Friday, November 05, 2010

GreenBkk Formula 1 | Lotus confirms Renault engine partnership for 2011

Lotus confirms Renault engine partnership for 2011

Mike Gascoyne is excited about the future direction of the team © Sutton Images

Lotus will be powered by Renault engines in 2011 after Bernard Rey, President of Renault Sport, confirmed the partnership on Friday.

"I am absolutely delighted that we can now officially talk about the partnership with Renault," said Team Principal Tony Fernandes. "There has obviously been a great deal of speculation about which engine will be powering our cars from 2011 and now the announcement has been made I think everyone can see just how ambitious we really are.

"The combination of the Renault engine and the Red Bull Technology gearbox and hydraulics gives our design and aero teams a successful, tried and tested platform to work with for next year's car. 2010 has been all about building up our team from scratch and in just one year we have laid the foundations for many exciting seasons to come and the partnership with Renault will dramatically accelerate our development plans, both on and off track."

Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne echoed the sentiments of Fernandes on an exciting future for the team.

"Today's announcement is the latest confirmation of how far this team wants to go in Formula One," said Fernandes. "Having worked with Renault before I know exactly what they will bring to our team and I am delighted that they will be playing an integral role in the next chapter of our story. The engine itself gives our designers, engineers and drivers an excellent platform to work with - it is very drivable, has good reliability and comes with a track support team who have a wealth of experience and knowledge. We are all looking forward to working with Renault and are very excited about the future for our partnership and our team."

But uncertainty still remains about the future identity of Lotus, with the press release not mentioning the famous team name and Renault stating its supply deal was with '1Malaysia Racing Team'.

Credit: ESPN F1


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