As Lotus head towards the end of their comeback season they have declared an ambitious long-term future - so with much of the jigsaw now in place, what chance does the team have of becoming regular points scorers?

The recent announcement of a tie-up with Red Bull Technology for next year has taken Lotus in a new direction, and this proven approach to use a supply of parts from a leading team is a crucial element for a forward-thinking mid-grid runner.

Lotus will run Red Bull gearboxes next year, and with that is likely to come a Renault engine deal to complete the package - the exact same

Ferrari's embarrassingly blatant driver switch in Germany flaunted the F1 rules - but is there any way that the sport can bring back team orders in a way that keeps fans happy?

Team orders have always been a part of grand prix racing but since a ban on them was introduced in 2002, teams have been forced into making thinly veiled moves to switch positions, be it through a fumbled stop in the pits, a temporary mechanical glitch or an 'independent' decision by the lead driver to slow and pull over on the track.

The wording of the ban, in Sporting Regulation 39.1, is pretty open for

Engine usage plays an increasingly important role towards the end of the season - so could Ferrari's troubled times early in the season come back to haunt them in the title run-in?

The increase in races this season has put more pressure on engines than ever before. Teams have just eight units for the year and must now eke them out for 18 events. Some of the leading contenders in the title chase are now coming dangerously close to using up their allocated amount - and it is Fernando Alonso who has most to worry about.

Ferrari started the season with some terrible engine issues. They were forced

The title
battle is now on the home straight - and with Ferrari now fully behind Fernando
Alonso's push for the drivers' title their rivals are set to face some
difficult decisions at Suzuka.

The
Japanese circuit rewards efficient downforce, which puts Red Bull in prime
position to take full advantage of their well-developed blown diffuser package,
but Ferrari are back in form and McLaren have mainly faltered in recent races
through mistakes and bad luck.

Just one
victory, 25 points, separates Mark Webber in first place from Jenson Button in
fifth and 100 points are still up for grabs in the

When Bernie
Ecclestone brought up his medal proposal again last weekend he instigated a new
debate about Formula One's points system - so has F1 got it right or is there
another change around the corner?

Ecclestone's
preferred 'winner-takes-all' style medal system was rejected in favour of a
25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 system this year, which replaced the
10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 system and was brought in through a FOTA agreement with two
aims: to encourage drivers to fight more for victory and to allow the new teams
the chance to get some points on the board.

So far,
however, it seems to have done

This weekend's
Japanese Grand Prix will be crucial for Ferrari with Red Bull expected to reign
supreme - but can the new title contenders avoid losing out in Suzuka's
challenging curves?

This fast
but curvy figure-of-eight track is expected to be a banker for Red Bull as they
aim to fend off Ferrari's recent challenge - but the Italian giants are fast
turning their car into one that works on all circuits and that could lead to a
different story at Suzuka.

The once
classic 130R corner is now a tamer beast but Suzuka still retains some
extremely fast flowing sections and the 1.2km part between

Last
weekend's Singapore Grand Prix showed once again how impressive Formula One
racing can be in the dark of the night - but what does it take for the race to
light up the show?

The
starting point is a complex lighting set-up that involves more than 100km of
temporary cabling and almost 1,500 individual lighting units around the circuit
perimeter, all of which must be set up and dismantled as quickly as possible to
limit disruption in the heart of the city.

This rig is
designed to create the brightness levels expected from daylight racing without
shining light into the drivers' eyes and it

The three new teams entering Formula One this season had a tough task ahead of them at the start of the year - so as the sport completes its summer break how have they performed and what does the future hold?

All three teams made their entries on the understanding Formula One would be capped to a tight budget - only to discover soon after being accepted that this would no longer the case. Once that decision was made, it was always going to be a struggle for Virgin, Lotus and HRT to get close to the established teams. Few expected any of them to make the finish of the season-opening race in