F1: The Petronas puzzle

2009/11/06

Arnaz M. Khairul

CIRCUMSTANCES have led to much speculation on the Lotus F1 Team, but plans for a formidable Malaysian outfit will be on track if the puzzle concerning Petronas gets solved.

One major piece to that puzzle is that a big sponsor -- apart from Proton -- is needed.

Contrary to yesterday's report that Petronas will remain tied to Swiss outfit Sauber, who had lost their slot in F1 when BMW dropped out in July but will most likely be reinstated following Toyota's withdrawal on Wednesday, Petronas is said to be without obligations.

It was initially thought that Petronas will be tied to Sauber, with whom it is a premium partner in a deal that dates back to 1995. The deal, as of this year, was with BMW-Sauber, which is now no longer in existence as the German car manufacturer has withdrawn its support for the team.

Lotus F1 chief executive officer Riad Asmat said the team had approached Petronas based on an understanding that their proposal will be given fair review due to their ties with BMW-Sauber ending this year.

"We knew that a lot of other teams had also looked to Petronas and I wouldn't be surprised if the entire F1 grid had approached them, because from our understanding Petronas was not obliged to remain as sponsor of Sauber. Everyone basically knew that this was the last year of Petronas with Sauber," said Riad yesterday.

Lotus F1 chief executive officer Riad Asmat

Riad said initial follow-ups had shown that Lotus F1's proposal to Petronas had been given the fair review that they expected.

"We have offered a deal that encompasses a lot in terms of development of liquid technology, the transfer of knowledge, we will also use their fuel in the cars and so on.

"It is basically the same as what they had when it was Sauber-Petronas, but couldn't do when BMW owned the team," said Riad.

"We know we are competing against a lot of other teams with our proposal. Hopefully, we come out tops."

A little piece of the puzzle will be completed today when the team launch a driver development programme with some promising karters in Subang Jaya.

This project is expected to ensure a feeder system for the team and Formula One as a whole via a structured programme from karting leading to the pinnacle.

This puts to rest notions of Malaysian driver Fairuz Fauzy being put into a Sauber-Qadback race seat for next year, expected to be driven by Petronas.

Lotus F1 technical director Mike Gascoyne reiterated yesterday that Fairuz was in the team's long-term plans, despite rumours about the team lining up a sweep for Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock as both are now available due to Toyota's pullout.

"I cannot say anything yet, but can confirm that we are very keen to have Fairuz as a long term part of Lotus F1 Team," said Gascoyne.

A race seat seems much clearer for Fairuz now, with Glock also being linked to Renault, but BBC reported yesterday that the French manufacturer's board met on Wednesday to discuss their future in F1, which could possibly see them finding the exit door in the near future as well.