Lotus team principal Tony Fernandes believes the new teams joining the F1 grid this season will be a breath of fresh air for the sport.
Team principal says newcomers' "new ideas and new thoughts" good for F1
Lotus team principal Tony Fernandes believes the new teams joining the Formula One grid this coming season will be a breath of fresh air for the sport.
The Malaysian-backed outfit, who are reviving the historic Lotus marque, will join USF1, Campos Meta and Virgin Racing on an expanded 26 car grid in 2010.
Some, notably Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, have questioned whether the arrival of the new outfits in place of departed manufacturers such as BMW and Toyota is good for F1.
However, AirAsia founder Fernandes believes the new teams can offer new impetus and also help reduce the politicking which has bedevilled the sport.
"I don't know it well enough, but with new people come new ideas and new thoughts," he told
Autosport.
"Maybe the ultra competitiveness will go and perhaps there will be a sense of real camaraderie, not a 'hey I love you' and the knife goes in behind your back as you leave. So, we will see.
"You can never get away from the competitive angle, and I am sure I will do the same. We all want to win; otherwise we would not be in this sport.
"But, I think there is more to be gained by working together - and I think FOTA is a good thing. But FOTA also has to not cramp creativity.
"You can't have a Marxist F1, where everyone agrees to everything and goes and does it. You have got to have some individualism. So I think it needs to be a balance between the two."
Healthy grid
The new teams enter the sport on the back of attempts made by both the Formula One Teams' Association and the FIA to reduce costs, which skyrocketed as manufacturers invested heavily for success.
However, Fernandes believes matters should be taken further, with the sport's revenues distributed more equably amongst teams.
"One thing I hope people pick up on is that F1 should not be about those who have and those who haven't. That is where I think the Marxist approach is good - and where for example the NFL, in perhaps the most capitalist country, works," he said.
"You want a healthy grid of 13 teams, and the money is very skewed towards five or six teams. If a team pulls out, the remaining money goes to all the teams that are there - the column three teams get nothing. That needs to be a little bit redressed because I think it is good to have 13 strong members.
"All I heard about over the past few months was who is not going to turn up on the grid. That is not a good sign. It is much better to say there are 13 other people who want to join. The questions like: will Lotus be there? I think that is just unhealthy. So a redistribution of wealth is needed, without me sounding too much like Karl Marx."
Quietly confident
Fernandes also confirmed that Lotus's plans are progressing well for March's season opener in Bahrain, despite the team only having their entry confirmed in September.
"We are looking good actually," he said. "It is a mad rush because we only got our entry in September, but [technical director] Mike [Gascoyne] is very confident with the car.
"The boys are working in Cologne and Bologna, and I have been focusing more on the operation, marketing and PR side - and getting that all up and running. So we are looking quietly confident, but the first step is to be on the grid."
