Lotus F1 team close to naming drivers

Monaco: The new Lotus Formula One team hope to announce their drivers in the next week with Italian Jarno Trulli high on a four-man short list according to principal Tony Fernandes.

The Malaysian also told Reuters at a motorsport business forum in Monaco that he had changed his mind about standing down next season and saw a bright future for both his team and the sport despite the exit of leading manufacturers.He said Lotus aimed to be the best of the four newcomers due to debut next year and were certainly ahead of Virgin Racing backed by rival aviation tycoon Richard Branson. "I said that number one we have to be ahead of Branson, otherwise I will retire and kill myself," said the head of fast-growing low cost airline AirAsia. Fernandes said Lotus were prepared to pay for the best available talent. "We have got about four guys that we are looking at and I hope within the next week or so we will be able to announce that (the lineup)." Fernandes said Trulli, who has worked with team technical head Mike Gascoyne before, most recently at Toyota, was one of the four. Canada`s former champion Jacques Villeneuve, who has been talking about a comeback, was not. Malaysia`s Fairuz Fauzy was also in the frame.Fernandes also clarified his statement in September that he would step down as principal once the season started. "There was a reason for doing it at that time, because I think (AirAsia) shareholders were kind of spooked," he said. "Now they are beginning to see that this is no different from any other business that I own." "I will stay on as team principal. I think good leadership is to know when to go, but this is not the right time to go. I don`t see myself doing this forever but there is no time now for when I would go." "I am really the glue that puts it all together and drives it forwards. Air Asia is my job and will continue to be my job...Air Asia benefits immensely from our involvement here." The Malaysian, whose airline started up three days after the 9/11 attacks on New York that sent the aviation world into a tailspin, rejected talk that Formula One faced a crisis after the departure of Honda, BMW and Toyota. "I don`t think Formula One is all about the manufacturers," he said. "In fact, some manufacturers were created from Formula One and I think there will be times when there are no manufacturers and when there are manufacturers." Fernandes was bullish about the sport`s future, with plenty of room for growth in Asia and away from the European heartland. "If you get the rest of the world watching it like they watch it in Europe...then maybe one day (Formula One supremo) Bernie (Ecclestone) will have to have a night race in Silverstone because there are a billion people in Asia watching it," he said. Fernandes said Lotus had a budget of 55 million pounds ($89.85 million) for 2010, a fraction of the figure teams burned through in the past, and were inside their predicted expenditure. "I think Formula One is going to be more exciting. It was probably the best season in terms of viewers...it is in a good position," he said. On the downside, the Malaysian said he had been taken aback by the paddock politics. "I thought I`d seen it all in the airline and music business. But its another level here," he smiled. "Everyone shakes your hand and smiles and a knife goes in your back as you walk out." Bureau Report