The whole Renault/Lotus affair was weird too. And complex.
Renault was poised to scale back its operations to being only an engine supplier (again) in 2011, instead resorting to a tie-up deal with Lotus Cars for a 25% stake in the team. The deal was done at the end of 2010, with a sponsorship deal from Lotus penned to last until at least 2017. The team would be rebranded as Lotus Renault GP, though the chassis would still be called a Renault, and the livery would be a inspired by the classic black and gold John Player Special sponsorship last used when Renault and Lotus joined forces in the 1980s.
However, a Malaysian-backed team that entered F1 in 2010 led by Tony Fernandes (creator of Air Asia), ran as Lotus Racing, a result of Group Lotus (owner of Lotus Cars) giving permission to use the name. During the season however Group Lotus, with agreement from parent company Proton, terminated the agreement due to what it described as "flagrant and persistent breaches of the licence by the team". Not long afterwards, a statement from Fernandes made it known that he had acquired Team Lotus Ventures Ltd. (a company owned by David Hunt since 1994 after the original Lotus team stopped racing in F1), claiming full ownership of the rights to the Team Lotus brand and its heritage, as such rebranding his team as Team Lotus for 2011. On a side note, the team also announced towards the end of 2010 that a deal had been reached where Red Bull Technologies would give them a supply of gearbox and hydraulic systems from 2011. Another deal was confirmed whereby Renault would supply engines for the next two years.
In response, Lotus Cars launched legal action against the team claiming Fernandes had no rights to the name because Hunt was never in a position to sell it. Proton stated that Group Lotus owned all rights to the Lotus name in the automotive sector, F1 included, and that Fernandes had no rights to use the brand in the 2011 season. Fernandes did however state that the team would go to court if necessary to protect the brand name.
So, on the eve of the 2011 season, the situation arose where there would be two F1 teams known as Lotus powered by Renault engines racing against each other. They would've looked pretty much the same as well had Fernandes not decided at the last minute to abandon running JPS-inspired livery, and sticking with the team's original green/yellow paint scheme. A statement from the Chapman family expressed their support for Group Lotus in the dispute and declaration that the Team Lotus name should not be used in the sport. With the season well under way by this point, the whole affair ended up going to the High Court in London, but not over the use of the name itself, rather the termination of the contract between Fernandes and Group Lotus.
The court ruling confirmed that Fernandes was the owner of the name, and that his team could still use the Team Lotus name and the Team Lotus logo, but not "Lotus" on its own. That was still the sole right of Group Lotus, who could therefore enter F1 using "Lotus" for a team name, the black and gold livery, and the Lotus logo. Damages were paid after Team Lotus were found to be in breach of the licensing agreement made with Group Lotus, which had seen the team compete as Lotus Racing during 2010. As such, both teams completed 2011 using their respective Lotus monikers.
Ahead of the 2012 season, Team Lotus was rebranded as Caterham F1 after the acquisition by Fernandes of Caterham Cars, who then formed the Caterham Group. By the end of 2014, the team entered administration and didn't race at the US GP. Through crowdfunding however (a first in F1's history), Caterham were able to race in the season ending Abu Dhabi GP and end of season testing at the same venue, before folding altogether on the eve of the 2015 season.
Hopefully they use those fancy wheels that are flat halfway to center, like the ones the Rebellion prototypes are running. I know the front wings will be simplified, but I only cared about proportions, and my photoshop skills are limited. So please don't mind any ugly bits you might notice.
