According to the latest 2015 Formula One World Championship entry list released by the FIA, three teams are listed as "subject to confirmation:" Manor (a.k.a. Marussia), 1Malaysia Racing Team (a.k.a. Caterham), and...Lotus?
We know Lotus aren't in the best shape financially due to their joining in with the efforts of the other smaller teams in F1 to work towards getting costs under control.
Surely it's not that bad, is it? They have a rather lucrative pay driver in Pastor Maldonado and seem to be the most adept at getting their team to work for their sponsors. Lotus' drivers had impressive showing at the Race of Champions. They jumped a truck over one of their F1 cars for EMC. There's that thoroughly ridiculous David Guetta video. They let their drivers loose in a pair of Twizys in the Dubai Mall for Renault. I'm even getting Lotus F1-themed Microsoft commercials in the Middle of Nowhere*, Texas.
Granted, Lotus the car company isn't doing so hot, with headlines of financial woe and Bahar-esque rumors of crossovers on the way. Still, it's such a recognizable name in F1 that it would almost be worth holding onto the name for nothing in return while the street car company (*sob*) goes down in flames.
Lotus is the only team listed as a provisional entry to have both drivers named, however, so we're hoping it's a typo.
*Read: Not Austin. Not Elroy. Not anywhere even close to the F1 track in the middle of the state. This area is more of the target demographic for the FarmersOnly commercials than it is for Microsoft's enterprise software solutions.
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