KUALA LUMPUR -  European race aces Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen will lead the Lotus charge when the Formula One team - now backed by Malaysia - returns to the starting grid next season.
 
Lotus last raced in 1994. Four other  new teams for 2010 are USF1, Campos, Sauber and Manor, which will compete as Virgin Racing.

Trulli, of Italy and Kovalainen, of Finland, will have Malaysia's Fairuz Fauzy as company.

The names of the three drivers were announced by Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad ShabeCheek on Monday, ending weeks of speculations surrounding the identity of Lotus  F1 Racing's driver signings.

Ahmad Shabery told a news conference at Parliement House that Trulli and Kovalainen would drive for the team next season, which bgins at Bahrain on March 14.

The 35-year-old Trulli had been left without a team following Toyota's exit from F1 last month to cut costs and to focus on its core business.

Twenty-eight year-old Kovalainen was replaced by F1 champion Jenson Button at McLaren.

Eighteen races are scheduled to be held in the next season; 19 if South Korea completes F1's latest circuit in that country.

Malaysia will host the third round, scheduled to be held at its Sepang F1 circuit on April 4. The season's calendar will end in Abu Dhabi on Nov 14.

A milestone for Malaysia and Lotus

Ahmad Shabery said the signing  was "another milestone" for Lotus, which will be one of the five new teams next season.

He said it is a reflection of the determination and status of Lotus 1 Racing to return to F1 that they have hired two race winning drivers for the debut season.

Team principal Tony Fernandes said he is thrilled to have been able to sign the three men to drive for Lotus F1 Racing in its debut season, adding that the signing is "a testament to the quality of our team, to our ambition and rive and, above all, to our longterm vision of F1 success."

He said the Italian and the Finn have proven track records in F1. "They will be a big asset to us as we look to develop the team and the car throughout 2010."

Trulli, a former Jordan and Renault driver, has competed in 216 races since his debut for Minardi in 1997. The Italian's lone victory came at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2004.

Trulli finished on the podium three times last season, scoring 32.5 points to finish eighth in the drivers' championship. He spent just over four seasons with Toyota.

"It is a privilige for me to sign for the new Lotus F1 Racing team. I have been imressed by the long-term vision of the team management and technical staff.

"Tony (Fernandes) has set out very ambitious plans and I am ready to help the team achieve these high targets.

Excited about the challenges ahead

"I am also pleased to be back working alongside (Lotus technical director)  Mike Gascoyne, someone with whom I have enjoyed previous  success at other teams.

"Lotus is a truly iconic and inspirational brand abnd it is great that the name is back in F1," he added.

Kovalainen made his debut in F1 in 2006 as a test driver. The Finn will be starting his fourth season in the F1 world championship, bringing with him a reputation  of a victory in Hungary in 2008.

"It's fantastic to be joining Lotus F1 Racing and I am excited about the challenges that lie ahead.

"I recently visited our factory in Norfolk, Britain, and was impressed in seeing how far the team had come in such ashort time since it was launched in September," he said, adding that he raced  in Malaysia in 2007 and fell in love with the country during that first visit.

"I look forward to seeing the welcome we wikll be given by F1 fans around the world as we bring Lotus F1 Racing to the grid."

Pride and oportunity

Fauzy , 27, joins the team having previously held a F1 testing role for the Spyker squad in 2007.

Since the he has driven in the F1 feeder series GP2, the Renault World Series as well as being named lead dfriver in Malaysia's involvement in the A1GP championship.

"There is no greater honour than having the chance to drive for your country.

"I was given the opportunity to do that for the A1 Team Malaysia in the A1GP for a couple of years but to have the chance to join Malaysia's first fully-fledge F1 team is very special and the highlight of my career so far." - Malaysian Mirror

Centre photo shows (foreground from left) Fauzy, Kovalainen and Trulli. Fernandes and Gascoyne are depicted in the background.