Renault take the first steps to BUY the Lotus F1 Team

Renault has revealed it has signed a letter of intent with Gravity Motorsports – owners of the beleaguered Lotus F1 Team – to take a controlling stake.

All has not been rosy in the Lotus F1 camp for some time, with pressing debts almost stopping them competing in F1 races recently as creditors pile on the pressure, despite which Lotus has been performing pretty well on track.

Equally, things have been pretty bleak for Renault too, as they fail to make their F1 engine competitive and are in the midst of ‘Divorce Proceedings’ from Red Bull, who are seeking Ferrari power for 2016 to give them a chance of competing with the dominant Mercedes.

But it seems these two beleaguered companies see a stronger future together, and Renault has signed a letter of intent with Gravity Motorsports to pursue the acquisition by Renault of a controlling interest in the Lotus F1 Team.

Renault has issued a statement confirming the letter of intent and said:

The signature of this Letter of Intent marks Renault’s first step towards the project of a Renault Formula 1 team from the 2016 racing season thereby extending 38 years of commitment of the brand to world’s premier motorsport championship series.

Renault Group and Gravity will work together in the coming weeks to eventually turn this initial undertaking into a definitive transaction provided all terms and conditions are met between them and other interested  parties.

Renault has been both engine supplier and manufacturing team in F1 for the past 38 years, and it looks all but certain they will be back as Renault F1 for 2016 once the process of acquiring Lotus F1 is complete.