Following the termination of its Lotus Cars licence after the 2010 season, Tony Fernandes announced in September 2010 that his Tune Group had purchased Team Lotus Ventures Ltd. from David Hunt — who had held the Team Lotus name since 1994 — giving Fernandes full ownership of the Team Lotus brand and heritage. The FIA's 2011 entry list recognised the team as "Team Lotus." The team rebranded its factory, updated its official website, and introduced a new logo to reflect the change.
Simultaneously, a parallel legal dispute ran throughout the season: Group Lotus, having become title sponsor of the Renault F1 team for 2011, contested Fernandes's right to the Team Lotus brand. Both a Team Lotus and a Lotus Renault GP outfit lined up on the 2011 grid simultaneously, with the confusion compounded when both teams initially planned to run liveries inspired by the iconic John Player Special black and gold colours. Fernandes ultimately kept his green and yellow scheme. The High Court ruled in May 2011 that Fernandes's team could use "Team Lotus" and the Team Lotus roundel but not "Lotus" on its own; the team was also required to pay damages for its 2010 breach of the Lotus Cars licence.
The team retained its base at the RTN facility in Hingham, Norfolk, and agreed to receive gearboxes and hydraulic systems from Red Bull Technology for 2011, alongside a two-year Renault engine supply deal signed in November 2010. Several Force India staff moved across to bolster the technical department. The T128 was launched online on 31 January 2011.
Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen continued as race drivers. Karun Chandhok joined as reserve driver on 22 March 2011, with Luiz Razia and Davide Valsecchi — drivers for sister GP2 team Team AirAsia — taking on third driver and test driver roles respectively.
The T128 represented an improvement on the T127's performance relative to the field, though the team remained unable to close the gap to the lower midfield. Team Lotus generally ran ahead of HRT and Marussia Virgin but behind Toro Rosso and Williams. Kovalainen's performances in particular attracted attention from rival teams. The car scored no championship points during the season.
Following the purchase of British sportscar manufacturer Caterham Cars by Tony Fernandes, the Caterham Group was established as a commercial entity. At the end of 2011, the Formula One team's name was changed to Caterham F1 Team to reflect the expanded group identity. The team also ran a GP2 Series feeder programme under the Team AirAsia banner, with Alexander Rossi the only driver from the associated development programme to graduate to an F1 role, later serving as Caterham's test driver in 2012.
Team Lotus in 2011 represented the second year of a successful — if unspectacular — new-team programme. The team consistently outperformed the other 2010 newcomers through two seasons, delivered a coherent technical trajectory from T127 to T128, and set the organisational foundations for what would become the Caterham F1 Team. The legal contest over the Lotus name, resolved in 2011, also clarified Formula One's complex brand-licensing landscape during a period when two Lotus-branded teams raced simultaneously.