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It’s the kind of outside-the-box thinking one might hope for with a brand launching into Formula One racing for the first time. Although the Lotus name has been around in F1 since 1958, there’s an important distinction: Team Lotus and Lotus weren’t exactly the same group.

The name disappeared from the sport between 1994 and 2010 when it came back under license to Tony Fernandes, an entrepreneur best known for turning once-failing Air Asia into a successful publicly listed company. For the upcoming year, Lotus will run under their own name, while Fernandes’ team will re-emerge as the Caterham F1 Team.

The Caterham CT01 car made the news last week after its photos leaked a day early onto the internet. We don’t have much information on the Lotus car yet, but we do know that 2007 Formula 1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen will be at the wheel.

Watch the teaser below.

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It was back in 1967 when the AMG badge first appeared on a Mercedes-Benz product, and in 2012 it will first appear on a Formula 1 car.

In order to promote its performance division, Mercedes-Benz has decided to change the name of its F1 team for the 2012 season, and it will now be called “Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team.”

On this occasion, the director of motorsport at Mercedes, Norbert Haug said: “Our new team name fuses the proud traditions of AMG and the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows at the pinnacle of motorsport. These three letters (AMG) are synonymous with high technology, sporting performance and excitement and this step is a further strong sign of the strategic commitment Mercedes-Benz has made to Formula 1.”

So if you are a fan of the Aufrecht Melcher Grobaspach (AMG) racing cars, wait until March 18, for the first Formula 1 race of 2012, which will be held in Melbourne, Australia, to see your favorite racing cars in action.

[Source: Autocar]

The 2007 Formula 1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen is making a comeback to the sport after a two-year break.

However, its not like he was sitting at home doing nothing for the last two years. Raikkonen dabbled in WRC rallying, and also tried his luck in the NASCAR Truck Series. But it’s F1 where his star shined the brightest, where he had won 18 races and 62 podiums while racing for McLaren and Ferrari. His only championship win came at the wheel of a Ferrari.

Raikkonen’s return to F1 was in the rumor-mill for several months, but many speculated that he will drive for Williams. But the 32-year old from Finland will return with Lotus GP (known as Lotus-Renault GP for the 2011 season). On this occasion, Raikkonen commented: “My hunger for F1 has recently become overwhelming. It was an easy choice to return with Lotus GP.”

Raikkonen who first entered F1 in 2001 with Sauber, raised many eyebrows in the paddock when he scored a point in his debut race. He moved to McLaren a year later.

Will Raikkonen’s return be heroic or will he suffer from the same fate Michael Schumacher has been dealing with during his comeback? Only time will tell.

Robert Kubica, one of Formula One’s most promising young drivers, will sit out the start of the 2012 F1 season as he continues to recover from a crash that partially severed his arm.

While Kubica is making a recovery, the pace is not as rapid as some had hoped for. Kubica can move his arm, but it remains unknown whether he is physically fit enough to drive a Formula One car at this time.

Kubica was driving a Skoda rally car in an Italian race when he crashed into a barrier that penetrated his car and nearly sliced off his arm. Kubica was replaced before the start of the 2011 season by Nick Heidfeld and Bruno Senna. Renault will have to look for a replacement for 2012, but says that Kubica has a test car and a crew of mechanics at his disposal when he is ready to return.

Hit the jump to see the official press release

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One of the most successful partnerships in the history of Formula 1 has to be the combination of a Honda engine in a McLaren chassis and body, with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost behind the wheel. It was the perfect partnership which saw the team win many races and championships.

Over the last 16-years, McLaren has found much success by giving their driver’s Mercedes-Benz power. However, for the last two-years, Mercedes-Benz has been running its own F1 team and rumors started circulating that this will lead to an end to their relationship with McLaren, especially since Mercedes-Benz sold all its shares in McLaren back to the parent company.

With McLaren’s contract coming to an end in 2015 with Mercedes-Benz, much speculation has been circulating on the web and in the paddock as to who will supply engines to the Woking-based team in the future.

This has lead many to speculate that the McLaren-Honda relationship will once again be born, especially since turbo-charged engines are making their way back in Formula 1, and Honda was dominant in the last turbo-era in this sport.

However, McLaren’s managing director Jonathan Neale denies that there has been any contact with Honda. He stresses that McLaren is very well married to Mercedes-Benz for their engines and he sees this partnership continuing into the future.

As for rumors suggesting that Mercedes-Benz might not be giving McLaren its latest motors to give itself an advantage on the track, Neale says he doesn’t think “that’s a concern. ” He goes on to say, “Of course, Mercedes have their own GP team and it’s right and proper that a degree of focus is going to go in that direction, but I was just talking this morning with Thomas Fuhr at Mercedes-Benz – we speak frequently – and we want the same things. It’s in our interest to have consistent engines together because that’s how we get the highest quality.”

The last race of the 2011 F1 season takes place this weekend in Brazil at the Interlagos circuit.

[Source: ESPN]

The moment has come. Formula One, the pinnacle of international automotive racing, is coming for Greater New York in 2013!

According to well placed sources involved in the matter, the Formula 1 franchise will make an official announcement of the “Formula One Grand Prix of America” some time next week. Slatted for June 2013, the Weehawken-West New York road course of New Jersey will feature a stunning Manhattan skyline backdrop.

A Tuesday press conference at Port Imperial, Weehawken is expected. This project was first proposed in August, when the mayors of Weehawken and West New York issued a joint statement that revealed discussions with a group of investors led by Leo Hindery by Leo Hindery, Jr., a former chief executive of the YES Network, to bring a race to New Jersey were in motion.

The current Formula One calendar features nineteen incredible destinations including Monaco, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Yas Marina, Montreal, Melbourne, and Catalunya. The last grand prix held in the United States was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2007.

By 2010, already a three year hiatus, Formula 1 already announced plans for a return to the United States. As we speak, a state-of-the-art $250 million racetrack in Austin, Texas enters the final phases of construction, readying for its debut at the November 2012 Formula One Grand Prix of America. With the addition of the New Jersey circuit, racing fans in the United States finally gets to experience the excitement they deserve.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

Infiniti is at your service… with a sweepstakes that could have you driving away a new car.

The Infiniti At Your Service Sweepstakes gives you the chance to win the grand prize of an Infiniti M, G Convertible or FX. Your prize also comes with a two-year Infiniti ELITE Maintenance Vehicle Service Plan. Don’t feel too bad if you don’t win the grand prize. You could be packing your bags after you win a VIP trip for two to a Formula One race in Australia, Britain, Canada, Monaco or Spain. Or you could win one of 200 instant prizes of two-year Infiniti ELITE Maintenance Vehicle Service Plans.

To enter, you need to complete service at your participating Infiniti retailer between now and September 30, 2011. You’ll receive a PIN code or VIN – just enter this number on the site before October 31, 2011. Verify and submit your personal information and you’re entered to win.

To find out more about this contest or to enter, visit Infiniti’s At Your Service Sweepstake’s page.

Hollywood actor Tom Cruise has recently tested the Red Bull Formula One race car at the Willow Springs racetrack in California. Tom Cruise completed 24 laps with the Red Bull team, and guiding the top gun along the track was race car driver David Coulthard.

Coulthard took Cruise around the track in a passenger car, then set him off on his own. Tom Cruise set his own lap in the F1 car reaching a top speed of 185 mph, and cut his best time by 11 seconds. Amazingly, Cruise recorded a top speed just 4 mph off Coulthard’s best.

“Tom’s the real deal,” Coulthard told RedBull.com. “I was surprised that he picked it up so quickly and is such an accomplished driver. His recall was incredible considering how complicated driving an F1 car is. He’s a guy who really pushes the envelope in real life. This day was not green screened. He thoroughly impressed me.”

[Source: ESPN]

David Coulthard and his Red Bull F1 team traveled down to Austin, Texas to check out the soon to be completed Circuit of the Americas track.

Over the weekend, David Coulthard took his 750-hp Red Bull Formula One race car on a cruise in and around the Texas capital, engaged in some hooning and put on a show for the crowd.

In this clip, Coulthard takes the high performance F1 car on the dirt roads of the soon to be grand prix track, as well as along some highways. It’s not every day you get to see one of these cars go off-roading, or tear through city steets.

Check out the videos after the jump!

GALLERY: Red Bull F1

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Despite a poor performance, rumors of retirement, and even a call to hang-up his racing gloves by former F1 Champ Niki Lauda, Michael Schumacher will be back competing at the pinnacle of motorsports next year.

The seven-time World Champion’s return to F1 has been less than glamorous, with the Mercedes GP Petronas driver having failed to reach the podium once this season. Still, Schumacher obviously feels he has an important role to play. Speaking at a Mercedes-Benz event over the weekend, Schumacher said, “I’ll certainly be racing next year, that is definite.”

Currently Schumacher sits in 10th place in the Drivers’ standings, three places behind team mate Nico Rosberg. With eight more races to go this season, can Schumacher return to his former glory?