So what’s happening at Lotus? Tony Fernandes has tweeted his presence in Europe in the last few days, noting that he is here to choose two drivers from four. Fernandes has been in London, but apparently not visiting Lotus in Norfolk (let me know if you know better!). Lotus were also voted onto FOTA, the first time that all teams on the grid are represented on FOTA – we might see some interesting power shifts next season. Anyway, back to Lotus, who could be on their shortlist, Trulli has been mentioned and I also suggested Koboyashi was interested – but not experienced enough for Lotus. So who else is in the frame? Well there has been a lot of speculation around Jacques Villeneuve returning to F1 with Lotus, and just this week he visited the Lotus HQ in Norfolk. Trulli is a distinct possibility after being dumped by Toyotas withdrawal and Anthony Davidson is perhaps the outsider, previously a test driver for BAR and Honda, he then spent 2004-7 with the ill-fated Super Aguri team (aka “Honda B”), still on the test circuit Davidson would probably be a surprise choice due to lack of recent race experience. So who is my money on? - well I don’t think Lotus will be able to resist the Villeneuve brand, Jacques has been very high profile all season, he has many friends at Lotus and despite protestations to the contrary his visit to the factory this week was I doubt not just to drive the Evora (fabulous car by the way)! So Villeneuve for one, and for the the other seat I am opting for Trulli. Fernandes announced on Twitter earlier this month he had signed one driver, but his latest Tweet suggests that his mind is not yet made up. I wouldn’t count out Koboyashi, but I just have a feeling that he is too much of a rookie despite his impressive first season. So I am hedging my bets a little, I just wish Tony Fernandes would end the uncertainty!
David
STOP PRESS - As I write just hearing that Takuma Sato could be in the frame - more soon!
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OK, so I said more on Sato. But actually I am really in two minds about the Lotus driver selections now I have trawled the news feeds again! Fernandes is deliberately keeping us guessing, a nice little PR tactic to keep us all talking about Lotus F1! Gascoyne was clear that he was taregting Trulli several weeks ago, and as we have heard not other announcements regarding USF1 perhaps it is relatively safe to assume that he has signed. Is Villeneuves presence at Lotus just a smoke screen, or was his visit significant? Sato I am just not sure about, he was another casualty from Super Aguri, but Davidson was definitely the classier act there. Gascoyne says that an announcement will be made in November - he has only 2 dys left then!
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