Why Lotus should return to F1

Lotus are seeing something of a rebirth at the moment, with the brand releasing the Evija and Emira, soon to be followed by the Lotus Eletre SUV. The brand last raced in Formula One in 2015, but I think they should return.
Twitter: @formulajohn_
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[@Rose-hv2if]

Hi Josh, as a Lotus employee (on a throwaway account) I must say, that F1 is very far from the goals in the near future, even for Geely. The investment has absolutely been a huge help and seen an uptick in workers, but the core business is focusing on the road car division. We've sold out on Emira's for the next 2 years, so we're not exactly struggling to advertise. "Team Lotus", the racing division is all but dead and would need completely rebuilding. (It's like asking where the Arrows or Super Aguri team is). That being said, the Emira GT4 is now the British GT safety car and I'm sure there'll be more GT4's in the future. But as you said in the video the car side of the company needs to prove itself before it can establish a racing division. Popularity, especially on the internet, is fleeting. It's naïve to assume a popular TikTok brand would automatically be popular with the media or wider populace. And as Haas proved in 2020, some financial decisions for the good of the Team can tank your reputation. Lotus has a fabulous history, F1 is a massive gamble for not much gain.

[@JohnWarren]

Awesome to hear your perspective, thanks for your comment! Obviously my video was just an opinion but it’s great to hear from the inside :)

[@Rose-hv2if]

@@JohnWarren No worries. Thanks for the video. Keep it up

[@williamwade7059]

Thanks for the info

[@TheHesK9]

​@@derek6340 I'm pretty sure they will. Considering the GT4 was brought out so early into production, they must be hoping to build off that

[@matthew-jy5jp]

Well said. Social media ain't reality. And most of the dummies that use tiktok are teenagers and can't afford a car anyway. No serious minded adult is using tiktok unless you want to see some tits and ass and there's plenty of places to find that besides tictok.

[@jdek3913]

I think Formula E would be a great place for Lotus. Less money spent and less risk, plus more electric development! However, the prospect of a Lotus in F1 again is so appealing. Great video!

[@lordhenrywotton95]

Makes sense to me

[@seanonraet8327]

I was thinking this while watching the video and honestly I'd love it if they did

[@gabrielariano8770]

Nobody watches fe

[@mrsoisauce9017]

I was just abt to comment the same thing

[@mrsoisauce9017]

@@gabrielariano8770 not necessarily true. Formula E is actually picking up traction in terms of viewership. They’ve been doing so for a while now

[@LiamTalksMotorsport]

I love Lotus.

[@JohnWarren]

As you should😈

[@LiamTalksMotorsport]

@@JohnWarren El Clark & El Chapman… haven’t seen a combo that good since 5 Chicken Strips with large fries at McDonald’s.

[@JohnWarren]

nah, double quarter pounder with cheese for me

[@LiamTalksMotorsport]

@@JohnWarren haha!

[@i.r_297]

I too love Lotus but i don't trust geely

[@michaelsson740]

Seriously. That new style of editing is just something else. Love your work. Thanks for the content!

[@JohnWarren]

Thank you man! Really appreciate the kind words :)

[@michaelsson740]

@@JohnWarren You're very welcome! Especially those fading effects of the background colours matching the Lotus colours. It's the tiny details. Really elevates the content.

[@savanikolov962]

@JohnWarren the editing has defo been top notch! Wanted to ask you what editing software do you use?

[@zayedwakarshaan2453]

My most favorite f1 team. Hope they get back on track in the near future

[@atharvadate7345]

Imagine a Lotus vs Aston Martin rivalry

[@TheHesK9]

Lotus is in a different league in F1. Lotus vs Mclaren is the rivalry

[@Alex-UM7GTE]

These are the teams i really want to see back on the race track *Super Aguri *Lotus *Minardi *Arrows Hopefully anyone out there could bring these teams back to the track.

[@exiles299]

but Minardi still exists as AT?

[@TheHesK9]

Lotus is a bit out of place in that list lol

[@skyhigh6089]

Minardi never left. It's today's Alpha Tauri.

[@Alex-UM7GTE]

@@TheHesK9 yeah ok..

[@TheHesK9]

@Alex one of the best teams ever with 3 terrible ones

[@jakefimo]

Been thinking this for ages, Would love nothing more than Lotus revival, That's why I did it on career mode

[@WorldfunMacker]

A Lotus Comeback in Formula 1 would be so epic. I think Haas would be a good team too to buy. If Andretti make the entry to formula 1 in 2026, it is possible that Gene Haas and his Team are go. Great Video. Thanks for that :D

[@patrickdavis5345]

The only reason that I realised that Lotus aren't dead is because of their sponsorship of Norwich FC. It seems to be that if they are going to make any sort of f1 comeback, it would be by sponsoring a team

[@danlong5004]

This is probably the most underrated KZbin channel out there the quality on the videos are so good every time!

[@ryutenken1]

Had no idea lotus changed ownership i am interested if they would return now.

[@endreszentgyorgyi5270]

great video man, love your style! keep doing what you’re doing friend

[@JohnWarren]

thank you bro! appreciate it :)

[@endreszentgyorgyi5270]

@@JohnWarren ❤️

[@skejekkeekkekekekek4841]

Not to mention, Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious Is a quote from top gear

[@JohnWarren]

that is true, and probably where the tiktok comment was inspired from

[@skejekkeekkekekekek4841]

@@JohnWarren love the content BTW

[@peterd4011]

Regarding Kai Li, he was hired in 2019 as engineering graduate, then transitioned to marketing department through rotations

[@evie_33]

First video of yours I've watched, and I'm now sure it won't be my last. I can see all the research you've put into the video, and the editing is just superb. You have earned my subscription mate!

[@MagnumBTS]

what a video. i got an exige recently, would be a dream if lotus comes back into f1.

[@charamia9402]

This video was excellent quality and very informative. A proper deep dive into something I didn’t know much about and conveyed in a way that's very clear and easy to follow. Great job!

[@JohnWarren]

Thank you so much for the kind words!

[@charamia9402]

@@JohnWarren Well deserved. I've followed for a couple of years and see a steady rise in quality in all aspects from topic to writing to editing.

[@oof5396]

Class video mate. Keep it up!

[@DalDaxx]

Holy shit your content is lately on fire 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 But i'm serious your editing is really flowing nice and choice music is fantastic, and the idea's are also great. I hope you are gonna have agreat year!

[@JohnWarren]

Thank you man, I’m glad the effort’s paying off!

[@ashooaway]

I agree 1000% this just needs to happen. Lotus are the only brand that could seriously return to F1 without the support of a manufacture and no-one would question it. Geeley being Chinese need to improve their international recongisaibility this just makes too much sense

[@Primus_075]

Lotus Williams could be the final Boss of F1 lmao

[@JohnWarren]

they could😏

[@leahx4552]

I really like the black background from the thumbnail. Way more approachable than the yellow one. It looks more serious if you know. 😇

[@A350XLR]

With talks of Panthera Team Asia F1 actually bidding for 2026 entry, they should join as manufacturer

[@thereallettuceweabois5918]

HOW do you not have a million subscribers already?!?

[@ChristianrnstrupRasmussen]

If Lotus is joining anything formula related it is Formula E. That is their new strategy with Geely being electric.

[@andreadavino3567]

All the glory to Lotus

[@finewine1001]

"its a lot different than other marketing" mercedes f1: am I a joke to you

[@Hashx17]

Williams Lotus? I'd get behind that so fast lol

[@holtby91]

The purest in me says, create a new team as a continuation of Team Lotus 1958-1994 based in Hethel. But realistically it would be best to start as a sponsor. I’d hate the idea of Williams being gone from the grid.

[@MetikalMan]

It’s not Williams anymore.

[@holtby91]

@@MetikalMan I’ll admit, they’re not as interesting since Claire Williams and George Russell left.

[@francisquito4590]

​@@holtby91no as in they're no longer owned by the williams family

[@martrex5477]

And as for Formula 1 - I think the smarter move for Lotus wouldn't be entering a new team or even buying existing one. The smartest move would be to make a sponsorship deal with an existing team. I know about 2019 with colour scheme and the company that was assosiated with, but it would be DOPE if Lotus sponsored Haas AND with control over color scheme (notably bringing back PROPER black and gold livery)

[@richardcondon8738]

Great video

[@alvarezsocal1317]

Great Video, I 100 percent agree with your video.

[@whatwhatyep]

The saying about Lotus is older than social media so it's a little wonder they were not bothered by it. It's pretty much the same as Keep The Mechanic for KTM

[@motorsandcoasters]

That intro felt like a top gear episode.

[@drift13]

ooh I’m actually excited just thinking about this now

[@JohnWarren]

me too!

[@owensparks5013]

Some "works replicas" of the early F1 cars could be interesting. Tube chassis, carbon body panels, what engine though?

[@EndaMRacing]

Great video!!! Hope lotus comes back in 2026

[@sutinrongwithu]

As much as I would love to see it, I think Lotus doing an LMDh car or Formula E would make a lot more sense to get back into racing. Both are a lot cheaper than F1.

[@ims0ul]

NGL, Lotus joining FE does seem more like a thing atm

[@GeliCarlosJ]

Lotus would probably join Formula E instead of Formula 1 because they've rebranded and have a different focus under Geely. Would still be cool though

[@mrragge7986]

I think that they should sponsor a team that they could buy later

[@MetikalMan]

I want the Mercedes team to rebrand as Lotus. Mercedes would power the big 3 English supercar companies. Especially since Mercedes has a small stake in Lotus ownership. This has been a dream for a while. Lotus - Mercedes AMG, Aston Martin - Mercedes AMG, McLaren - Mercedes AMG.

[@mrtracing3292]

Can’t see why not they’ve got great history and there still making and designing top cars

[@REA987]

Purchasing another British historically legendary team would not make much sense considering that Lotus and Williams were rivals back in the day. Struggling AlphaTauri (former Torro Rosso; former Minardi) would be a better option if Red Bull is really looking forward to relocate the tram to Britain.

[@charlesm.9858]

So that sounds like a lot of speculation, until we actually here in official announcement

[@orcastrike7750]

If anyone’s wondering, the livery in the thumbnail was made for the RSS Formula Hybrid 2022 Assetto mod, it’s available on Racedepartment by “thejqka” and comes with several variants.

[@JohnWarren]

Correct! The livery itself was originally designed by Sean Bull, however, and adapted slightly for AC.

[@orcastrike7750]

@@JohnWarren oh right, forgot to mention lol. jqka does an incredible job adapting Sean’s concepts into Assetto liveries, I’ve got like 10 of them lol

[@Pixel_Player]

I’ve always wanted lotus to return to f1, I’d support them unconditionally if they did

[@miggygetright6344]

Lotus Williams?? Maybe they can return as title sponsors for Williams, this’d work nicely if Williams switch to Renault engines too but I don’t see them leaving Mercedes

[@ChrispyNut]

Yep, I thought Lotus had died until a day or two ago when the new one appeared in a video from Throttle House, even though I'd seen and drooled over that hypercar EV a while back. I was stunned to hear none of those F1 style track cars were sold, but, then I think about it and those who can afford silly money for such silly things rarely have the talent to do it properly or the humility to learn. Most of them just want to buy something that'll automatically make them "better" than everyone else.

[@amr_rr]

When I saw this it reminded me of aarava’s f1 myteam career mode as he changed his team to lotus Come back to f1 lotus pleaseeee 😂😂😂

[@soapypen8998]

Lots of trouble usually serious is quote jeremy clarkson made on the patagonia special

[@freddiegriggs2277]

Ngl lotus needed the emira and I don't think Colin would be upset. You can still go out and buy a second hand exige/evora.

[@garycarmichael8432]

If they ever considered a return to racing, why not try WEC or GT racing? Would be closer to the image they’re projecting now. Can’t ever see them getting the nod to go back into F1. Their image has been tarnished since the 90s.

[@SilverScarletSpider]

it would be nice if Lotus, Brawn, BMW, Porsche, Hyundai, and Toyota could all race in F1 again.

[@cesarelodesani1384]

And Brabham

[@ericjiang1045]

I feel lotus probably don’t have the money needed for F1 these days, plus any embarrassment on track could be too much for a brand that need to recover first.

[@natzw1982]

Don’t forget to comment, they said a person commented on one of the latest videos saying Leticia join back to F1 and then Lotus said patience, young one

[@HexAyed]

God I want a VX220 so badly

[@johnjohansson9171]

I would love to see a blue cyan racing lotus f1 team

[@IbrahemAlbanawi]

They should but I don't think they will come back to F1 because they might go to Formula E to promote their Electric Cars and try to be hip and cool and how do you do fellow kids kind of deal I would for them to come to F1 but things are going towards FE but the prospect of having lotus in F1 with backing from Geely and having Guanyu Zhou as a driver for them is pretty amazing to think about

[@JohnWarren]

Good point - I’d argue FE doesn’t carry the exposure that Lotus need, though (at least, at the moment)!

[@IbrahemAlbanawi]

@@JohnWarren I agree going to FE isn't a very good Idea but I mean Maserati went to FE so I think it's possible they might go that route or go to F1 where they have a very good Chinese driver and a home race in Shanghai

[@martrex5477]

Nice one. But now the term "Most Powerful Production Car" when describing Lotus Evija has not aged that good. I see it like that: Lotus: We have the most powerful production car in history Koenigsegg: No you don't

[@authenticgoth]

it would make more sense to enter an lmdh to the wec.

[@EnjoyTheSilenc3]

They don't make internal combustion engines anymore how did you come up with this? :))

[@zegzbrutal]

If Lotus returns under Geely's money, using Renault engine... Kimi: hello there

[@martrex5477]

And in terms of dominance and being in competition for the win only McLaren and RedBull have matched Lotus 79

[@randomtuner8786]

I wish but it doesn’t really make sense given Lotus won’t use any petrol engines beyond the Emira, so a petrol powered sport would only work with that electric image for a few years, it just simply isn’t worth it for the huge investment

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

I miss the days when Lotus was racing in F1 with a Pratt & Whitney motor.

[@bradwilliams1691]

And 4 wheel drive?

[@sohtrevor8510]

Lotus if they return to F1 would be the coolest team! Just look at their TikTok channel😂

[@maze4184]

i cant even imagine a car weighing only 500kg holy shit

[@JohnWarren]

It’s crazy, right?

[@caphowdy666]

I am a bit confused by the numbers at the start. You say the last time they appeared on the side of an F1 car was 2015, and since then everything has gone a bit quiet. You then say that the last new road car they released was 2008, and that they continued to sell variations of their well known cars, but then say when Geely bought a stake in 2017 the brand had been quiet for over 12 years. How is the gap between 2008 and 2017 over 12 years?

[@JohnWarren]

Sure! Totally understand the need for clarification. Lotus didn’t release a new car for 12 years until the Evija, hence the brand being “quiet”. I’m only considering the brand to have been quiet since F1, though, as continuing to participate in the sport requires continued development, whereas post-F1 there were no new designs to be made by Lotus, only variations with different engines etc. Hope that makes sense!

[@caphowdy666]

@@JohnWarren The thing is though, the Lotus F1 team (the one spawned out of Renault rather than the one that became Caterham) was never owned by Lotus, it was owned by Genii Capital and Lotus was just a branding partner. No different in many respects to the recent Alfa Romeo deal with Sauber. And with the Evija, has that even been released yet? It was announce in 2019, but as far as I have seen has still not even gone into production.

[@LukaCuturic]

Lotus-Williams

[@peterd4011]

I hate to tell you, but the Evija has not sold out, they've only sold at most 10

[@VITORB82]

They should enter Formula E or WEC.

[@reubenjackson7829]

What about starting in formula e as that surely would fit there image better

[@stratis722]

never gonna happen but i wanna see lotus back with volvo as the engine manufacturer as they are both owned by geely as i said, never gonna happen for obvious reasons but a man can dream

[@stratis722]

on second thought, what if the livery had green in the front for lotus, yellow in the middle (as volvo and lotus both share yellow in their schemes), and a polestar blue/swedish flag blue in the back for the volvo engines

[@tooeasy1100]

I don’t know how racing in F1 can sell your cars. Like F1 „cars“ are actually just big, hybrid karts. They have literally no resemblance of a production car. If you want to sell cars, you’re better of running in a production-based series, aren‘t you? Like GT3, GT4 or WRC2

[@ColtAlabama]

Well, someone bought one of those t125's because Genius garage has one. They have a KZbin channel with some videos talking about it.

[@JohnWarren]

Lotus made two prototypes which they demo’ed for potential customers, however nobody bought one. The one on Genius garage is most likely one of those two prototypes!

[@daveblock4061]

Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious is a Decades old saying.

[@bertjilk3456]

I'm pretty sure that retaining the Williams name was part of the Williams family's terms of sale, so it's probably not an option to just buy that team and rename it. Additionally, Formula 1 is partly about national pride (probably the reason you made this video). So, if a Chinese company is going to fork out tens of millions on F1, then they will want to fly the Chinese flag, not the British one (the same way that Andretti/Cadillac is touting its American origins). I do half expect to see a Chinese entry in the not-too-distant future, particularly if Andretti/Cadillac is approved. But, I very much doubt it will be Lotus.

[@goodputin4324]

What rubbish

[@bertjilk3456]

@Good Putin Which part? The Williams name, or national pride being part of F1?

[@John14710]

They will when they see aaravas new my team career mode

[@cyclonec9748]

3:27 thats my tiktok pfp lol

[@m.sydneyvern2260]

I think Lotus should return to F1 in anyway either that's a whole team or just a sponsorship. Also since Lotus's focus is on making electric cars they should consider joining Formula E... just saying

[@encoreartz1028]

Gheely should do it

[@ZedNinetySix_]

Endurance racing would make WAY more sense than F1.

[@Midtable1881]

Love Lotus but think Formula E is a more realistic way back into motorsport given they have an electric hypercar and SUV out.

[@raosiddharth4726]

Yes lotus should return, you put the money then buddy.

[@stealthswim223]

I think a Cadillac team is way more interesting

[@teamlean3717]

I think lotus like porche don't need F1. They'd be better off going into WEC, etc. For a company that's got the stigma of building none-reliable cars, seeing a race version of their street car racing 24hrs of le mans would be a shot in the arm they need.

[@huyra8019]

Lotus went ary by not using Honda engines in their road cars.

[@Literally_Mid]

Lotus admin is a goat but also TikToks banned lotus wtf

[@JohnWarren]

I’ve just seen! Any idea what it’s all about?

[@Literally_Mid]

@@JohnWarren no clue I’ve seen people suggesting it’s because he mocked bmw but he’s back now so maybe just tiktok having a stroke

[@AngryChristian1]

Here me out A Lotus Formula E team

[@oof5396]

Kai is too jokes

[@jacquespienaar4687]

Toto will have a fckn heart attack

[@goofyahhnamingsystem]

Lotus Mercedes and bring back Grosjean and Maldonado as well lol

[@thomassievers3362]

The F1 team Lotus is not the same company as the manufacturer Lotus, this ensured the manufacturer from bankruptcy

[@stephenmac23]

sadly it will never be the great lotus we once knew

[@nolanpeters5462]

Lotus is dead "'Simplify, then add lightness.' those were the words of Collin Chapman, Lotus' founder. With Creature Comforts like apple carplay, a digital dashboard, and a curb weight of Nearly 1500kg the Lotus Emira is neither simple, nor light."

[@doubleDNF]

If Lotus wants to promote their electric cars so much, they should just join Formula E.

[@jsytac]

Doesn’t “Lotus Williams” sound amazing?!

[@ghostplayzbusters]

They should go to formula E