Carlos Ghosn adds heat to Lotus-Renault F1 rumours

Carlos Ghosn adds heat to Lotus-Renault F1 rumoursYesterday, you read here that Group Lotus (the Proton subsidiary) could be making an entry into Formula 1 via a collaboration with the Renault F1 Team. The paddock talks about Lotus coming in as a sponsor first, before deepening their involvement in the Enstone based team, and that there will be a Lotus-Renault on the grid next year. Here’s Renault boss Carlos Ghosn’s take on the rumour.

While not confirming outright, Ghosn hinted at the possibilities. “Name changes are everywhere. The key is to preserve the Renault name. Apart from Renault F1, yes, there may be other associated names. We are not in F1 to have a particular team but to promote the name and the technology of Renault,” he told Auto Hebdo.

“We don’t want to give the impression that we are an exclusive team. We are now developing our technology with multiple teams. What I can tell you is that, increasingly, we will be technology suppliers to many teams that are involved in Formula 1,” Ghosn added.

Carlos Ghosn adds heat to Lotus-Renault F1 rumours

On Lotus’ part, this move (if the rumours are true) is entirely consistent with the Dany Bahar led new management’s plans. Everyone at the Paris Motor Show and Lotus’ gala dinner where they unveiled the fantastic five could see that they are finally starting to “take ownership” of the brand’s rich racing history. Clive Chapman gave his endorsement, Sir Stirling Moss was called in to lend weight, “7 time Constructors’ Champion” was drummed into our heads – they are dead serious in re-entering the game.

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • Wah….will there be two teams that will use Lotus’ name?

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    • Jonnie on Nov 09, 2010 at 1:23 pm

      nola.. got two redbull also what.. so they name the other in italian torro rosso.. Malaysia Lotus by TF should use “team teratai” lor.. kekeke

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      • donadoni on Nov 09, 2010 at 1:31 pm

        no..they should be called ‘KUMPULAN TERATAI LUMBA’..lol

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        • mr_3m on Nov 09, 2010 at 4:00 pm

          wait.. wait.. kumpulan is “group”…. a team is a “pasukan”
          team lotus racing from now onwards (if datuk tony is cheeky enough), should start calling themselves “PASUKAN LUMBA TERATAI”

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          • Restaurant Lotus Nasi Kandar on Nov 10, 2010 at 7:19 am

            i think most probably it will be called ‘PASUKAN TERATAI MOONCAKE NASI KANDAR’ in the spirit of 1Malaysia

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  • the bright side is that malaysia has 3 team in f1….mercedes petronas, lotus renault, n lotus racing…

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  • Need4SpeedUnderground on Nov 09, 2010 at 1:54 pm

    sorry to say, but … It’s seems face of Carlos Ghosn look-alike face of Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean’s main character) …

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    • beeen on Nov 09, 2010 at 2:33 pm

      /they both sudah kaya and successful…and u? …..sigh….loserrrrrrrrrrrr

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  • nabill on Nov 09, 2010 at 1:54 pm

    very very smart , no need to have your own team to promote your name , liscence it to others plus few technology transfer will do the trick , at the fraction of the cost , and the brand will remain as strong as before…..

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  • Hope their marriage will bear golden egg. Hence benefit goes to proton.

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  • mr5zal on Nov 09, 2010 at 2:53 pm

    is there any role can be played by rosyam noor? hahaha

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    • Firdaus Abdullah on Nov 09, 2010 at 4:07 pm

      He can play a role in a new movie of M’sian version of ‘Driven’ if there is gonna be any. A story of two M’sian owned team taking each other out on the track, at the end Bernie won…

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  • sell PROTON in FRANCE on Nov 09, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    hopefully PROTON cars can sell well in France once the deal and agreement is official later on LOTUS RENAULT F1 TEAM

    PROTON car with NISSAN GT-R engine! wow! some engine technology transfer to PROTON please.. malaysia university students will be happy to join and develop the engine. :)

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  • rosdi on Nov 09, 2010 at 3:07 pm

    The problem is, why did Clive Chapman sold Team Lotus name to that Air Asia guy in the first place?

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    • my opinion on LOTUS RENAULT on Nov 09, 2010 at 3:25 pm

      i think because he want to keep the LOTUS F1 base in England, but RENAULT want the base to keep F1 base in FRANCE.. remember that LOTUS already ally themself with ART GP which the base is also in France.. if u drive a car it is only about 1 hour for both the current RENAULT F1 base and ART GP base (now call LOTUS ART).

      last time LOTUS CEO Dany Bahar said, new LOTUS factory will be built in central Europe, now i think the picture is more clear.. it is in FRANCE!

      anyway, this highly influence F1 journalist said the deal of PROTON and RENAULT just done.. the who make the deal happening is Dany Bahar (LOTUS CEO).. look like he want to say PROTON just bought Genii Capital shares in RENAULT F1 (still remember Genii Capital currently borrowing alot money from RENAULT after crash gate scandal)

      they want to revive back the BLACK and GOLD colour of glory..

      http://blog.autoplus.fr/moncet <– his name is Jean-Louis Moncet, highly influence F1 journalist in France

      take note that Gerrard Lopez, the Genii Capital CEO which have 75% of shares in RENAULT F1 is a big fan to LOTUS before (especially the BLACK and GOLD colour LOTUS car).. Genii Capital is a very big investment company in Luxembourg (the #1 richest country in this world by GDP percapita).. it look like PROTON now aiming for both rich country market FRANCE and LUXEMBOURGH.. in business perspective which PROTON want to sell future LOTUS sportscar.. it is really a good move by PROTON! thumbs up!

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      • ??. you did not understand the question or what?.

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      • France located at western europe!! not central europe (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland, Slovakia n Slovenia)

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        • Kimi Raikkonen ex-F1 champion to LOTUS RENAULT!!! on Nov 10, 2010 at 12:31 am

          some part in France is in central europe.

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          • only Alsace and portions of Lorraine…but France as a whole is western europe not central europe

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    • seriousSAM on Nov 09, 2010 at 3:38 pm

      TEAM LOTUS name was belong to david hunt before it was sold to TF..

      good luck lah PROTON if they kowtow to dany bahar F1 ambition
      let see how long lotus name will be on the grid before it gone again maybe due to PROTON or group lotus out of cash to splash to Dany Bahar

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    • Ferruccio on Nov 09, 2010 at 3:46 pm

      It was David Hunt who sold it not Clive Chapman

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    • mnazri.tan on Nov 09, 2010 at 3:48 pm

      Not clive la…it is david hunt who greedily acquired it long ago and now sell it to another greedy by the name of tony….

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      • Driver on Nov 09, 2010 at 9:18 pm

        So what do you think that Group Lotus didn’t take the iconic name from Hunt since 1994. What is the reason?

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    • azrai on Nov 09, 2010 at 3:48 pm

      The Team Lotus name rights sold was not from Clive Chapman.

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    • Eyesore on Nov 09, 2010 at 4:05 pm

      Umm it wasn’t Clive Chapman who sold it. David Hunt is the one…

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    • It was more complicated than that.
      Team Lotus was sold to somebody so that they could race it, then went bankrupt, and sold by the court over to David Hunt, who did not even race any “Team Lotus” cars during his time unless your consider the “Pacific Grand Prix Team”
      It was recently then sold to Tony Fernandez.

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      • Ferruccio on Nov 09, 2010 at 6:24 pm

        Sorry but David Hunt did race it as Team Lotus at the end of 1994 in Japan and Australia. He then leased the name to Pacific GP in 1995 coz sponsorship deals fell through during the break and he had to lay off staff and could not build their own car for 1995.

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    • Tiadaid on Nov 09, 2010 at 4:16 pm

      The reason why the Lotus name was not in the hand of Group Lotus:

      1) Colin Chapman separated Team Lotus & Lotus Cars so that when one fails, the other doesn’t go down as well.
      2) 1994, Team Lotus died a horrible death and the naming rights was picked up by David Hunt, who sees potential in having the Lotus name, having been in the F1 fraternity for a while through his brother, the World Champion James Hunt.

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    • Since when Colin Chapman sold “Team Lotus”to Tony? you better do some research before make any comment. READ THIS http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/david-hunt-talks-about-team-lotus/

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  • Ferruccio on Nov 09, 2010 at 3:11 pm

    Seems David Hunt feels otherwise about Group Lotus and their supposed F1 heritage.

    David Hunt Exclusive On Team Lotus
    http://www.theracedriver.com/2010/11/david-hunt-exclusive-on-team-lotus/

    “Proton’s claims are complete nonsense!”
    Former Team Lotus boss, David Hunt, speaks out about the messy Lotus F1 situation in an exclusive interview with Peter Windsor.

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  • protondiehardfan on Nov 09, 2010 at 3:14 pm

    Proton should colloborate with nissan-renault. use the current clio platform for the new savvy. make it a super hot hatch with 1.6 campro cps turbo with cvt and flappy gear paddle.

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  • azrai on Nov 09, 2010 at 3:51 pm

    I smell something fishy on Danny Bahar. 1st, the plan to introduce 5 model at one shot. 2nd, this F1 involvement. Both take a lot of resource and can make Lotus in serious debt just like MV-Augusta before. If this happened sooner than we think, is it possible proton let go Lotus for again 1Euro to Danny Bahar? Think about it guys. A lot of Malaysians money involve in this. Khazanah own proton shares right. It is GLC.

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    • Tiadaid on Nov 09, 2010 at 4:20 pm

      They don’t launch 5 models in 1 shot. They staggered it, if you recall. Might I suggest you look into Paul’s earlier posts about the cars?

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    • seriousSAM on Nov 09, 2010 at 5:12 pm

      that’s what i’m talking about… thehehe

      okay there’s a report that if deal is seal between Group lotus and RenaultF1
      the sponsorship will be at EURO 60 Million for three years.

      now the question is, where on earth GROUP LOTUS plc will found that amount of money when they itself didn’t make any profit and currently running at a loss, meaning it is essentially subsidised by Malaysian tax-payers due to its Proton ownership.

      so now malaysian… we’re going to splash huge amount of money for Dany Bahar to make his F1 dream come true…

      hoooray!!

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      • petronas subsidized mercedes, proton also subsidized australian football(rugby type),

        2009 Annual Report …ur tax money

        http://www.proton.com/public/media/mediacentre/documents/annualreports/AReport_2009.pdf

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      • there is a place called bank that we can loan n borrow money

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    • mnazri.tan on Nov 09, 2010 at 5:18 pm

      that also make sense…i hope not…but i heard news on his attempt to buy the company (with his fellow management) a while a go…???

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    • trav_da_man on Nov 09, 2010 at 5:33 pm

      I have a very bad feeling if this turn to be another money losing fiasco, this will definery be another “MV Augusta” money losing scenario. How much unnecessery millions were burned for the sake of F1 by proton.

      In the meantime, I can see that the most logical candidate for Proton stragetic partner will be Renault. Good to see Proton to join hands with the Renault Nissan alliance.

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    • Eyesore on Nov 09, 2010 at 6:07 pm

      If you read the news properly… there NO plan to release 5 models at one shot… what they did was just unveiling the styling of the 5 models during the motorshow… the final model could be a bit different. If you care to read through the article instead of just looking at the title and pictures.. you would have found that those models will be put out into production not at one shot but at a span of almost 3 years with the earliest being in 2013 and the last of the 5 will be released in 2015… even that is not a fixed date…. there might be delay….

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  • The German report said Group Lotus is currently running at a loss, meaning it is essentially subsidised by Malaysian tax-payers due to its Proton ownership. I quote that from : http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=393861&FS=F1
    It means Group Lotus/Proton going Malaysian tax payer’s money!!…..We should not support them….at least Lotus Racing (right now) are using their own money….

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    • Note: Lotus Racing right now is a privately-funded project.

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    • u should give proof first that they use tax money payer then i can support….

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  • jamal on Nov 09, 2010 at 4:42 pm

    bestnye tgk F1 pakai HD. huhu. astro please put F1 on top of ur HD channel.

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  • Ferruccio on Nov 09, 2010 at 4:47 pm

    David Hunt Exclusive On Team Lotus
    http://www.theracedriver.com/2010/11/david-hunt-exclusive-on-team-lotus/

    Former Team Lotus boss, David Hunt, speaks out about the messy Lotus F1 situation in an exclusive interview with Peter Windsor.

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  • InDaKnow on Nov 09, 2010 at 7:45 pm

    There seems to be a concerted effort by Tony and gang to discredit Dany Bahar by painting a picture of him as dishonest, a thief, fired from Red Bull, fired from Ferrari etc etc.

    Perhaps the Pot should be very careful in calling the Kettle black…….. He isnt a man without means and influence and those starting a smear campaign could swiftly find themselves in a hot legal soup….

    What is very clear is that Clive Chapman has now very publicly switched allegiance to the Group Lotus cause. The legitimacy of the Topny group claiming the heritage of the 7 Championships looks more tenuous by the minute. I mean, does buying a piece of paper from a guy who bought a piece of paper from an administrator of a bankrupt company entitle you (legally AND spiritually) to claim the history as your own????

    Whatever ur opinions, it will be fascinating to watch this all unfold……

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  • Kimi Raikkonen ex-F1 champion to LOTUS RENAULT!!! on Nov 09, 2010 at 9:02 pm

    Robert Kubica out, Kimi Raikkonen in LOTUS RENAULT season 2011!!!
    http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=393859&FS=F1

    “[Raikkonen] is on the radar because he contacted us.” – current RENAULT F1 team

    Dany Bahar, current LOTUS CEO always bring Kimi Raikkonen with him since the Red Bull Sauber PETRONAS era to Ferrari era.

    http://formulaoneblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/18/raikkonens-renault-return/

    official annoncement will be made soon?

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    • Driver on Nov 09, 2010 at 10:03 pm

      The story about Raikkonen will be with Renault is an out-dated stuff. He will remains in rallying for next year. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9065307.stm

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      • Kimi Raikkonen ex-F1 champion to LOTUS RENAULT!!! on Nov 10, 2010 at 12:20 am

        haha.. u forgot already ka??

        didn’t u remember last year Ferrari said in their official statement

        ““He can say what he wants, there is no Fernando/Ferrari move. Things can happen and not happen. But you cannot talk about any Fernando/Ferrari move. We have two drivers with a contract until the end of 2010. We are not under pressure to change anything,”

        and now what happen, the quote Ferrari said to massa.. “Alonso is faster than you” is very famous now.. haha at last he joined Ferrari.

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    • no it official that kimi will continue rallying next year but not with the same team

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  • Driver on Nov 09, 2010 at 10:10 pm

    Danay Bahar will burn “duit rakyat” in a three-year EUR 60 million title sponsorship of Renault F1. http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=393861

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    • SeriuosSAM on Nov 09, 2010 at 10:43 pm

      who cares meh?

      for the sake of one man ego.. PROTON will kowtow to that orang putih meh

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      • Eyesore on Nov 10, 2010 at 8:36 am

        One jealous and brainless die hard fan of Tony’s PASUKAN LUMBA TERATAI aren’t you? You and your ‘kowtow’ comments…from top to bottom of this article always that same comment… lol… Afraid you can’t brag abt the Lotus name next season and TF team will remain as the best amongst backmarkers?

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        • SeriuosSAM on Nov 10, 2010 at 10:40 am

          no lah

          i am happy PROTON will spend duit rakyat estimated EURO60 million to sponsor renaultF1 instead of spend it for to do some developement on PROTON own car..

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          • My View on Nov 11, 2010 at 5:30 pm

            PROTON Board is made up by commercially minded people, they will not allow excessive spending unless they see a return. I am sure they will ensure that Group Lotus finance is through borrowings. Stop this duit rakyat nonsense la.

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      • My View on Nov 11, 2010 at 5:35 pm

        Dany Bahar is of Turkish descendent

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  • Naz@AE111 on Nov 09, 2010 at 11:22 pm

    Mercedes vs Lotus, mercedes la apa lg..

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  • dzulx on Nov 10, 2010 at 9:57 am

    I dont like this….

    My hope, TF surrenders the naming right to Proton and Lotus directly involves in TF’s team.. but of course it is far from reality..

    I dont like when Proton needs to spend huge amount of money to get in while they can co-develop the car with TF..

    Now Im confused which team should I support…

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  • putra_rider on Nov 11, 2010 at 9:41 am

    i think he looks like Mr. Bean…hehehe

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  • PROTON dah beli 25% saham RENAULT F1 on Nov 12, 2010 at 5:00 pm

    PROTON dah beli 25% saham dalam RENAULT F1.. pengumuman akan dibuat tidak lama lagi.. ART GP mungkin turut serta dalam projek ni, memandangkan PROTON sudah tandatangan perjanjanjian dengan ART GP.

    harap-harap dapat pemandu kimi raikkonen + robert kubica untuk musim depan.

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