Renault boss Eric Boullier delighted to have the Lotus naming row behind them – Formula 1 news
Renault team boss Eric Boullier says that the end to the row over the Lotus name has been a sigh of relief for him and his team, and it will definitely be a move forward to a stronger team unit.
After months of pushing for a bid to keep the Lotus name, the row was settled earlier this month, when Team Lotus made a deal with Caterham cars and decided to go with the Caterham name instead of Team Lotus, which led to Renault to keep the Lotus name.
Boullier explained that the settlement gives his team a proper identity, which according to him will prove to be a massive boost for the team’s motivation to do well in all aspects.
“Massive, massive. Massive for many reasons,” said Boullier when asked how important it was to sort the naming row issue. “We have now a proper identity, we know who we are. We don't have stories about Lotus, Renault, Genii, and how many shares, options,
etc., - it is clear now.”
“It is clear, many, many sponsors who we were talking with, and which were planned for discussed in 2011, suspended, or even rejected the discussions because of this team name issue, so we can now restart the discussions and I have to say it is going in
a very constructive way to make sure the future is done.”
Boullier further elaborated that Lotus Cars have a very secure future in Formula 1, with the backing and support of its parent company Proton. He said they are now on the lookout for better sponsorship deals with companies which were earlier apprehensive
to go ahead with talks because of the confusion over the name and now the talks can be restarted.
He also explained that the Lotus brand is in the same family and Lotus Cars, which is much like the same business model as Ferrari or McLaren, and so it makes sense and is completely legitimate to be in Formula 1.
Lotus are looking to be competitive and the sorting of the name will give them the boost they need to focus on the job at hand.
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