Lotus Renault GP deny rumours of shifting to Cosworth engines in 2012 – Formula 1 news
Renault Sport F1 chief Jean-Francois Caubet has recently stated that the company is not willing to split with Lotus Renault GP as they clearly have a three-year contract with them which is expected to expire after the 2013 Formula 1 season.
“We have a very clear contract of three years (through 2013) for the supply of engines (to Lotus Renault). We will respect this agreement. We have been very surprised to hear these rumours,” he said.
According to some recent reports, it has been revealed that Lotus Renault GP is short of its payments to Renault who are their engine suppliers as a result of which, the two companies might split up.
Other than that, Caubet also revealed that Renault is also interested in being a part of Lotus Renault GP after the 2014 Formula 1 season as well if the V6 engine plan goes ahead as planned.
“We are seriously discussing with Lotus Renault GP about the V6 engine in 2014,” he added.
Lotus Renault GP are one of the leading mid-running teams of the sport and they are a very valuable part of the sport. Renault has been in partnership with them since the 2002 season when the team returned to the sport and since then, both of the companies
have had a very smooth relationship.
It is believed that maybe Lotus’ partnership with the team initiated these problems between the two companies but the team has not released any official statement regarding this matter.
However, it was surprising to see that Cosworth will replace Renault if the two companies parted ways.
Renault is currently supplying engines to three teams in the sport including Red Bull Racing, Lotus Renault GP and Team Lotus.
Lotus Renault GP have been struggling to perform at their best since the past couple of races but they are hoping for some improvements and Robert Kubica’s return to the sport after almost 5 months.
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