Why Caterham makes sense for Team Lotus

Team Lotus owner Tony Fernandes has realised his dream of becoming a car constructor with his acquisition of Caterham Cars, but as Jonathan Noble explains, the billionaire has also pulled a smart move in his battle to establish a brand in F1

Published Apr 27, 2011, 6:06 PM

The key to any successful business is always to be one step ahead of the opposition. Team Lotus's chief Tony Fernandes does not quite stick to that mantra though - because he always seems to be at least six paces ahead of the rest of the world.

Fernandes is a man not afraid to seek out opportunity in any circumstance. That is why he launched AirAsia at the very time that airlines appeared to be on their knees - just days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

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Author Jonathan Noble

Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.