Lotus have moved a step closer to using Renault engines in 2011 after their split with Cosworth was made official.
Cosworth issued a statement saying they will no longer supply engines to Lotus as of the end of next month, after the last race of the season:
Cosworth and Lotus have today signed the termination of Lotus Racing’s engine supply agreement following completion of the deal which was established in principle and announced after the Italian Grand Prix on 12th September 2010. Cosworth’s support for Lotus Racing will cease at midnight on 30th November 2010.
Lotus Racing has enjoyed a successful season with Cosworth and has enjoyed excellent performance, reliability and support from their engine supply.
The decision to bring the partnership to an early termination has been driven by the team’s desire to solve reliability and performance issues unrelated to the Cosworth engine. Lotus Racing and Cosworth have agreed settlement terms satisfactory to both parties to secure an early termination of the agreement.
Cosworth wishes Lotus Racing success in the future, and will continue to supply engines to AT&T Williams, Virgin Racing and HRT in 2011, thereby supporting 25% of the teams in Formula One.
Read more: Cosworth confirms Lotus split as 2011 Renault engine deal rumours intensify
Image © Lotus F1
McLarenFanJamm
1st October 2010, 16:56
Hands up everyone who is surpsied… thought not.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
2nd October 2010, 3:49
That’s probably because this was announced back at Monza.
Scribe (@scribe)
1st October 2010, 18:02
Indeed Cosworth, I remember Lotus saying the excellent reliability of the Cosworth was one of the key points of performance they where greatfull for.
To be fair, apparently Lotus are mostly after the Renault gearbox. Although Redbull have proven that the car allows for extreme cooling options etc.
George (@george)
1st October 2010, 18:04
I’ve been surprised how good the Cosworth has been this year, it certainly hasn’t been down on power at all and they’ve had better reliability than Ferrari.
Bartholomew
1st October 2010, 20:19
Yes, I have also been positively surprised. Cosworth has made a giant stride in just one year.
That means that they will be getting better and better. Who knows if they will end up being the best engine of all and have to turn down teams?
I love Cosworth and all the other heritage F1 names.
MDHayes (@themdawg)
1st October 2010, 22:02
Can’t agree more, nice wee surprise. Williams are showing the engine is on par with the rest of them or thereabouts.
TheGreatCornholio
1st October 2010, 18:46
Cosworth have definitely been one of the many positives this year. Just a shame they were hamstrung by that piece of poorly engineered pants gearbox made by Xtrac! They apparently have big plans for the new engine formula for 2013. Seeing one of their V10’s running at over 20,000RPM on youtube is seriously cool and demonstrates that they certainly know their engines! Also, Cosworth make a fortune out of their military contracts so i would guess that the F1 engine side of things isn’t primarily for profit more a showcase of their skills! Historically when companies do things that way the non profit halo products are superior to the stuff that brings in the cash, for example the Buggati Veyron!
BasCB
1st October 2010, 18:49
A shame about those X-track packages, which are a leftover of intrigant Max.
Wesley
2nd October 2010, 0:42
I love this line from the statement:
“The decision to bring the partnership to an early termination has been driven by the team’s desire to solve reliability and performance issues unrelated to the Cosworth engine.”
So,start by removing the parts that work properly?…huh?
As George said,the Cosworth has been more reliable than Ferrari engines this season.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
2nd October 2010, 3:23
I don’t know whether that is a good dicision if they move to Renault power engine as Red Bull are the quickest car on track cause of their aerodynamics & they are using that high torque of that engine, until they can come up with a good aero based car I don’t think they will profited much.
W154
2nd October 2010, 14:09
RBR would do well to have a chat with Cosworth for next year. This years Cosworth engine has been very good and can only be better in the future.Let’s face it, they know what they are doing as they have been building racing engines since the early 60’s !
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
3rd October 2010, 2:28
I don’ want them to go with Cosworth, apart from the fact that the Renault engine have high torque & it is fuel efficient relative to any other engine on the grid one of the best feature of the engine is that it’s very tightly packed which help Newey to play more with the aero of the car.
Macca (@macca)
2nd October 2010, 16:33
Ummm, 3 out of 12 teams isn’t 25%, but hay, close enough.
Mike
2nd October 2010, 17:34
Isn’t it? 12 / 3 = 4 right?
Jim N
2nd October 2010, 17:58
3 out of 12 is the same as 1 out of 4 which was always 25% when I was at school.
Mike-e
2nd October 2010, 19:20
hahaha, nice one macca. What is 25% of 12 in your world mate?
David-A (@david-a)
3rd October 2010, 1:42
That’s a shocker. You even noted that he meant three out of twelve as well :D
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
3rd October 2010, 2:31
I thought that in this blog I will learn a lot about F1 never thought that it will also teach me some maths.
Hare
5th October 2010, 22:46
Also, what does ‘hay’ ( a straw like material ) have to do with it? I’m curious… !
Wesley (@)
5th October 2010, 23:47
Poor Macca,you guys are brutal!I shall be very carefull in the future over any statements concerning math.I already have enough of a hard time using english because I’m an American.
DGR-F1
4th October 2010, 8:44
Considering all their Malaysian links, why aren’t ‘Lotus’ switching to Proton engines (or even something else badged as ‘Proton’)?