Group Lotus link up with Renualt F1 to form 'Lotus Renault GP'
- Published on Dec 8th, 2010 by Jack LamureIn a move guaranteed to irk a large chunk of F1 fans Group Lotus – the Malaysian-based car company owned by Proton – have announced that they will partner with the Renault team next season, with the Enstone-based squad taking the name Lotus Renault GP.
The deal has seen French marque Renault sell its remaining shares in the team to Genii Capital, who had bought 75% of the double title-winners late last year. Group Lotus will now become a major equity partner in Lotus Renault GP, which it will co-own with Genii. The re-named outfit plan to run in the iconic black and gold Lotus livery made famous during the seventies and eighties
The news comes just a week after Tony Fernandes' Lotus Racing squad – who have this year used the name under licence from Group Lotus - confirmed that they will run as Team Lotus in the 2011 F1 championship, having bought the rights to the name from David (brother of James) Hunt.
The Norfolk-based outfit have also stated their intention to race with a black and gold livery next year, when they too will run with Renault powerplants. Today's announcement leaves the future direction of the team unclear.
It will be interesting to see what Fernandes’ next move will be. The Malaysian businessman – along with technical chief Mike Gascoyne – has been well received in F1 this year with general agreement that the pair have honoured the Lotus name’s great heritage. It is highly unlikely that F1 will want two Lotus Renault teams running in black and gold on the grid next year, and Fernandes may now have to re-name his team.
Robert Kubica will drive the Lotus Renault (we mean the team formerly known as Renault) in 2011 with his team-mate yet to be confirmed. Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli meanwhile will drive the Lotus Renaults (we mean the ones Mike Gascoyne has designed).
We're sure there's still plenty to come from this story.
Quotes
Renault F1 chairman Gerard Lopez: “We are delighted that we can now go public with the news that we will be racing as Lotus Renault GP in 2011. It is extremely exciting to begin a new era for the team in partnership with Group Lotus, and we will continue to enjoy a strong relationship with Renault over the coming seasons. It is a tribute to the excellent work this year by the team in Enstone that we have been able to attract both major sponsorship and new investment for a very bright future.”
Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar: “I can think of no better platform for automotive brand communications than motorsport and F1 is the very pinnacle of open-wheel racing. We’re well aware that there has been a lot of controversy around the usage of our brand in F1 and I’m delighted to be able to formally clarify our position once and for all: we are Lotus and
oh and i’d love to see a mark webber movie he is the most...
Comments and Discussion
Tweet from Fernandes:- http://twitter.com/#!/tonyfernandes/status/12442695762968577
Dany bahr has done us a favour. Never felt better about our future and Team Lotus. Looks like the trying to hijak our black and gold idea.
The plot thickens.
Thanks for that Alistair. Looks like Tony plans to push on as Lotus. Very interesting.
This is getting very messy...
Team Lotus announced in advance that they were planning to use black and gold for 2011. I guarantee Proton Renault will NOT use the above livery for its race cars and it's solely there to get up Fernandes' nose.
Oh and Group Lotus are not Lotus either, have you seen their new range of cars? The Elise now weighs more than 1000kg. I guess Proton are not content with confining their attempts to piss all over the Chapman legacy, to the road cars.
This is all quite extraordinarily childish. You'd think that two serious businesses would be able to sit down and figure something out, rather than indulging in a public pissing contest that makes them (and by extension Formula One) look utterly ridiculous.
Really i well and truely appears its Proton doing most of the pissing! Under handed bullsh*t to be honest.
I nearly wet myself when one of the main Malaysian Politicians and also a board member of Proton said we decided to switch over our sponsorship and name sake to Renault, because the 1Malaysia team haven't performed very well this year have they. Clearly the Proton board members a board of dreaming t''spots.
I'm an F1 fan and don't back any particular team, and so i think i can offer an unbiased opinion by saying i think Lotus did a cracking job of putting a team together between Sep 09 and March 10. I really hope Mike and the boys do a stonking job next year.