
One way or another, I'm proud that we have our own F1 team!..

Company Name: 1Malaysia F1 Team Sdn Bhd
Team Name: Lotus F1 Team
Country: Malaysia
Team Principal: Tony Fernandes

A partnership between the Malaysian Government and a consortium of Malaysian entrepreneurs, 1Malaysia F1 Team returns the Lotus name as a constructor to Formula One for the first time since 1994. The team will initially be based at the RTN facility in Norfolk, UK, some 10 miles from the Lotus Cars factory. A 50,000 square foot fully equipped facility, RTN was built by Toyota for its initial Formula One programme and then used by Bentley for its successful Le Mans programme.

The team’s future design, R&D, manufacturing and technical centre will be purpose built at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit.

Team Principal Tony Fernandes is the founder and CEO of the Malaysian-based Tune Group, owner of the Air Asia airline. The team’s Technical Director Mike Gascoyne has over 20 years of experience in Formula One having previously performed the same role for the Force India, Toyota, Renault and Jordan Formula One teams.

As part of its application to compete in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, the team has agreed an engine supply deal with Cosworth and a wide variety of technical partnerships including Xtrac and FondTech.

The team is understood to already have a shortlist of six drivers, including both Malaysian and international names, and an announcement confirming their line-up is expected in late October.

source: The Official Formula 1 Website

 

[syahrul37]

1Malaysia F1 Team..

Lotus targeting best newcomer honours in 2010



Lotus aim to be the best of the four new teams entering Formula One racing next season. That is according to technical director Mike Gascoyne, following Tuesday’s confirmation of Lotus’s entry in the 2010 championship.

The new team, which will see the Lotus name return to the grid for the first time since 1994, is a partnership between the Malaysian Government and a consortium of Malaysian entrepreneurs.

“We’re realistic that it’s a tremendous job we’ve got in front of us to be fully prepared on the grid in Melbourne, but we’ll do it,” Gascoyne told British F1 broadcasters the BBC. “With the work we’ve done we’ll target being the best of the new cars on the grid and that’s a very clear - and realistic - initial target. I’d hope that by mid season we’re challenging the bottom rung of the current teams and I think that’s achievable.”

Lotus will initially be based near the UK headquarters of Lotus Cars (owned by Malaysian auto giant Proton), before moving to a new purpose-built base at Kuala Lumpur’s Sepang International Circuit.

“We are a very substantial team,” added Gascoyne, who has over 20 years’ experience in the sport. “We’ve got our own factory, the RTN factory in Norfolk, which is fully equipped for Formula One, plus the facilities we’ll be looking at in Malaysia. We’re not just a small new team, we have the possibility to be a very substantial new team and the FIA recognise that.”

Headed by Tony Fernandes, CEO of Air Asia, Lotus already have a wind tunnel programme underway with Fondtech in Italy and will be starting wind-tunnel testing within the next few weeks.

“We’re very confident with the group, with Tony Fernandes leading the team, that we’ll be able to put in place a package that will allow us to be very competitive,” concluded Gascoyne.






So...who's gonna be the driver for the Lotus F1 Team 2010??

 

[khoo198]

sounds good.....but dun knw whether can endure how many month only.......wasting money....

 

[fstr]

yeah man, own pit crew...

puasa n cny month all balik kampung, no nid change tyres..penalty incurred "infinite"

 

[kelisa6009]

waste money again....

no matter what they do...Potong still Potong...who's going to buy low quality QS car with so call Campo engine...

 

[khoo198]

hahaha....funny gv.....got money to burn n built f1 team but no money to subsidy our petrol price..............:hmmmm::hmmmm:

 

[Harv]

hahaha....funny gv.....got money to burn n built f1 team but no money to subsidy our petrol price..............:hmmmm::hmmmm:

ya larr. .thats the thing . .this is poor business planning la if only want to attract and bring Proton to the international recognition market..no use ! the only good thing is lotus will benefit from this.
If that is the case, improve proton vehicles first to compete with international market then only take this step of intro. sometimes I wonder what have gotten into this public representatives heads.. so easily taken up with private sectors instigation and offers.

 

[FVel]

I suspect most people will start singing a different tune if the team was competitive and scoring consistently.

But being typical Malaysians, it's very much in character for most locals to be cynical and ambivalent about any sort of national achievement or aspirations.

And in all honesty, who can blame them for being cynical ? Under the current political climate, it is hard for most common folks to simply dis-associate anything Govt sponsored from negative connotations.

People, it seems, are no longer willing just to discuss the matter purely on its merits as a motorsports endeavour. Instead, once it becomes clear that the Govt. is involved, conclusions of impropreity automatically pops up into the consciousness of a citizen....wasting taxpayer's money lah; still producing crap national cars lah; the Port Klang Free Zone scandal lah; Khir Toyo's financial excesses lah, those damning Auditor General's reports on irregular expenditures lah; Shah Alam residents trampling on a cow's head in temple protests lah; the BN power grab in Perak lah; Altanluya case lah; spending money to buy a ticket for a passenger in a Russian rocket and having the audacity to call it our 'space program' lah etc, etc, etc. It didn't matter that all this antagonistic issues probably have little in connection with F1 or motorsports. People, in general, are probably just frustrated with the way the Govt. had behaved since Pak Lah and anything the Govt. had tried to do automatically gets the middle-finger salute. So sad.

As expected, Najib took the opportunity for some national branding by calling it the '1Malaysia' F1 Team. You can't blame the guy for trying do something to fix the rot though. He's certainly a much smarter and capable guy than the previous PM (good riddance to bad rubbish), but it will take much more than a mere slogan to bridge the rifts and distrust prevalent at the moment within this country.

It's a heck of PR thing to do at this climate, to be honest. Realistically, you cannot expect a brand new team to be competitve right from the get-go and the team's Tech Director Gascoyne admitted this as much. So, at least in the early years of the exercise, it's more ammunition for the haters when the team is not performing competitively and being seen to be needlessly wasting (yet again) another huge chunk of money.

It's not the first time Malaysian sports have come into disrepute and people still remember stuff like Azalina's dubious tenure as Minister of Sports and all that unaccounted money spent on the non-existent sport complex in England as one glaring example.

To be fair, I personally feel this Malaysian F1 endeavour is much more tangible thing than anything Azalina has ever done in her tainted career. You can't compared the two because folks like Lotus, Gascoyne are on board in this exercise and there is no reason why this should not be a professional setup just like any other F1 team. It's also high profile and so there is some element of accountability with what they spent and the results they achieve. And you also have Tony Fernandez helming the thing. The guy is in the same mold as Mallya...a professional and capable entreprenuer, not some half-baked ex-Minister of Sport.

But of course with Mallya, he's pragmatic enough not to be overly influenced with nationalistic concerns. He may have called his team 'Force India' but he had been firm in his belief that only results matter and results could only be obtained by the best drivers available on merit, not on nationality. Hence he steadfastlly refused to use an Indian driver when he believed (rightfully or wrongfully) that no Indian driver was currently good enough for F1. No doubt Mallya is as patriotic as any of his countrymen, but at the same time he was also shrewd enough not to be swayed simply by nationalistic considerations if that did not bring the results for this team.

In contrast, the Malaysian Team has decided on an all-Malaysian pit crew and one Malaysian driver. Many people are thinking whether we are handicapping ourselves by using personnel from the local talent pool, or whether we would be better served by adopting a shrewd approach such as Mallya.

Personally, I think we ought to try it anyway. There is always the option of replacing people later if they are not up to the standard. If we just keep thinking we are not good enough, and without trying, how would we know ? In any case they seem to have committed the money and selection policy for it and there's not one thing you and I can do other than sit here and criticize,....... so screw it, let them try it and hope for success.

In all honesty, I don't think all the local talent is inherently stupid and untalented. There is no reason why we could not build a capable crew for F1. On the other hand, its probably a whole lot more difficult finding a good local driver to take up the reins, with all due respect to them. But it's a golden opportunity and we probably should not waste it. As I said, people can always be replaced later if they underperform.

I'm skeptical they would be competitive though. It seemed we are quite late and behind the development curve, but traditionally, it has always been difficult for new F1 teams to be competitive right from the start against the more established older teams. If people are realistic about initial expectations, the results from the early years would probably not matter but most people here won't see it that way. Against the political background and climate, your typical coffee-shop talk Ah Kau, Muniandy and Ahmad will pooh-pooh the whole endeavour as another wasteful Govt. cock-up.

For me personally, I'm looking forward to their participation. I don't expect much from them in the early years and they may potentially end up like Toyota (money spent; no worthwhile results) but I don't give a damn since it's all been decided whether we like it or not......so might as well look forward to it.

 

[fstr]

to run a proper basic f1 team needs about usd 1 billion, do we know how much of that money could be well spent on the rakyat or even fuel subsidies? public transportation??

yes i am very cynical about all this, becos goons are ruling and we cant do much but just watch our money being thrown down the drain or watching it crash for some reason the pit crew forget to screw a nut on the wing, for a reason that we cant reject/debate or decide BUT is it good having an f1 team in order to show that malaysia is 1?

it is good to have SIC, foreigners know SIC becos of F1 BUT do we really need this sort of strategic planning to market malaysia with just an F1 car with 1malaysia stickers? i am very pessimistic on this.. its like really wasting money just to satisfy our new motto "1 Malaysia" thingy.

coming back to 1 malaysia, arent we already 1 malaysia where there is no race barriers? and why the gomen wants to emphasize so much about it? that's becos bee'n' is on the loosing ground of getting the trust from rakyats, why they win on the last election speaks louder then words back then...other issues that follows, i dont wanna know cos i am bloody fedap with politicians be it PR or the BN components.

coming back to F1, even if it wins in few rounds (or maybe podium finish), what they are gonna give us back in return? money?? :stupid: fuel subsidy?? :stupid: or better public transportation??

seriously our transport system is damn teruk, and now wanna create an f1 team.. not to say LOTUS is not good, they are good but its only the goons that demoralizes it :sleep:


for those who wants to flame/bash me in here, pls do so..i also wanna see what u are gonna reply. This is from my mind, call me old fashion but thats the way it is.

 

[FVel]

to run a proper basic f1 team needs about usd 1 billion, do we know how much of that money could be well spent on the rakyat or even fuel subsidies? public transportation??

I hear what you are saying but I will try and address all the points.

First of all, I have read that US$ 1 billion number being thrown around recently in the news, but I'm not really sure if anyone here is in any position to verify how credible it is.

Presumably, if that statement can be believed, we are going to assume a small team like Force India or the incoming small teams of Campos, USF1 will require at least 1 billion ? Sounds a little surreal to me, don't you think ?

yes i am very cynical about all this, becos goons are ruling and we cant do much but just watch our money being thrown down the drain or watching it crash for some reason the pit crew forget to screw a nut on the wing, for a reason that we cant reject/debate or decide BUT is it good having an f1 team in order to show that malaysia is 1? .......coming back to F1, even if it wins in few rounds (or maybe podium finish), what they are gonna give us back in return? money?? :stupid: fuel subsidy?? :stupid: or better public transportation??

People can always find a reason to make a case that a Govt. could have allocated more of this or more of that to something else that has a more more tangible benefit to the rakyat. It's a rhetoric argument because it is completely open-ended and if you follow that line of reasoning to the extreme, and people tend to do this....(that there is always something wrong with the state of this country that demands more funds to be channeled elsewhere).....then it would simply put into question all the other amenities that do not have a direct obvious benefit for the average guy in the street...and that would include the Sepang Circuit itself, or any other racetracks and race venues, and perhaps even motorsport itself.......because after all one can also say we don't need all the trappings and glamour of motorsport because to have an race venue has no obvious benefit to the average citizen who is more interested in where his next meal ticket is coming from.

Of course such reasonings need not confine itself to just motorsport. Do we have a need to build the Twin Towers ? Why have one of the world's tallest buildings when a short one can suffice.....and on and on the argument goes.

My personal feeling is if we can afford it without unduly negative consequences then such things should probably be pursued. In terms of spending money and branding, we have certainly done much worse and with less accountability (for example, I quoted Azalina's tainted tenure as Sports Minister; or even ex-MB Khir Toyo's questionable finances). If you are to spend money at least make it high profile (like an F1 team) headed predominantly on key positions by entreprenuers, and professionals and company investors who emphasis a reasonable rate of return for money spent. Higher profile, More accountability. It's certainly a better move to spend it on a high-profile F1 team rather than on the other sports, arts and cultural allocation where monies were sunk into unaccounted expenditures.

I don't think any nation can simply elevate itself just by confining itself on the more basic needs of subsidies, public transportation etc. Beyond the basic pastry, you need to add a dash of icing and cream,......if you know what I mean. And seriously, I think people also must move beyond that same old argument of not having enough for petrol subsidies, or better national cars...because it's starting to sound like a broken record playing itself over and over.

No offence bro. I'm just saying my peace. My only wish is the general standard of ZTH postings could have been higher. Unfortunately there is really only a handful of individuals here who make thoughtful and well-reasoned posts, for example, deacon. Don't alway agree with the man, but at least he brings sensible debate onto the table.

 

[fstr]

I hear what you are saying but I will try and address all the points.

First of all, I have read that US$ 1 billion number being thrown around recently in the news, but I'm not really sure if anyone here is in any position to verify how credible it is.

Presumably, if that statement can be believed, we are going to assume a small team like Force India or the incoming small teams of Campos, USF1 will require at least 1 billion ? Sounds a little surreal to me, don't you think ?



People can always find a reason to make a case that a Govt. could have allocated more of this or more of that to something else that has a more more tangible benefit to the rakyat. It's a rhetoric argument because it is completely open-ended and if you follow that line of reasoning to the extreme, and people tend to do this....(that there is always something wrong with the state of this country that demands more funds to be channeled elsewhere).....then it would simply put into question all the other amenities that do not have a direct obvious benefit for the average guy in the street...and that would include the Sepang Circuit itself, or any other racetracks and race venues, and perhaps even motorsport itself.......because after all one can also say we don't need all the trappings and glamour of motorsport because to have an race venue has no obvious benefit to the average citizen who is more interested in where his next meal ticket is coming from.

Of course such reasonings need not confine itself to just motorsport. Do we have a need to build the Twin Towers ? Why have one of the world's tallest buildings when a short one can suffice.....and on and on the argument goes.

My personal feeling is if we can afford it without unduly negative consequences then such things should probably be pursued. In terms of spending money and branding, we have certainly done much worse and with less accountability (for example, I quoted Azalina's tainted tenure as Sports Minister; or even ex-MB Khir Toyo's questionable finances). If you are to spend money at least make it high profile (like an F1 team) headed predominantly on key positions by entreprenuers, and professionals and company investors who emphasis a reasonable rate of return for money spent. Higher profile, More accountability. It's certainly a better move to spend it on a high-profile F1 team rather than on the other sports, arts and cultural allocation where monies were sunk into unaccounted expenditures.

I don't think any nation can simply elevate itself just by confining itself on the more basic needs of subsidies, public transportation etc. Beyond the basic pastry, you need to add a dash of icing and cream,......if you know what I mean. And seriously, I think people also must move beyond that same old argument of not having enough for petrol subsidies, or better national cars...because it's starting to sound like a broken record playing itself over and over.

No offence bro. I'm just saying my peace. My only wish is the general standard of ZTH postings could have been higher. Unfortunately there is really only a handful of individuals here who make thoughtful and well-reasoned posts, for example, deacon. Don't alway agree with the man, but at least he brings sensible debate onto the table.

no worries bro, i feel u :proud:

regards to zth standard of posting, well we do have some nut cases in here that can run an F1 team pretty well i guess :stupid:

have a good holiday dude

 

[bart.ahmad]

This is SIC's official statement

 

[FVel]

no worries bro, i feel u :proud:

regards to zth standard of posting, well we do have some nut cases in here that can run an F1 team pretty well i guess :stupid:

have a good holiday dude

LOL On that point, you are absolutely spot on. We do (now) have some nutcases who can run an F1 team reasonably well. Point in fact, Malaysia F1 Team's tech director, Mr Mike Gascoyne, who earned the paddock nickname 'rottweiler' (or was it 'pitbull'? I forgot) not for nothing. It seems the man is highly capable but got himself fired from the last two teams he worked, probably because of his rather abrasive manner at sticking to his viewpoint. In any case, he's probably a good man to have onboard because of his extensive experience (or at least the best available person anyway). Of course this also means that the team itself won't be run directly by the goons in Govt. (despite as you said) because Mike and Tony will be the driving force, and we all know that Tony (although not a motorsports man) is no slouch as an entreprenuer.

You are of course right on another point and you also note in my earlier reply I did agree the 1-Malaysia branding is load of nonsense. As I suggested, it's too bloody coy to be taken seriously by any realist because it's just one stupid slogan coined by a Govt trying desperately to pacify the very strained relationships in this country. Really, its sad that after 50+ years of independence we are still trying to talk about unity issues.

But aside from all the political overtones, I think on merit of motorsports (which I hope we are all enthusiastic about), perhaps they can be a lot of potential good from a Malaysian F1 team. I posted in another forum that this is not a case where we are simply buying a ticket for some guy to have a ride in a someone else's spaceship and then label it our 'space program' (lol). This is actual running and owning of an F1 team by people under our employment in a competitive state of the art environment. So its different from that space program farce.

Anyway, happy holidays to you too. And drive safely if you are on the balik kampung exodus. :)

 

[chocolatesttarfish]

wow..very hot issue..i really want to see the final result..
after they'd approached Genting, AirAsia and all those tycoon

 

[adzakael]

we hv to remember one thing
don't expect high flying result in such a short time (with the exception of Brawn GP)
this team definitely need time to mature
even with all the 200+ specialists,engineers and professionals running the team
it does not mean we can always win
even legendary teams like Ferrari suffers from bad results,occasionally

however
if this team can finish 50% of the season's race by the end of the 2010 season
I will be very much happy

local universities like UTM and Universiti Petronas already joined the team
along with a local composite components manufacturer (Composite Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd )
and from the info i get
the team prefer hiring local professionals
since the aim is to create an all-Malaysian team

we also hv to really look at the definition of 'wasting money'
in local sport scene,'wasting money' is clearly visible in area like football
where we spend millions just to see the National team got beaten up by poor countries team,repeatedly
but in F1,even if we sit at the last place
we still hv benefits in terms of technology (transfer and development)
in which can be use by all ppl in Malaysia (engine parts,vehicle,lubricants,fuel etc)
not to mention the effectiveness of advertising the country's name on the F1 car
in every race...in comparison with doing TV ad promotions around the world