Lotus to use Renault gearbox in 2011

Renault is likely to supply not only the engine but also the gearbox to Lotus in 2011, according to reports.

Turun Sanomat, close to the team’s Finnish driver Heikki Kovalainen, also said that after using standard Xtrac hydraulics this season, Lotus is designing its own system for 2011.

The Lotus/Renault tie up, with the French marque also to supply the F1 team’s electronics next year, could be part of a bigger arrangement with Group Lotus, the separately Malaysian-owned sports car company.

Currently, Lotus road cars are powered by Toyota engines.

“Next year’s (F1) car is well under way,” technical boss Mike Gascoyne told F1′s official website. “The main focus now is on 2011 — to make sure we take a big step forward.”

© 2010, www.fantasyracings.com. All rights reserved. The total or partial reproduction of text, photographs or illustrations is not permitted in any form. Copyright by F1 Teams Media Departaments, (GMM) and (CIAM)

0 commentsback to post

Other articlesgo to homepage

	Expert thinks Lotus playing down chassis crisis(0) Lotus is grappling with a major problem less than one month before the start of the 2012 season. The former Renault team has sensationally abandoned this week’s Barcelona test and returned to its Enstone headquarters, after an unspecified chassis fault was detected on the new E20 car on Tuesday. “We’ll put the right measures in

	HRT owners eye sale to richest man Carlos Slim(0) HRT’s tumultuous history could be set to continue, if a report in an authoritative German newspaper is right. Die Welt claims Thesan Capital, the Madrid-based investment company that bought the Spanish team from Jose Ramon Carabante last year, is already on the lookout for a new buyer. Originally known as Hispania, HRT was actually founded

	Sauber’s Key headed for Le Mans with Lotus(0) Sauber’s departing technical boss James Key appears headed for Lotus. On the eve of its 2012 car launch, the Swiss team announced that it will not replace the departing Briton Key, who has accepted an offer to work in the UK. Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said it is rumoured Key is headed for Lotus.

	Reports hint at Ferrari test for Kubica in June(0) Robert Kubica’s comeback could be at the wheel of a turbocharged 2010 Ferrari, according to reports in the Italian media. It emerged this week that, despite the recent setback of a re-broken leg after an icy fall, the Pole could be only months away from attempting some laps in a F1 simulator. As for his

	Kubica able to drive again(0) Robert Kubica has returned to the wheel of a powered vehicle, according to reports in Italy. The Omnicorse website reports that the Pole, horrifically injured in a rally crash a year ago, is now recovered enough to drive a Renault Megane with an automatic gearbox. The former BMW and Renault driver re-broke his leg in