Formula 1: Review of the Week's News

A three-week gap between races this early in the season has left us with a very quiet seven days.  With no race to analyse and nothing to preview, the world of F1 has enjoyed a brief holiday away from the public eye.

But even in the quiet times, a few stories will crop up and catch some attention.

The Lotus-naming saga rumbles on, Argentina looks certain to return to the calendar in 2013, China has a driver on the lowest rung of the F1 ladder and the debate over the Bahrain Grand Prix has reignited.

Lotus Lose Lotus Sponsorship, Remain Lotus

At the end of 2011, we learned that Lotus would be renamed Caterham, and Lotus-Renault would be renamed Lotus.  The end to the rather confusing naming saga was most welcome, and fans are now used to referring to Lotus as Lotus and Caterham as Caterham.

But it appears another chapter will have to be added to the end of the story.

Lotus were sponsored by Group Lotus, the company which makes the road cars.  At the time, Group Lotus was owned by Proton, and the title-sponsorship deal was worth £100 million over seven years.  It also came with the option for Proton to buy 50% of the F1 team.

However, after the recent sale of Group Lotus to Malaysian company DRB-Hicom, Lotus F1 have elected to end the agreement.  This leaves them with no official connection to the real-world Lotus.

But they will keep the name.  Lotus F1 owner Genii Capital's Gerard Lopez told Autosport:

"

The sponsorship agreement and the obligations of Lotus have been terminated.  There is no option from Group Lotus to buy into F1 now - that option was taken over by us.  There was one, but we have taken it over now.

We are happy to carry the Lotus name as we believe it is a good name for F1.

"

And he's quite right.  Though there's no true connection to the original Lotus team of Colin Chapman, the name carries a lot of history and prestige.  To a sponsor, association with Lotus sounds better than an association with, for example, Sauber.

But Group Lotus appear to be the big winners here.  What they agreed to pay £100m for back in 2010, they're now receiving for free. 

Argentina Set to Return to F1

The Argentine Grand Prix, absent since 1998, looks set for a return to the F1 calendar in 2013.

Earlier in the month, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced that negotiations were underway to bring F1 back to the country, with the coastal city of Mar del Plata the likely venue.

And earlier this week, Argentine Minister of Tourism Enrique Meyer claimed a deal was imminent:

"

The national government accepts the challenge of organising the Grand Prix of Argentina to promote the image of our country in the world.

In May, the three-year contract will be signed between all parties involved.

"

Fans will be pleased to learn there won't be a return to the dismal Autódromo Juan y Oscar Gálvez at Buenos Aires, the venue for the Argentine Grands Prix of the 1990s.  But not everyone will be overjoyed.

The proposed circuit will be a Hermann Tilke-designed street circuit, taking in the streets and seafront of the city.  Some images were posted here by an Argentine motorsport blogger.

Another image, featuring what appears to be a genuine Tilke logo, can be viewed here, and another set of more professional-looking images can be seen on this website.

Working on the assumption that is the circuit, it looks like a cross between Singapore and Montreal.  It'll be a fast track and on the plus side, overtaking opportunities look plentiful.

On the downside, it could well turn into another Valencia.  Probably not, but it's always possible.

The city is already blessed with a strong tourism industry, and if the aim is to create a South Atlantic Monaco at Mar del Plata, the track will be a good start. 

With the race likely to sit back-to-back with Brazil in the Southern Hemisphere spring, the weather should be pleasant if not warm, and the rich and famous will have plenty of room to berth their gleaming yachts in the harbour.

However, whether or not Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Paul di Resta will be allowed to park their boats next to the track remains to be seen.

HRT Announce Signing of Ma Qinghua

On 5th April, HRT announced they have signed Chinese youngster Ma Qinghua to their young driver development program.

24-year-old Ma has competed without success in numerous series, such as Formula Renault, Spanish F3 and A1 Grand Prix. 

His single result of note was winning the Chinese Touring Car Championship's 1600cc class, with 4 wins and 3 pole positions from 8 races.

Despite this apparent lack of pedigree, HRT Team Principle Luis Perez-Sala said in a statement on the team's website:

"

We are working so that one of the team’s signs of identity is to serve as a platform to launch young drivers, both nationally and internationally.  Ma Qing Hua is one those talents in which we believe and we want to help him in his career so that he can make it to Formula 1.  We like his conditions and we want to take part in his formation by incorporating him to the team’s Driver Development Programme so that he can participate in races and private tests, with the objective of him being able to take part in the Formula 1 tests reserved to young drivers.

"

Though it appears to have been translated by Babelfish, we can gather that Perez-Sala is (on the surface at least) confident that his new signing could make the grade, and even move beyond testing to a racing role.

If he succeeds, Ma would become the first Chinese driver in the history of F1.

But I don't think we should hold our collective breath.  One imagines the most interesting part of this story will be trying to spot which Chinese company has a shiny new logo on the HRT at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Excellent timing, though.

The Bahrain Debate Continues

As the Bahrain Grand Prix draws nearer and unrest continues, fresh debate emerged this week over whether or not Formula 1 should return to the Gulf state.

The worsening condition of hunger-striking activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, jailed for life for his part in the protests, has sparked much of the week's troubles.  Alkhawaja began his hunger strike on February 8th, and is reportedly nearing death.

Water cannon and tear gas were used against a demonstration in support of the veteran human rights campaigner, and his daughter was arrested at a protest on Thursday.

Former World Champion Damon Hill, who backed the holding of the race in December after a visit to Bahrain, has voiced fresh concerns about the ongoing problems and urged F1 bosses to rethink the issue.

Speaking to the Guardian, Hill said:

"

What we must put above all else is what will be the penalty in terms of human cost if the race goes ahead.

It would be a bad state of affairs, and bad for Formula 1, to be seen to be enforcing martial law in order to hold the race.  That is not what this sport should be about.  Looking at it today you'd have to say that [the race] could be creating more problems than it's solving.

"

F1 has found itself in a difficult situation.  To withdraw as a protest against the detention of activists and human rights abuses while continuing to visit countries such as China would be hypocritical and wrong.

They simply cannot do that.  F1 is not a political organisation, and if it wants to become one, it must be consistent.

I've long been of the opinion that F1 would make millions of people pay fresh attention to Bahrain, and that would be a good thing.  The gaze of the world is what forces change in a country, not sanctions.  Turning our backs will solve nothing.

But if a genuine danger to the general population of Bahrain exists, the matter is a different one.  While not political bodies, F1 and the FIA have an obligation to act if the presence of the race will put lives at risk.

If that is likely to happen, even those in favour of the race taking place would have to reconsider their positions.