Nigel Mansell set his first pole position in the Renault-powered Lotus 95T at the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix.

Team Lotus back in its heyday in Formula One had champions such as Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Mario Andretti.

And now the British Formula Three squad Litespeed under the Lotus banner has submitted its entry for the Formula One 2010 championship.

After a 15 year long hiatus Team Lotus, they plan to continue its successful foray into F1, where Lotus is considered the fourth most successful constructor in F1 history.

They won the Constructors’ Championships seven times, in 1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973 and lastly in 1978.

They also won the Drivers’ Championships six times, back in 1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1972 and 1978.

Litespeed chiefs Nino Judge was quoted, “Team Lotus is synonymous with great British engineering and F1 innovation, such as the Lotus 25 being the first monocoque chassis in F1 and the introduction of groundbreaking sponsorship, both of which demonstrate why ex-Lotus personnel would want to bring this championship-winning name back to the formula.”

I can’t wait for the next season, with so many new teams on-board, new rules, new cars, new excitement!

I have a feeling this season Jensen Button will be a runaway success and his constant wins will get ‘boring’ as the remaining stages played out.

Vettel, Barrichello and Webber need to rise to the challenge if they want a shot at the coveted Drivers’ title.