Rumours that Renault will buy the Lotus Formula One team have continued to gain momentum, and most in the Formula One paddock believe the deal is as good as done.
Renault’s plans are so progressed, they have even floated the possibly of sweetening the deal should they compete in 2016.
Presently Formula One management distribute 65 per cent of the commercial earnings back to the teams, however 15 per cent of the earnings are distributed among the top performing and ‘historic’ teams, including Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, Red Bull and Williams.
Formula One’s top dog Bernie Ecclestone has given his blessing to the acquisition and suggested his would be prepared to honour a similar agreement should Renault return.
“If they take over Lotus and do exactly what Mercedes and Red Bull did, that would be it, so yeah, sure,” Ecclestone told Autosport.
But they did quit the sport, after all. So what makes them so special?
Not that anyone races in Formula One without the goal of winning, but if you take Renault at their word they are looking to return to the winners circle.
“We have absolutely no intention of participating, like we are doing now, of making up the numbers on the grid,” explained Cyril Abiteboul, Renault’s Formula One division.
You don’t have to look far for examples of suppliers that have left the sport only to return under more favourable circumstances. Despite a longstanding partnership with Mclaren, and supplying championship-winning engines in 2009, Honda returned as a supplier only to be gifted a bonus power unit during their maiden year. Don’t forget that Pirelli got away with supplying tyres that were made of crumbly goats cheese for years.
Furthermore, no one can argue that Renault haven’t earned their stripes in Formula One.
When they entered Formula One in 1977 they competed in only four races and did not finish in every one – talk about a baptism of fire. Until 1985 they competed in the constructors’ championship as Équipe Renault Elf, until financial limitations forced them to pull back their commitment to the sport. In 1986 Renault CEO Georges Besse rolled back their involvement to engine supplier, before withdrawing completely the following year.
in 1989 they returned as an engine supplier to teams including Williams, Ligier, Benetton and finally Red Bull. Along the way they returned as a constructor when they purchased the esteemed Benetton team in 2000, and after two years running under the existing name, Renault returned to the constructors’ list after making the transition to Renault Formula One.
Their golden run reached an apex in 2005 and 2006 when they won the constructors’ championship while their spearhead Fernando Alonso claimed the drivers’ title.
Over the years they nurtured a pretty handy group of drivers including René Arnoux, Alain Prost, Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, and Robert Kubica.
Over the last 38 years, Renault have been involved in some capacity in all but five.
In a turbulent year that saw the engine manufacturer threaten to take their bat and ball home, it looks likely they will remain for a little longer, if only to supply horsepower to the Red Bull squads.
Abiteboul recently commented, “we have a binding contract with Red Bull and Toro Rosso, which we will be allowing. We are making plans in that respect and start to work on engine parts in that respect.”
With Renault running their own team, Red Bull will find themselves a few rungs down the engine pecking order. So the question is, will they be willing to play second banana?
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