The seemingly interminable wrangle between Tony Fernandes's Team Lotus F1 outfit and Group Lotus over the right to use the Lotus name in Formula One has finally been resolved. Team Lotus (those are the yellow and green cars, you'll remember) has won the right to retain the name Team Lotus.

Except that nothing is ever simple in this case - and both sides are claiming victory. Mr Justice Peter Smith has concluded, in the words of the Team Lotus press statement, that "Team Lotus is the true owner of the full Team Lotus name and the iconic roundel, establishing in law that the Anglo-Malaysian team is the rightful heir to Team Lotus and all associated goodwill." Which does rather sound as if Team Lotus are implying that Lotus fans are now legally obliged to support Team Lotus, which sounds a bit cheeky to us...

Be that as it may, and not to be outdone, Group lotus (that'd be the key sponsor of the Renault F1 team, for the avoidance of confusion, if it's not already way too late for that) has released a competing statement, claiming court victory over 'key issues'.

Group Lotus has won the right to use the 'Lotus' name on its own in F1 - which also means Fernandes can only call his outfit 'Team Lotus' rather than solely 'Lotus'. It is also entitled to race in its iconic black and gold livery and has the right to use the Lotus marque on road cars.

Crucially, 1Malaysia Racing Team (1MRT) was also found to be in breach of its Licence agreement and so Group Lotus has been awarded damages.