LONDON — Team Lotus, which named drivers this week for its debut Formula 1 season, will compete with another start-up team — Virgin Racing — in a sporting wager between the two team owners.
Tony Fernandes, Lotus team principal, is also AirAsia chief executive officer, and in that role he is a rival to Virgin Group President Richard Branson. Virgin is title sponsor of the former Manor GP, one of four teams granted entry to F1 starting next season.
Branson, at a ceremony in London Wednesday, proposed that he and Fernandes bet on their respective teams' performance. The representative of the lower-finishing squad will have to serve as a "stewardess" on the other's airline, complete with standard-fare female flight attendant uniform. Fernandes has accepted the challenge, that news outshining other news regarding the two teams.
Fernandes triggered the bet by commenting, regarding his ambitions for 2010: "Number one we have to be ahead of Branson, otherwise I will retire and kill myself."
Branson suggested the alternative contest and speculated, "I'll have to check how fetching his stewardess outfits are, but I'd be game to do it while totally confident of winning."
Lotus, in confirming Fernandes' acceptance of the challenge, posted a doctored photo on its Web site depicting Branson in an AirAsia uniform.
In less frivolous news, Malaysia-based Lotus named veteran Jarno Trulli, fifth-year driver Heikki Kovalainen and Malaysian rookie Fairuz Fauzy as its three drivers.
Meanwhile, Branson pledged that Virgin will compete with the smallest budget of all F1 teams next year (under $66 million), but was optimistic that the team will have success nonetheless.
"Money is not everything and we are determined to prove that through engineering prowess, great drivers and great affinity with the public we can do well," he said.
Inside Line says: Sir Richard is confident he won't have to make the Lotus photo illustration a reality, but his low-bucks approach will have to prove itself. — David Green, Correspondent
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gmhl10 says:
10:39 AM, 12/18/2009
Without Ross Brawn, can Branson pull it off? At least he has a year of more experience than Fernandes as team principal.
jackson611 says:
12:38 PM, 12/17/2009
tell Ferrari and McLaren money doesn't count.
firstclass says:
10:41 AM, 12/17/2009
Excuse me is time not his money. He's riskier than I gave him credit for.
firstclass says:
10:38 AM, 12/17/2009
This doesn't surprise me one bit... Richard Branson is the world's greatest risk taker. Just look at all the work he's doing to create commercial space flight. His money and his dignity mean nothing to him if he's not willing to lose it. I'm not afraid to say that Richard Branson is one of the most underestimated figures of our time. He really deserves more credit for taking chances.
I can see him pouring quite a bit of money and personal time into his racing team. Richard doesn't place bets sitting down. If I was Tony Fernandes I'd be afraid.