Lotus name Trulli, Kovalainen and Fairuz as their drivers

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Tuesday December 15, 2009Lotus name Trulli, Kovalainen and Fairuz as their driversBy SHAMSUL FITRIMalaysia's Team Lotus F1 is raring to goKUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Lotus F1 Racing team – the new kids on the block in Formula One – sent out a serious message to their rivals when they announced the signing of Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen as their drivers for next season.The duo and local boy Fairuz Fauzy, 27, signed three-year deals to spearhead Lotus F1’s challenge for the 2010 season, which opens in Bahrain in March.Wait is over: Lotus F1 drivers, Jarno Trulli of Italy (right), Heikki Kovalainen of Finland (centre) and Fairuz Fauzy sharing a light moment with Youth and Sports Minister Shabery Chik and team principal Tony Fernandes in Kuala Lumpur Monday.The Lotus F1 line-up was announced at the Parliament yesterday by Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek, on behalf of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.A former Renault and Toyota driver, the 35-year-old Trulli is undoubtedly one of the most experienced drivers around as he will be into his 14th season in F1 next year.Even so, the Italian admits he faces a daunting task of bringing success to the team.“It will be a hard task, especially in the first part of the season. But the team is ready and extremely committed to face the challenges,” he said yesterday.Trulli was left without a team after Toyota decided to pull out from the championship last month to focus on their automotive business.Formula One drivers Italy's Jarno Trulli, (center), Finland's Heikki Kovalainen, (left), and Malaysia's Fairuz Fauzy pose for a group photo at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday. - APHe has scored a total of 11 podium finishes so far, with his first-ever win coming at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2004 with Renault.“Before I made my decision to join the team, I visited the team’s factory (in Norfolk, UK) to know what’s going on with the project and how serious are they,” said Trulli, who was eighth overall in the drivers’ standings last season.“I can see that they are really serious and the team principal, Tony (Fernandes) convinced me that they are not in this on a short term.”Kovalainen, who was with McLaren last season alongside Lewis Hamilton, said he had a good feeling about the team when he decided to sign with Lotus F1 Racing.“I feel the team is very stable and, just like Trulli, I went to have a look at their factory and can see for myself they are very motivated and committed to pushing this programme forward,” said the 28-year-old, who was 12th in the driver standings last season.“The team have ambitious plans and I’m confident we can progress and achieve good results in the championship.”Team principal Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes has set a realistic target for the team next season — be the best among the new teams.The other newcomers next season are Sauber, USF1, Campos and Virgin Racing.Kovalainen said it was fitting for a new team to have such a target in their debut season.“Of course we race to win but to have the team operating like any other top F1 team is as important as the results itself,” said the Finn, whose only triumph came in the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix.“It won’t be easy at the beginning but we have to keep improving throughout the year.”