Lotus boss Fernandes renaming GP2 team Caterham

A clear hint about Team Lotus’ plans for its new acquisition Caterham Cars is boss Tony Fernandes’ GP2 squad.

The Malaysian millionaire told reporters as the tie-up with the niche British sports car maker was announced that his GP2 team, currently called AirAsia, will soon be renamed after Caterham.

As for whether he will also immediately change Team Lotus’ name, he replied: "Absolutely not."

But that answer was an obvious one, given he is still fighting in the London courts with Group Lotus for the right to use the name he bought from David Hunt.

But once the verdict is in, Fernandes might have a change of heart.

"I wanted to be in car manufacturing and Lotus would have been the most obvious choice," he told the Times newspaper on Wednesday, "but that didn’t work out.

"I always felt that the most powerful weapon in owning a F1 team was the brand profile it created and the most logical product to associate with that was a car," added Fernandes.