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Lotus F1 Has Been Bought by Renault for 1 Pound

It is a known fact that, for a long time now, Lotus Formula 1 team’s officials have been searching for an investor who could pay off its past debts and further fund the team. Recently, after some tough negotiations, Lotus has been bought by Renault for an incredible sum: 1 pound.
Renault F1 Team's truck 1 photo
Photo: Renault
Apparently, it was a very complicated arrangement because, first of all, Genii Capital bought 6,744,444 shares from Whiterock Alliance Ltd., and together with Gravity Motorsports, it retained 10 percent of the restructured organization. Then and only then, Genii gave 98.2 million pounds of shareholder loans to Lotus.

A company that had a lot in common with Renault during the years, Grigny Ltd. is now back in business after Genii sold them 90 per cent of the organization and retained the remaining 10 per cent.

Grigny is a subsidiary of Renault and has been involved in the Formula 1 world since 1977. Between December 1979 and March 2000, the company was known as Benetton Ltd. Right after Renault acquired Benetton, it continued to own it under the Grigny name until it was passed on to Genii.

Although 2013 was a good year for Grigny because of the nearly 7 million pounds earned from leasing KERS systems to Renault’s customer teams, in 2014, when the Kinetic Energy Recovery System was integrated into the power unit, the company only collected 432,000 pounds.

Just like in the legend of the Phoenix, Grigny has risen from its ashes, and it is now once again a major player in the Formula 1 as the current owner of the F1 team, as Motorsport reports.

Throughout the years, Renault won no less than four F1 drivers’ title. Two in the era of Benetton, with Michael Schumacher, in 1994 and 1995, and two in 2005 and 2006 with Fernando Alonso.

The Renault drivers for the next season of the Formula 1 will be Pastor Maldonado and rookie driver Jolyon Palmer, while the team principal is expected to be Frederic Vasseur, currently the boss of the successful ART team in the GP2 series.
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