Renault to buy Lotus

Well it's not confirmed but given what Lotus management is saying I thought why not, lets have it as it's own topic. Kick starts the motor for Red Bull as well

Renault poised to complete Lotus deal and revive works F1 team

Renault is poised to return as a works team to Formula 1, with a deal to take a majority stake in Lotus due to be finalised next week, AUTOSPORT understands.

The agreement would end months of protracted negotiations and bring a factory Renault operation back onto the F1 grid for the first time since 2010.

AUTOSPORT sources have indicated the French car manufacturer would take a stake up to 65 per cent, worth a total of £65million, with an initial downpayment of £7.5million to be followed by equal instalments over the following 10 years.

Gerard Lopez, currently Lotus F1 team co-owner via his Genii organisation, looks set to remain as a shareholder with a potential stake of around 25 per cent, with four-time champion and Renault ambassador Alain Prost acquiring the remaining 10 per cent.

The arrangement with Lopez and Prost would be very similar to that at Mercedes where motorsport boss Toto Wolff and non-executive chairman Niki Lauda possess shareholdings in the F1 team.

Following a Renault presentation meeting currently scheduled for Monday, an array of documents is then due to be signed involving parties from both sides over the following days.

At this stage in proceedings Renault is understood to have negotiated a full sponsorship package, with the board - spearheaded by CEO Carlos Ghosn - signing off on a budget that would put it on a par with the likes of Mercedes and Red Bull.

One of the few areas to be determined surrounds the driver line-up for while Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado have contracts with Lotus for next year, Renault coming on board alters the landscape.

Renault is expected to keep Frenchman Grosjean, with Maldonado believed to be negotiating - supported by backer PDVSA - to ensure he retains his seat.

The up-to-date facilities at Lotus's Enstone factory - well known to Renault from its previous ownership of the team - are crucial to the deal.

Lotus's CFD programme and driver-in-the-loop simulator are only two years old, while the 60 per cent windtunnel is three years old.

Although Renault, through Prost, has also held tentative talks with Force India about a potential shareholding, the Silverstone-based marque's relative lack of facilities is a drawback.

Renault has no real wish to acquire a team without the infrastructure behind it, though Force India remains an option should the Lotus shareholders pull out of the deal at the last minute.

Of particular interest is Renault's current engine deal with Red Bull and Toro Rosso, with sources suggesting there are three options on the table.

The first is Renault honouring its other contracts for 2016 alongside its own team.

Though this would maintain an additional income stream, Red Bull's contract specifically states that it takes priority.

Another possibility is for Renault - which has road car affiliations with Mercedes - to keep Lotus's current Mercedes power for a year while seeing out its other contracts.

Finally, Renault could focus entirely on its own programme, but as a way of softening the blow to Red Bull, assist it in finding a new supplier, where the links with Mercedes could again pay dividends.

The planned payment structure would amount to a bold statement of long-term F1 commitment from Renault, guaranteeing a minimum 10-year presence.

While tentative steps would be taken in 2016, as Renault again tries to find its feet in F1 as a full-time works outfit, it would consider '17 as its first year to try to push the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari for honours.

 

The budget comments are interesting, Renault seem to be fully committing again.

I think Renault would be mad to help Red Bull get a Mercedes engine for 2016 and use their own, odd as that looks from a PR point of view.

Their 2016 engine still wont be up to scratch, but they'll be closer by 2017. They can effectively use Red Bull as a testbed for a year, not care about how much they Piss they off, whilst being able to compete with them thanks to the Mercedes engine.

Otherwise they help Red Bull to beat them by helping them get a better engine, and lose out on prize money.

 

Good news!

Why the hell are they jumping into bed with Genii though? They should be looking to buy the team outright.

It would be hilarious if they beat Red Bull with Mercedes engines next year. Red Bull are really running out of options now, every engine supplier will have a works team. I can see them selling up if they can't bring Volkswagen into the sport, they're going to end up running Cosworths in 2017 at this rate.

 

Maldonado's almost guaranteed to lose his drive too. The money he brings isn't that significant to a works team. He'll get in somewhere else for sure but I can't see Renault wanting him. They'll surely push for a return of the French GP too. Though FOM seem happy to piss Ferrari off by getting rid of the Italian GP.

 

Got to be Haas for Maldo, surely?

Not good enough for a top team, and I don't think he'd go to Marussia. In the middle:
Sauber have confirmed drivers, and surely won't sign 3 for two seats again.
Force India might need the money, but seem very happy with Perez and Hulk.
Doesn't fit Toro Rosso for obvious reasons.

 

I agree that Maldonado will feel threatened by this.

It is quite likely Renault will be looking for greater credibility on track. If this happens, Maldonado may still be perceived as a financial incentive to cash-strapped teams if he can bring significantly more cash than a present driver. However, I can see a 'Maldo-clause' being tabled during any such negotiation: that he also insures the team against accident damage when he is driving. No joke. It could really be a factor!

 

Yay! Renault would have never left if it wasn't for Singapore. Now they have had a bit of time away to let things settle. Even won a few championships. Now is the best time to resume and build up again.

Keep grosjean lose Maldonado. Get a decent young driver alongside.

 

Yeah I was thinking Haas. Handy little cash injection for them and despite his many flaws he'd be one of the better drivers at that end of the grid. Force India could be an option if Hulkenberg goes to Porsche full time.

Yeah this was my thinking too. Pastor just looks too unprofessional at times, when you're sinking a few hundred million into a team he's not the kind of driver you want representing your brand.

 

Esteban Ocon has done some work with Lotus. French, young, looks a useful talent. Could it be?

Might be a bit too inexperienced though, it's a close line.

 

Reluctant to speculate too much about a team which doesn't even exist yet, but does anyone else think Button could be a contender for the Renault seat? I think he'd probably be available and would be by far the best driver on the market.

 

Agreed.

And i actually think they could!. The actual performance of the Renault engines haven't been too shabby of late. They are still behind Mercedes but i'm not so sure they are even that far behind Ferrari anymore, they are starting to make big progress.

 

Great news.

 

Renault will get hold of Mercedes PCU? I wonder how long it'll take them to strip it to the washers

 

For the sake of competition I look forward to Renault coming back full time. If RBR end up with Merc engines then the works Merc team may have some proper competition.

Ferrari have yet again shown they can't produce a decent consistent chassis and can't see Honda getting on top of their engine next season to the extent it can rival the Merc, so the only hope is to shuffle a few engines around some teams to see if that makes a difference.

 

Does anyone know if Lotus have lost a significant number of their core staff since they last had a competitive car in 2013, or if the issues they've had with the chassis in the last year and a half have been entirely budget related?

 

Like boulier, allison, Raikkonen, de beer, wheater and they lost a big chunk of other staff who left because they weren't getting paid or to just cut costs

 

Ferrari have had a fantastic season in the circumstances, no one expected them to be where they are. They've had a major overhaul in personnel, Allison will be fully integrated into the team now and leading the design on the 2016 car. I think next year's chassis will be a marked improvement on this year's. Whether it's enough to challenge Merc remains to be seen.

 

I would hazard a guess that nobody will be able to challenge Merc and most teams will be focusing on 2017.

 

With the budget they have they should be up with Merc all the time. Belgium flattered their overall performance in the race as Vettel was a pitstop behind everyone else so his 3rd at the time was a false position on pace, even before it went wrong.

 

What I don't understand is Renault not using any of it's in season tokens. If they don't use them I think they loose them? Anyone have any ideas why they are not using tokens.
Are they trying to get Red Bull to buy themselves out of their engine supply contract? I read the RD buyout clause is RB paying £50million to Renault to end contract early. That goes a long way to buying Lotus.