Lotus court verdict to be known next week

The outcome of the Lotus court battle is expected to be known next week.

The trial to settle the Team Lotus versus Group Lotus F1 naming dispute began in London’s High Court last month.

Writing in the German-language Speed Week, editor Mathias Brunner said the verdict is scheduled to be declared on April 20 - next Wednesday.

The folly of the dispute was made clear in Malaysia last weekend, when Red Bull mistakenly referred to Nick Heidfeld’s Lotus-sponsored Renault car as a "Lotus" in an official press release.

"I saw something black in my mirrors - I knew it was a Lotus," Sebastian Vettel was quoted as saying.

Actually, the F1 fraternity refers only to Tony Fernandes’ green T128 cars as ’Lotus’, but Jenson Button seemed unsure as he turned to Renault driver Nick Heidfeld in the post-race press conference.

"What do we call you now?" he asked the German. "Lotus Renault GP," grinned Heidfeld.

Fernandes, however, said at Sepang that it is Team Lotus that deserves more respect.

"We are enormously proud of what we have achieved in just 18 months and we have done it through hard work and dedication, not by buying seemingly instant success through stickers on a car," he said.