SPECULATION fills the scene as Lotus F1 Racing prepare for the much awaited launch of their car in London on Friday, but chief executive officer Riad Asmat believes all negative airs will be cleared when the car is unveiled.
“This is no mock-up car. It is a running car with an engine in it that has been a result of about 100 days of hard work. We are fighting for every single detail there is,” said Riad yesterday.

The Cosworth V8 engine in the back of the Lotus F1 car had already been fired up for the first time on Saturday night, and today, test driver Fairuz Fauzy is due to put the car through straight line tests at the Silverstone Circuit.

Fairuz will then join race drivers Jarno Trulli and Heiki Kovalainen at the Jerez Circuit in Spain next Wednesday for the first official tests.

There has been speculation on the ground that the team lack sufficient funding to make it through their debut season which begins at the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain on March 12-14.

There have also been no sponsorship announcements by the team, which adds to the speculation.

“I think we’re due a little bit more credit. So far, of the new teams, only Virgin and us have our cars ready and we will be on the grid in Bahrain,” said Riad.

“People can speculate that Campos might not start the season, that we won’t make it through the season or anything they want. At the end of the day, it is up to our determination to make things happen.

“This is Malaysia and I’ve learned to accept this, that people are eager to draw on the negative out of everything. But they should see what we have done and all will be unveiled on Friday.”