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[Jabberwocky]

I was chatting to a man in the know, and he says that Renault has already sold it F1 Chassis division and it will only make engines from now on.

He has said that it has been sold to Lotus, but did not know if it was Team Lotus Racing, or the Lotus Group

[F1er]

WOW!!! Another factory car GONE!!!
So now we only have Fiat (Ferrari) and Mercedez!!

[smokin]

WOW!!! Another factory car GONE!!!
So now we only have Fiat (Ferrari) and Mercedez!!

Well, not strictly a factory team as Genii Capital are (were?) the majority owners, but it does seem as though the mainstream commercial motor businesses are moving away from F1. Mercedes were reputed to have cut or capped their budget during he 2010 season so their appetite seems to be dulled, too. Ferrari soon to be the only factory competitor?

[F1er]

WOW!!! Another factory car GONE!!!
So now we only have Fiat (Ferrari) and Mercedez!!

Well, not strictly a factory team as Genii Capital are (were?) the majority owners, but it does seem as though the mainstream commercial motor businesses are moving away from F1. Mercedes were reputed to have cut or capped their budget during he 2010 season so their appetite seems to be dulled, too. Ferrari soon to be the only factory competitor?

Everyone is running away,from carmakers to tracks,like the old saying goes ''if you're a Billionaire but want to be a Millionaire,buy an F1 team''

[Jack Master]

WOW!!! Another factory car GONE!!!
So now we only have Fiat (Ferrari) and Mercedez!!

Well, not strictly a factory team as Genii Capital are (were?) the majority owners, but it does seem as though the mainstream commercial motor businesses are moving away from F1. Mercedes were reputed to have cut or capped their budget during he 2010 season so their appetite seems to be dulled, too. Ferrari soon to be the only factory competitor?

I doubt Mercedes is losing interest in the Formula 1. In fact they have so recently bought Brawn GP to have a major implication than what they had with McLaren Mercedes. Nonetheless, I think Bernie Ecclestone should provide more money back to the teams to avoid the big ones to leave an allow the smaller to improve their performance and survive. In these times of crisis everybody has problems with their budgets except BE.

[texasmr2]

So Carlos was just whispering 'sweet nothings' when interviewed on the grid? Ah well it's corporate where things change on a minute by minute basis.
EDIT: I meant to say on a 'second by second' basis, my bad.

[united2010]

Hi there, just came across this forum and immediately seen this potential big news! Is this source pretty reliable?

Sorry to be new and just question you, but this would be a massive story, i thought Lotus might come on board as sponsor or miniority shareholder but never takeover the way you reckon they are

[What's Burning?]

WTF is going on over at Lotus... I hope they're jockeying to start their climb up the from the bottom three and begin to out Q STR and maybe the odd FI next year. The Renault thing however doesn't surprise me at all and they pretty much stated they were to become another parts supplier. At long as the Renault name is one the side of the car and the Engine is on 1/3 of the cars on the grid there's nothing lost for them.

[Jack Master]

So Carlos was just whispering 'sweet nothings' when interviewed on the grid? Ah well it's corporate where things change on a minute by minute basis.

Who is Carlos?

[texasmr2]

So Carlos was just whispering 'sweet nothings' when interviewed on the grid? Ah well it's corporate where things change on a minute by minute basis.

Who is Carlos?

The man who runs Renault and Nissan . I guess you missed his 'grid interview' with Buxton on the future of Renault F1.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Ghosn

[Fact Man]

Well that was the talk back in early November.
===========================

Renault team set for Lotus Cars tie-up

By Jonathan Noble Friday, November 5th 2010, 16:14 GMT

Vitaly Petrov, Renault, Interlagos 2010Renault is poised to scale back its Formula 1 involvement next year and become only an engine supplier, AUTOSPORT has learned, as its current works team closes in on a tie-up with Lotus Cars.

Although the French car manufacturer announced on Friday that it was expanding its engine supply deals in 2011 to include the current Lotus Racing outfit as well as its works team and Red Bull Racing, sources suggest that the move has come following a behind-the-scenes decision to totally revise its F1 strategy.

Rather than continue having its own team, sources suggest that the company is planning to wind down its involvement with the Enstone-based outfit to becoming just an engine supplier from the start of 2011.

That decision has left the way clear for the Renault team's current majority shareholder, Genii Capital, to seek other partners for next year as it looks to maintain the momentum it has gained during the current season.

Sources suggest that the outfit is close to finalising a deal with Lotus Cars for the company to become a major sponsor - and potential minority shareholder - of the team. The outfit itself could become known as Lotus Renault from the start of next year.

If the deal is agreed, the tie-up with Lotus would provide a financial boost to the rebranded Enstone team, and give Lotus Cars the opening in F1 that its ambitious CEO Dany Bahar has been seeking.

Even if the Lotus deal does happen, it is likely that the team would maintain elements of the Renault name until at least the start of the next Concorde Agreement, which is set to come into force from 2013.

Renault's new engine deal with Red Bull Racing has included more branding for the company on the team's cars - as Renault Sport's president Bernard Rey suggested on Friday that there were still tangible benefits to being involved in the sport.

"We remain firm believers in the benefits of our successful involvement in F1: it positions Renault as a technological leader, and boosts awareness of the brand across the globe," he said.

The Lotus Cars move with Renault has cast fresh doubt on whether the current Lotus Racing team will continue its push to use the Team Lotus moniker in F1 – as it would make little sense for there to be two Lotus Renault outfits competing against each other in 2011.

Speculation that Lotus Racing may seek a rebranding next year was heightened by the outfit not making any reference to its current name in press releases confirming its use of Renault engines for next year.

Renault itself announced that it was supplying engines to the 1Malaysia Racing Team (UK) Ltd in 2011.

Lotus Racing team owner Tony Fernandes was not available for comment about his plans as he is missing this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/87936

[cap-dude]

We lose renault as a factory team. But Group Lotus in turn is a factory team.

I'm not sure how I feel about the whole Saga though, with the Lotus name being flung around with no respect for it's heritage. I mean, Benetton used to compete against Team Lotus. Now Renault, formly named Benetton, is becoming Lotus. That just doesn't make a whole lotta sense to me.

[Jabberwocky]

Hi there, just came across this forum and immediately seen this potential big news! Is this source pretty reliable?

Sorry to be new and just question you, but this would be a massive story, i thought Lotus might come on board as sponsor or miniority shareholder but never takeover the way you reckon they are

It was from an employees mouth

[What's Burning?]

Hi there, just came across this forum and immediately seen this potential big news! Is this source pretty reliable?

Sorry to be new and just question you, but this would be a massive story, i thought Lotus might come on board as sponsor or miniority shareholder but never takeover the way you reckon they are

It was from an employees mouth

I hope not a disgruntled employee.

[scotty]

Wait, so potentially Kubica is a free agent?