Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen have been revealed as Lotus drivers for the 2010 season.
Lotus, which is backed by the Malaysian government, have also announced that their third driver will be Malaysian driver Fairuz Fauzy.
“It was quite a difficult situation at the start of November with my former team withdrawing from Formula One, but I was convinced I would stay in the sport,” Trulli commented.
“I was in contact with Gascoyne about the possibility of joining the new Lotus team and it became quickly clear that it would be a very good opportunity for me.
“I have been in Formula 1 for many years but there is something extremely motivating about helping to build a team from the ground level up.”
Kovalainen has revealed that although he was considering several options, he chose Lotus because they offered the best career options for him.
“For me there were a couple of major factors,” Kovalainen began.
“Tony Fernandes and Mike Gascoyne being the two leading figures in the project and the backing behind the team were both very important. Having spoken to both of them I became aware that the whole operation has a lot of potential, and a very good chance of being a successful team in the future.
“I saw Lotus as the best choice for me to progress my career, after considering several other options that were available to me.”
Team boss Tony Fernandes is thrilled to have two drivers of such high calibre driving for the new team.
“I am still pinching myself,” he commented.
“We have not even finished our first race car, so to attract two race winning drivers to the team is a huge achievement and honour. I think it is a testament to our ambition and our long-term vision that we have such talent on our books in year one.
“It is further proof that we are serious about what we do and I am sure the other new teams are looking at us with some envy right now.”
