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Renault formalizes return to F1 with Lotus acquisition

No longer satisfied with simply providing engines, Renault confirmed that it will return to running its own Formula One team next season. Though the terms of the deal are still being worked out, the French automaker will re-acquire the team currently known as Lotus. Renault previously owned and operated this same operation for nearly 10 years. Renault first entered the series in 1977. The company shut down the original Equipe Renault Elf in 1985, but continued powering Lotus, Ligier, and Tyrrell for another season. After a three-year break, it returned as an engine supplier with Williams in 1989, winning championship titles with the likes of Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, and Damon Hill behind the wheel. The 1995 season saw the start of the partnership with the team now in question when Benetton switched over from Ford power. After several years of success and more titles, Renault bought out the team and ran it as its own from 2002 through 2011 – winning two more titles with Fernando Alonso – before selling the operation to Genii Capital, which has run it since under the Lotus name. Even after Lotus switched to Mercedes power, Renault continued supplying other teams with engines, most notably winning back-to-back world titles with Red Bull before the new turbo hybrid engines arrived and Renault's performance dropped off. Now, in another case of history repeating, Renault is gearing up to bring the team based in Enstone back in-house. The move will likely see the Lotus name disappear again, after it was hotly contested with the Caterham team that ultimately disappeared as well. With it, Renault will return as a full-on works effort with its own engines, just like rivals Ferrari and Mercedes. Renault Announces Return to Formula 1 in 2016 - Carlos Ghosn announces his decision that Renault will return to Formula 1 with its own team for 2016 season. - Renault, 12-time Constructors' Champion with nearly 40 years in the sport, is an iconic brand in Formula 1 and intends to play an active role in the sport's development. - F1 is a technology showcase and accelerates development of Renault's innovation and range of sports cars. Following the September announcement of the signing of a Letter of Intent with Lotus F1 Team, teams at Renault continued to evaluate the possibility of a return to Formula 1. Particular attention was paid to competing successfully with its own team in a financially sound way starting in 2016.

Lotus Type 132 electric SUV gets another teaser

Back in August, Lotus laid out its product plans for the next few years. One of the most significant ones, and soonest to launch, is the Type 132, an electric SUV. A muddy silhouette was all we got with the product announcement, but now we get an up-close look at the SUV. Unfortunately, this look is so close up that all we can see is the lower grille section. It's not a bad looking grille section, with divvied-up hexagonal openings. They even have active shutters that adjust for cooling or aerodynamics. But of course, there's not much else we can tell. The Type 132 is slated to launch next year, so we won't have long to wait. It's one of four electric Lotus models that will launch in the next few years, not including the Evija supercar. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Renault settles on Lotus, to take 65-percent stake in F1 team

Renault's coquettish moves toward becoming a constructor again have been news all season. The expected maneuver, should Renault say "Oui" to such, was for the French carmaker to repurchase the Lotus team - the team it sold at the end of 2010 to Genii Capital. Then last week we got the surprise news that Renault had been talking to Force India about taking a majority stake, but that information came with the context that Renault had discussions with several teams about such a move. Autosport reports that Renault has finally decided to get back together with Lotus, taking a stake worth up to 65 percent for 65 million pounds. The deciding factor was said to be the facilities that Lotus has available compared to Force India, including the Enstone factory formerly owned by Renault, plus a computational fluid dynamics program, driver-in-the-loop simulator, and a 60-percent-scale wind tunnel. The final shareholding stake will be split between Gerard Lopez at 25 percent and Renault ambassador Alain Prost at 10 percent. Renault will make a 7.5-million-pound payment immediately, completing the acquisition by paying 5.75-million-pounds per year for the next ten years. On top of that, Renault will invest a budget commensurate with those of Mercedes-AMG Petronas and Infiniti Red Bull Racing. The carmaker's board and CEO Carlos Ghosn have approved the deal, it is up to Lotus shareholders to agree to everything by Monday, when Autosport says the papers will be signed. The deal puts team drivers and the Red Bull engine supply in question. It should be expected for Romain Grosjean to remain, but keeping Pastor Maldonado is not a certainty. As for engines, Red Bull's engine supply contract states it must be Renault's priority, so Renault could stick with the Mercedes power unit Lotus currently uses for one more year, or help Red Bull get in bed with Mercedes. We should know more next week. Related Video: