F1 Drivers 2007 champion Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean had to bring this team back to greatness as Team Lotus, a new banner for a team which had won multiple titles as the Enstone team, at one time Benetton. It was known for a decade as Renault, when it was owned by the French car maker. In 2012 the team will have a new banner, Lotus. With a new name, the team looks forward to establishing itself once again as a key player in F1. The team no longer has many of the stars it had during the best days for team Benetton/Renault. Nevertheless, it remains a respected and established team in Formula one.
The team was free to change its name to Lotus when Tony Fernandes finally gave up the name “Team Lotus,” so he could rename his team, Caterham.
Renault sold the majority stake in its Formula One team to Genii Capital in 2009. The next year Lotus became the main sponsor of the team.
The 2011 season was forgettable. During the year the team lost Robert Kubica after serious accidents for a whole season. Many times he led the way in testing during the pre season. After losing Kubica, the team was fifth in the standings. Force India was sixth.
Kubica can still not return. Lotus will have 2007 world champion Kimi Räikkönen on its team, in hopes of leading to greater accomplishments for the Lotus team.
