Famous names "returning" to F1

[gridwalker]

So it appears that Litespeed have bought the F1 naming rights for Team Lotus ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsp ... 084475.stm

This follows on from the entry lodged using the name Brabham (http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21524.html) and the entry entered under the March brand (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/75784).

Excuse me if I think this is a travesty : as far as I am aware, these teams do not continue the lineage of the original teams, they are simply using an existing Marque that they have obtained from a now-defunct team & using it to give themselves a veneer of prestige.

It's standing on the shoulders of giants & makes a mockery of the history of the sport!

It wouldn't surprise me if Max and Bernie advised the new entrants to do this, in order to have some famous names in F1 should FOTA pull out en-masse.

I remember watching all 3 of these teams collapse & feeling great sadness when they did so, but their time had come (some may argue that Lotus should have passed with Colin Chapman, but that is another debate) ... It would make me incredibly angry to see their ghosts being resurrected just to be used as bargaining chips in the twisted game playing out over Max Mosley's negotiating table.

I can understand why some people might be excited by the possible return of Lotus, but that is as far from the truth as it is possible to be : I'd have rather they let the Lotus name rest in peace.

Ok, rant over.

What do you guys think?

[tomislavp4]

I agree 100% with you on this one mate Only lotus themselves can join F1 as "team lotus" otherwise it´s a cheap marketing trick in order to gather more sponsors in my eyes...

[modbaraban]

Agreed. I didn't care about March that much as it was Mosley's team anyways so he can do anything with it. ('M' stands for Mosley).

But Lotus...

[KiwiF1]

I agree 100%, however it is simply good marketing and there is nothing anyone can do to stop them. The recent story that the brabhams were going to protest the use of their name is a bit silly really, they dont own the team name anymore, they have no hope.

[freedom_honda]

another new entry.
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_ ... t_id=38123

I've already lost count how many teams has submitted an entry for next year. =S

[timbo]

another new entry.
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_ ... t_id=38123

Well, that one's joke)
However, on a serious note. Do you think that most of this entries are actually a) Mosley's mock-ups to threaten FOTA b) organized with hopes of being sold for FOTA teams in case they missed 2010 list.

[KiwiF1]

another new entry.
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_ ... t_id=38123

I've already lost count how many teams has submitted an entry for next year. =S

I dont think that article is for serious mate, though i did also believe it to be true for the first few paragraphs!

[Giblet]

I thought the grainy picture of James Garner made it pretty darn clear, still a fun read. It was like reading The Onion, but not as funny.

[WhiteBlue]

Reviving an old brand is nothing unusual. We recently saw that with the Spyker name. In that case it did not work out because the race team and the road car business lost too much money.

Mercedes revived the Maybach brand and VW bought the iconic Bugatti brand. I believe those examples show that it depends of the job you do with such a rebrand. If the product is convincing the package will work.

Translated to F1 I see two requirements for a good brand revival:

1. The legal side of the brand aquisition must be water tight. A battle in the courts will only generate negative PR.
2. The car needs to be sufficiently competitive for the positive brand image to work.

If one goes by these criteria one cannot make a judgement at this time about the Lotus case. I would give them the benefit of doubt and wait what will happen.

[timbo]

2. The car needs to be sufficiently competitive for the positive brand image to work.

Look at their results in F3.
There's no serious reasons to give them benefit of doubt.

[bjpower]

Reviving an old brand is nothing unusual. We recently saw that with the Spyker name. In that case it did not work out because the race team and the road car business lost too much money.

Mercedes revived the Maybach brand and VW bought the iconic Bugatti brand. I believe those examples show that it depends of the job you do with such a rebrand. If the product is convincing the package will work.

Translated to F1 I see two requirements for a good brand revival:

1. The legal side of the brand aquisition must be water tight. A battle in the courts will only generate negative PR.
2. The car needs to be sufficiently competitive for the positive brand image to work.

If one goes by these criteria one cannot make a judgement at this time about the Lotus case. I would give them the benefit of doubt and wait what will happen.

spyker is one thing they were the manufacture of the road car. i know it had nothing to do with the origional but the brand was dead and gone before they started
lotus is still producing road cars.
with the f1 team not having anything to do with the road cars is just plane wrong.
as for teams using the team name of a older team.
well i dont see the point, you will never build pride in a team that just sees there name as a gimmic they will all feel like thats all tey are a gimmic.
i would not be part of a "jordan" team unless eddie was running the show.

I dont see how the team members can be proud and put in 120% when they go to the pub they will be ashamed of the team.

[gridwalker]

WB : The examples you've given are primarily car industry related, not F1, so those brand resurrections were made for a different purpose & aren't really comparable.

Spyker's entry into F1 was (as far as I'm aware) the first time that brand had been used in the sport, so it's not really the same as buying the name of a former champion like Lotus or Brabham & using it for your own project.

In this case, there is no real continuity from the original teams, it is simply a cynical marketing exercise.

I'm trying to think of any modern examples of F1 team names being resurrected long after the original name had been dropped, but the only example that springs to mind is Arrows and that was actually the team returning to it's original name after having been branded Footwork for a period.

Either way, even if Litespeed can LEGALLY call their team Lotus, they will never be Lotus in my eyes.

In fact, from here on in, I think I will only refer to them as "Legally Lotus" : I think it has a nice ring to it

[Ciro Pabón]

another new entry.
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_ ... t_id=38123

I've already lost count how many teams has submitted an entry for next year. =S

Very funny...

Pete Aron is the "screen name" of James Garner in the movie Grand Prix. Yamura is the "screen name" of Honda, as Nino Barlini is a fake name for Lorenzo Baldini.

I remember Aron going into the pool at Monaco in the movie... BTW, he raced a few races after that film.

The legendary brown overalls of Ferrari-Manetta are as fictional as the Jordan-BRM team. Manetta was the team director for Ferrari in the movie, and Jordan-BRM was the team of Scott Stoddard (maybe inspired by Jim Clark, who also appears in the movie).

[WhiteBlue]

lotus is still producing road cars.
with the f1 team not having anything to do with the road cars is just plane wrong.

That is an important aspect. I agree. A brand must be unique and when two different companies are using the same brand for performance road cars and an F1 race team there can be all kind of confusion and negative consequences.

Still I do not see why a re branding cannot be successfull if you observe the rules for such an exercise. I also fail to see why it is cynical if it is done correctly. You do it right and are successfull, then it is fine and gets accepted. Or you blunder and set it up in a wrong way or fail to achieve sporting success. Then you will be the laughing butt of the paddock.

Let them take their chances and judge them by their action, I would advise.

[gridwalker]

I'll cheer for Legally Lotus on the day that I buy a fake Rolex and wear it with pride.

Sure, a fake Rolex may still do the same job as the real thing, but it is falsely claiming the prestige associated with the name.

Even if they are successful, I can't have the same respect for a name that has been bought & not EARNED.