Lotus F1 'Joins Forces' With Linkin Park On Weird iPad App Before Monaco Grand Prix 2012, But Why?

The Lotus F1 Team made one of its weirder announcements for the Formula 1 season on Monday when it said it had teamed up with the slightly whiny and outdated emo rock band Linkin Park to create an iPad App for the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix.

Lotus F1 said it had joined forces with Linkin Park (does that seem lame to anyone else?) to bring together the adrenaline of Formula 1 and the passion of rock music in a ground-breaking digital experience for the first time in history.

Just because it's the first time in history something's been done, doesn't mean that it needed to happen at all.

Apparently the so-called Linkin Park GP App will feature the band's latest single, Burn It Down and the Lotus E20 car. From the teaser video that Lotus F1 provided, it's unclear whether the app is a driving game or a cheap-looking trailer for the song, and the description is similarly opaque: Made with direct input from the band, Linkin Park GP is a one-of-a-kind driving, graphical and musical experience.

What exactly is a driving, graphical and musical experience? And why would a racing team build an app around a song with the lyrics The cycle repeated / As explosions broke in the sky / All that I needed / Was the one thing I couldn't find / And you were there at the turn / Waiting to let me know?

Explosions, an ever-present follower encroaching in the turns, letting you know that they are near, maybe with a touch of the fender? These are not auspicious visions for a racing team. The song goes on to say that As flames climbed into the clouds / I wanted to fix this. Oh poor Kimi Raikkonen, it seems that your team has joined forces with a band that wrote a song about a terrible car crash. Be careful at Monaco; Linkin Park's singing does not bode well.

The app is scheduled to be released in the iTunes app store for free download on Thursday, the day before Linkin Park's European and U.S. tour starts.

Lotus F1 says that the app, whatever it is, will continue the team's innovative approach to promotion and communications by reaching out to Linkin Park's online fan base. The band has 42 million Facebook Likes and 850 million views on YouTube. The big question left hanging, though, is why Lotus F1 thinks that Linkin Park fans are likely to be Formula 1 fans.

Maybe it's because Lotus F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen rates Linkin Park as one of his favorite bands, according to the Lotus F1 Team Twitter account. Great. A racing driver likes a lame band, therefore you should download an iPad app and be inextricably led to like either Linkin Park or Formula 1 because of it!

Too bad Lotus F1 is still being crushed by Red Bull in the points category. But hey, at least they have an iPad App with Linkin Park.