So this is the pinnacle of motorsport? Two separate teams are allowed to use the same name?

You could argue that there is a discernable difference between Group Lotus and Team Lotus. You would be correct, but how do you explain it to the large volume of unwashed masses that don't dive for their favorite F1 website first thing every morning to check the latest headlines? How do you explain that one didn't exist 2 seasons ago and the other was a different manufacturer last season? How do you explain which resurrected livery is which?

It's nothing short of an embarrassment.

For clarity's sake let's call them "Lotus Gascoyne" and "Flavio's Lotus" so we are perfectly clear about whom we're talking.

I am willing to laud Lotus Gascoyne for their efforts in their inaugural nee reincarnation season. They showed up in the desert of Bahrain smartly dressed and as prepared as they could be, their traditional British Racing Green a refreshing look on the grid. Herr Mosley lured them in (along with the other bound-to-Cosworth teams) under the guise of a budget cap, but once they paid their fee the cap was lifted, and any hope of being anything but severely off the pace went flying out the window.

Granted the only link Lotus Gascoyne has to the team that won 7 championships is an old hat kept behind glass, but they didn't embarrass the name and fans generally have accepted this Malaysian team for what it is; a hard working bunch who love the competition of motorsport and want to win. The team wasn't started just to sell something.

Conversely the Malaysian company that owns Lotus cars and the title "Group Lotus" (but not the title "Team Lotus") didn't want to get on board with Lotus Gascoyne before the start of last season. Now that they've seen how well the Lotus name did and the positive press and respect Lotus Gascoyne earned, they want in. What the hell are they thinking?

And even though they no longer own the team, what the hell is Renault thinking? Flavio's Lotus has no respect for the tradition of motorsport and could care less about Colin Chapman and what he achieved. They could care less about the hard core fans who had reservations about the name Lotus coming back in the first place and they could care less about the casual fans who are going to be confused as hell as to what is going on with 2 Lotus teams and 4 Lotus cars.

The goal is for Flavio's Lotus is to make sure Genii Capital makes their money back. And that could be the reason as to why the impresario himself has remained mum. As is so often mentioned on this website, Bernie has a boss. It's another investment company that could care less about the fans or about motorsport. It only cares about making money. This attitude may account why several names of repute came out a couple weeks ago in support of Flavio's Lotus. You could almost hear the rustle of bank notes exchanging hands.

Flavio's Lotus have a perfectly retro name with Renault, one that has a more recent winning tradition than Lotus. I will admit that I like the first iterations of the old black and gold John Player Special-esque livery, but then almost anything is better than the ketchup and mustard smeared ex-ING mess which morphed into the Benson and Hedges Buzzin Hornets over the last 2 years.

In the end this is just another black eye for the sport. For the amount of money poured into both teams you would think someone with some sense would have told one of them to back down and change their name. It actually makes me angry that people so high up in this sport can be so abjectly stupid.

Maybe one of them could be convinced to use the Brabham name. Then again, I'd wager more than one person owns rights to that name also.