Renault isn’t taking ownership of the Lotus F1 Team and neither has it made any offer to do so, according to Lotus CEO Matthew Carter.
The French manufacturer has made public its plans to either quit the sport or become more involved through team ownership – a decision on which path they’ll take hasn’t yet been made – leading to speculation that the team formerly owned by Renault, now known as Lotus, is the prime candidate.
That isn’t the case according to Carter who is in control of the team whilst owner Gerard Lopez focuses his time on “other projects”.
“As CEO of this company I know nothing of any such offer,” he is quoted by Speed Week.
“I know that Renault is currently looking carefully at its involvement in Formula 1. We know that when it comes to returning to a factory team, the usual candidates would be on the list and we would possibly be the best choice.
“But there has been no offer. The shareholders have told me repeatedly that the Lotus team is not for sale.”
Should Renault choose to follow the team ownership path, it’s likely that Lotus and Force India would be prime candidates, whilst Toro Rosso is also a possibility as it supplies the Red Bull ‘junior’ team with engines.
