Renault takeover of Lotus finally completed

Following months of discussions between the French car manufacturer and the Enstone-based outfit, an announcement was made earlier this month stating that Renault was preparing for its comeback.

However, the last bits of paperwork, payment of debts and transfer of shares still needed to be finalised before the project could move forward.

That has now been done, with Renault's lawyers telling a British high court judge at a hearing on Monday that its takeover was done.

"We have a completion of the share purchase," a lawyer was quoted as saying by Reuters. “We have the keys, so to speak.”

Renault finalised its takeover of Lotus last Friday, with outstanding debts to the UK tax authorities having been paid and cleared on Monday.

The new team name and full management structure will be announced during an event in Paris in February.

In the meantime, a new board of directors has been appointed, with Jerome Stoll as chairman and Cyril Abiteboul as managing director. 

Plan of action

Four-time champion Alain Prost, who has been involved in the discussions, said that Renault's decision to approve an F1 return means it is fully committed to doing what it takes to win.

"It was difficult, for sure," he told Motorsport.com about getting Ghosn's approval for an F1 return.

"It was a long decision because of what happened you know, the relationship with Red Bull and the fight that being only a supplier was not the right choice for the future.

"So it was quite a big commitment. You need to understand that they had to take their time to decide what to do. We all know in this company maybe it takes time, but when they are committed, it is going to be okay."