Team Lotus T128 revealed

Here is the Team Lotus T128, the single-seater with which Fernandes' team will compete in the 2011 Formula 1 world championship. The car features more aggressive aerodynamics than the 2010 single-seater and the Malaysian team is now aiming to enter the fight for the center of the standings .

The T128 will not debut until Wednesday, when it will participate in the second day of testing in Valencia. But Team Lotus has decided to reveal the first images of the car in a special version of its online magazine.

Fernandes has always admitted that last year's T127 was deliberately conservative to allow the team to be present on the grid despite the short time available for the debut. The development of the 2010 car was stopped in the first months of the season to concentrate efforts on the 2011 car, now more modern and powered by the Renault V8 and equipped with the Red Bull transmission.

From the images you can see a more sophisticated front wing, more sculpted bellies and a more conventional high nose while the airbox and bonnet are similar to the Mercedes 2010 and suggest that Lotus has found a way around the rules that in theory they would have prohibited too “sharp” bodywork designs.

Technical director, Mike Gascoyne, said he was satisfied with the T128: “I think this car looks top-notch in every area,” he said. “We made it clear that we would aim to challenge traditional teams and I think that is within our reach.”

The dispute over the Lotus name has not yet been resolved and Fernandes' team has chosen to adopt a name that continues the tradition of the English brand in F1, opting for T128 rather than TL11 as had been rumored.