Rumours that F1 team owner Genii is contemplating buying the Group Lotus sports car company are continuing to gain steam.

That is despite Genii’s Gerard Lopez confirming recently that the Enstone based team has ended its sponsorship deal with the carmaker, even though the team will continue to carry the Lotus name.

But subsequent media reports indicate that the newly Malaysian conglomerate DRB-Hicom owned Group Lotus is for sale.

“Genii … is thought to be interested, and its boss, Gerard Lopez, is said to have had talks with Hicom, but also with (Group Lotus chief) Mr (Dany) Bahar about a possible management buyout,” read a report in the Independent newspaper.

Bahar is not ruling out the transaction.

“Whatever happens will happen,” he told the local Norfolk publication edp24.co.uk.

“Genii has expressed interest and if there is a good deal to be done, why should they not be interested? I think it would just make sense.”

F1′s Enstone based team will keep the ‘Lotus’ name until at least 2017.

It emerged late last week that the sponsorship agreement between the team formerly known as Renault, and the Proton-owned carmaker Group Lotus, has ended.

But the team will at least keep its new chassis name for the foreseeable future, the French sports daily L’Equipe reveals.

“We are pleased to keep the name,” said team owner Gerard Lopez, “because it’s a great brand for F1.”

Group Lotus confirmed: “The F1 team uses the strength of the Lotus name to promote themselves, and in return Group Lotus benefits from F1 exposure and the ambassadorship of its drivers.”

The carmaker confirmed that the “financial arrangement” between Group Lotus and the F1 team has ended.

L’Equipe said the Genii-owned team is currently in talks with a major North American company about becoming the new title sponsor.

Group Lotus will no longer sponsor the formula one team that bears its name.

But – as F1′s perpetually bizarre ‘Lotus’ saga takes another twist – the Enstone based team, formerly Renault, will continue to be known as Lotus in the coming years.

Last year, and in 2010, ‘Lotus’ was the name of the team that is now called Caterham, but a bitter dispute soured that relationship as the Proton-owned car company Group Lotus ended the naming license and made its own bid to enter F1.

Group Lotus’ new foray blossomed in 2012 with Renault’s renaming to Lotus, amid speculation team owner Genii was keen to get more involved with the iconic sports car marque.

When asked recently about his team’s relationship with Lotus, Kimi Raikkonen answered clumsily on the Top Gear motoring programme: “Well it’s, er, it (the car) is not a Renault. Lotus is just a sponsor.”

The Autosport website revealed on Good Friday that the sponsorship deal has been “terminated”.

However, “We are happy to carry the Lotus name as we believe it is a good name for F1,” explained team owner Genii’s Gerard Lopez.

“So Lotus are still Lotus despite no longer being sponsored by Lotus?” the Telegraph’s Tom Cary wittily surmised on Twitter.

And in yet another twist, Lopez refused to rule out a scenario in which Genii actually takes over Group Lotus.

“We don’t know yet, because we really do not know what the new owner wants to do with it,” he said.

Romain Grosjean will get a new chance to prove his talents to the F1 world before the 2011 season is out.
The Swiss-born Frenchman made an abortive formula one debut in 2009 amid the ‘crashgate’ scandal but was replaced at the end of the year.

The 25-year-old, now managed by Renault team owner Genii, switched to GP2 this year and recently wrapped up the title.

Grosjean will drive the R31 in Friday morning practice in Abu Dhabi and Brazil, the Lotus-sponsored team announced in India on Saturday morning.

He will drive Bruno Senna’s car in Abu Dhabi, and Vitaly Petrov’s at the season finale.

“Since 2009, he has improved in every area and I’m sure he’ll do a good job for us,” said team boss Eric Boullier.

Bruno Senna is hoping he can keep his Renault race seat beyond 2011.
As reserve driver, and with new sponsors in tow, the Brazilian stepped up when the Genii owned team ousted its German regular Nick Heidfeld in August.

But for 2012, 28-year-old Senna – alongside Romain Grosjean, Rubens Barrichello and of course Robert Kubica – is one of several drivers reportedly in contention for the vacant race seat in 2012.

“If Robert can’t come back, I hope I can stay,” he is quoted by formule1.nl.

“Especially in qualifying I think I have shown some good things. I think I have shown that the team can rely on me.

“But as long as you don’t have a contract, you have no guarantee that you’re going to be somewhere.”

The fact Renault seems spoiled for choice for 2012 means that a speedy decision is unlikely.

Senna said: “I believe that the past has proven that it’s not a good idea to wait until the last minute to decide who is going to drive for you.”

 Group Lotus owner Proton has denied the British sports car maker is being sold to formula one team owner Genii.
Last week, Lotus boss Dany Bahar failed to quell speculation that Genii, the Gerard Lopez-led owner of the Enstone based Renault team, is poised to take over its title sponsor Lotus.

“I can only say this,” said Bahar, “when we made the announcement about our involvement in Lotus Renault GP we made it clear that this was the start of a close relationship and this journey continues.”

But Group Lotus owner Proton, the Malaysian carmaker, this week denied the Genii rumours with a media statement.

“Proton hereby states that the alleged moves between Group Lotus and Genii Capital are untrue and that the reports are highly speculative in nature,” it read.

Robert Kubica was paid by Renault in 2011, team owner Gerard Lopez has revealed.
His comments to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport follow reports that the Enstone based team may be happier to choose between Vitaly Petrov, Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean for next season’s lineup.

Genii’s Lopez however said that with injured Pole Kubica nearing recovery from his horror rally crash injuries, it is wrong to suggest Renault prefers pay-drivers.

“If Robert is on the market then of course we will take him,” he said. “Our commercial model requires success on the tracks.

“Also we paid Robert’s salary this year, although he drove no races with us.”

Last week, some media reports suggested team boss Eric Boullier was firm with an end-of-October deadline, even though Kubica may only be ready to decide his comeback for 2012 some weeks later.

“We will look at the matter at the beginning of November,” Lopez clarifies. “Robert will have a car to show us what he can do.

“The data analysis is now so good that you can see with another car whether he is physically able to return.”

As for paddock suggestions that Genii is running Renault more as a business rather than a racing team looking for results, Lopez firmly denied it.

And the rumours about being late in engine payments to Renault Sport F1?: “We have paid every bill on time,” he insisted.

“We have increased the team from 480 to 520 employees, we have expanded the wind tunnel from 50 to 60 per cent and are about to install a new simulator. These are not things you do if you only have the business in mind.”

Renault has imposed a deadline for the finalisation of its driver lineup for 2012.

The Genii-owned team has left open a vacancy for Robert Kubica next year alongside the confirmed Russian driver Vitaly Petrov.

But media reports in recent days have revealed that Kubica, recovering from his horror February rally crash, actually does not have a contract for 2012.

The Pole’s manager Daniele Morelli said at Monza that Renault “have given us assurances” about Kubica’s place for 2012.

But he also said the 26-year-old will “put on a helmet” next month “to give a message on what he can do” in either a simulator or a fast road car.

It now emerges that the “message” needs to be received by Renault team boss Eric Boullier.

The Frenchman is quoted by Brazil’s Globo Esporte: “I will be flexible because I really like Robert and it will be good for him to return.

“But in the middle or end of October I need a clear confirmation. My problem is that I cannot miss the opportunity to have Robert back, but at the same time I need to defend the interests of my team.

“I need to have the best driver lineup I can have, or the best I can afford,” said Boullier.

As for Kubica, reports say he is now working six hours a day on rehabilitation following his final operation to free movement in his elbow.

“I am not expecting him to be as fast as last year, because I know that when you are off the track for a year it is hard to come back,” said Boullier.

“Besides, when you suffer a serious accident as he did, it is not easy. But I need to understand if he can do it,” he added.

Tony Fernandes has hinted strongly that he will drop the Team Lotus name for his formula one team ahead of the 2012 season.
The Malaysian entrepreneur has been locked in a bitter dispute with Renault sponsor Group Lotus but won the legal right to keep deploying the name for his Hingham-based team.

But Fernandes, also the owner of the AirAsia airline, has subsequently bought the British specialist sports car maker Caterham and renamed his GP2 team Caterham Team AirAsia.

He said at Monza: “I always had a problem with ‘am I really Team Lotus?’ because there’s a big question mark on that.

“You can’t have a name and not monetise it. So we will have to wait and see … I don’t think this is healthy for anyone, having Lotus-Renault and Team Lotus.”

F1′s Enstone based team, currently widely known as Renault, might also be heading for a name change, with the Guardian newspaper reporting that sponsor Group Lotus could finally be set to buy in.

The report said current owners Genii are “reportedly in discussion about selling the team”, with Lotus “in pole position to get it”.

Bernie Ecclestone has revealed he was “very tempted” to buy Renault’s formula one team when the French carmaker pulled out as an owner.
Actually, the Enstone based team was bought by its current owners Genii Capital, but there are reports of financial trouble and rumours a group involving David Richards might step up to take over.

F1 chief executive Ecclestone told the Daily Telegraph he was interested in buying Renault two years ago but was talked out of it by Donald Mackenzie.

Mackenzie, the CVC director in charge of the F1 ownership, is the newly appointed chairman of the formula one holding company.

Referring to his interest in buying Renault, Ecclestone said: “Donald said to me, we just can’t. If we owned a team it would cause us trouble.

“Every time that team was on TV people would say we were favouring it.”

24 hours before the drivers file into the Spa-Francorchamps paddock, there is no confirmation about Nick Heidfeld’s apparent loss of his Renault race seat.
Multiple media sources are unofficially confirming Heidfeld’s former boss Eddie Jordan’s claim this week that Bruno Senna will be in the black R31 alongside Vitaly Petrov this weekend in Belgium and possibly beyond.

Germany’s Bild newspaper said Renault is not denying the story.

“We do not want to comment on speculation,” a spokesperson is quoted as saying.

And Auto Motor und Sport said 34-year-old Heidfeld’s management is also not commenting.

Finland’s Turun Sanomat said the situation is complicated, with Renault apparently already behind in its scheduled payments to the German driver.

The newspaper also said Renault is unable to drop Heidfeld without compensating him, with his contract to replace Robert Kubica in 2011 “skilfully” negotiated by his manager.

It is also reported that Senna will only be given the official green light when his Brazilian sponsors sign on the dotted line.

And with the Genii-linked Romain Grosjean rumoured to be in line for the seat once he has wrapped up the GP2 title, Turun Sanomat said those sponsors “are not so eager to put up money for only two grands prix”.

Renault team owner Gerard Lopez has admitted he is disappointed with Nick Heidfeld.

“We expected more from him,” the Genii Capital chief is quoted as saying by Brazil’s Globo Esporte.

German veteran Heidfeld, 34, was signed by the Enstone based team at short notice this year to replace injured regular Robert Kubica.

There is now speculation that Renault is considering replacing him with Bruno Senna or Romain Grosjean.

“I have mixed feelings about Nick,” Lopez explained. “We have to recognise the great contribution he made at the beginning of the season.

“He helped us to develop the new exhaust system which was not easy to understand. It gave us a clear direction in the development of the car.

“Now, in terms of results, there is no doubt that we expected more from him and (we) are disappointed.”

Globo Esporte reported that the Renault team, whose owner Genii is collaborating on a $10 billion investment with Brazilian company WWI, is considering running Senna in November’s season finale at Interlagos.

The local Walloon government is not ruling out selling Spa-Francorchamps in order to secure the fabled circuit’s future in F1.
Well-connected Belgian motor racing figure Bas Leinders this week suggested there is a serious buyer for the track, amid reports its race might have to annually alternate with a French venue in future.

Leinders referred to a “big investment company”, and Belgian television RTBF suggested it might be Renault team owner Genii.

But the Luxembourg newspaper Wort said both Spa circuit boss Etienne Davignon and Genii have denied the rumours.

The Belga news agency also said Spa chief Pierre-Alain Thibaut played down the link with Genii’s Gerard Lopez.

So too did Walloon government minister Jean-Claude Marcourt, but he admitted to La Libre newspaper that Spa-Francorchamps might be interested in linking up with a private investor.

He told La Derniere Heure: “I am open to any interesting initiatives, even though it is difficult to talk hypothetically.

“But I am interested so long as the private investor takes a substantial financial risk,” he added.

Renault is hitting back at reports of financial problems.

The rumours emerged during the Monaco grand prix and the Enstone based team’s boss Eric Boullier hinted they might have been started by his predecessor Flavio Briatore, who was making an appearance in the Principality.

In a further move to downplay the rumours, France’s autohebdo.fr reports that Renault is making several new investments, including a state-of-the-art driver simulator.

The report also referred to an update for the 60 per cent wind tunnel and a new supercomputer for CFD computer simulations.

Boullier, meanwhile, has told L’Equipe that a management shakeup is the next step.

“In 2010 we watched the operations at the circuit and did not want to destabilise the team, focusing instead on operating efficiently.

“Now is the perfect time to ensure we have effective management at the track,” he revealed.

“We’re calm. It has been a transitional period that we have handled remarkably well. We have a sponsor in the form of Group Lotus and solid partners.

“And if in the season we ever need an extension of the budget, Genii Capital is able to grant it,” insisted Boullier.

At the same time, the team’s title sponsor Group Lotus has insisted the recent naming dispute battle with Team Lotus has not affected its commitment to Renault and formula one.

Proton-owned Lotus has vowed to appeal the High Court’s decision to allow Team Lotus to keep using the name and logo for its entirely separate outfit.

But Dany Bahar insists: “We (Group Lotus) are even more committed than ever before to our long-term plan within the sport.

“With regards to our involvement with (Renault), as Lotus we stand united with Genii Capital and have every confidence in the future success of (the team),” he said.

“People always question the cost but, believe me, if we couldn’t afford it, we wouldn’t do it.”

Adrian Sutil’s manager has admitted he is seeking an “amicable” solution with Eric Lux amid a scandal that could cost the Force India driver his formula one career or even his freedom.

Lux, chief executive of the Renault team owner Genii Capital, said this week he is planning filing criminal charges after he was cut on the neck with a broken glass at a post-race nightclub party in China last month.

But Manfred Zimmermann, 28-year-old Sutil’s German manager, told reporters in Barcelona on Thursday that Lux has not actually filed those charges yet.

“We are still looking for an amicable solution between ourselves,” he is quoted as saying by Auto Motor und Sport.

A successful charge of “physical assault and grievous bodily harm” – the complaints mentioned by Eric Lux’s Swiss lawyer – could result in a jail term for Sutil.

And Force India has only committed to honouring the German driver’s contract for the Spanish grand prix this weekend, despite Monaco taking place just a week later.

Another potentially explosive element is the possible involvement of Sutil’s friend Lewis Hamilton.

The McLaren driver was whisked away from the M1nt nightclub by his bodyguards shortly after Lux fled with wounds that required more than a dozen stiches at a nearby Chinese hospital.

Lux’s lawyer had warned that he might take action against “other persons involved in this matter”, but on Thursday Hamilton was not talking about Shanghai.

“I’ve been advised not to say anything,” the Briton is quoted by the Mirror.