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Lotus boss believes F1 will survive manufacturer exodus

Tony Fernandes addressed the motorsport business forum in Monaco © Getty Images

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New Lotus team principal Tony Fernandes believes F1 will survive the departure of the big name car manufacturers and believes that the current state of the sport offers golden opportunities to the new teams.

"I think Formula One is big enough," he said during his opening speech at the motorsport business forum in Monaco, "with or without manufacturers, people will still come. It's not because of BMW or Toyota or the other manufacturers that people came - they came before the manufacturers, they came after the manufacturers left, and they will come back again. It is the sport that people come to, not the teams."

Fernandes will lead Lotus when the historic name returns to the grid for the first time since 1994. Famous for launching Air Asia in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, he has likened that move to his decision to enter F1 in 2010.

"Everyone said that's a crazy time to start an airline, it's in crisis etc, etc," he said. "But I thought it was a great time, because the incumbents were in a state of flux, and it gives a new entrant such as us with very little capital the chance to go in there and try and start something.

"Formula One is nowhere near the state that the airline business was after 9/11. But we see opportunities - I think things are going the right way. Costs may be coming down. I still think it's a phenomenally successful sport. There are still lots of ways of making this a really good business, and it's a great business for other businesses to sit on as a platform."

He also spoke about his team's chances next year. "We think we are going to have a very reasonable car. We know we aren't going to be competing [at the front] in year one, but it takes time and we'll have a good basis for moving forward. But the idea of capping costs is a good one, because you do need good teams, you do need a competitive grid."

The forum will also hear from Alex Tai who is billed as the director of special projects for the Virgin group but is expected to become team principal of Manor's F1 team. Although a formal announcement is yet to take place, the FIA listed Manor's entry as Virgin F1 on the most recent official entry list. Also speaking will be Brawn's Nick Fry and the vice chairman of the Eurosport group, Jacques Raynaud.

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