Lotus avoids bankruptcy, Button towards Renault?

The letter of intent signed between Renault and Genii avoided receivership at Lotus, giving the Enstone team another ten weeks to finalize the sale to the French company. A few hours before the hearing at the High Court in London which would have sanctioned the start of receivership for Lotus, Renault yesterday announced its commitment to finalizing the purchase of the team within the next few weeks.

The Court was also assured that a loan will guarantee the payment of the 4 million in taxes owed to the British authorities. The acquisition must be completed by December but at this point the return of an official Renault team in 2016 seems almost a given.

Romain Grosjean should be announced today as the starting driver for the new Haas team while Pastor Maldonado already has a contract with Lotus/Renault for 2016. Renault therefore has a steering wheel available and according to the Daily Mirror one of the candidates is Jenson Button, who would be about to leave McLaren Honda: “If I'm in F1 next season I want to be in a competitive team,” Button told L'Equipe. “Fighting for eighth place doesn't interest me.”

David Coulthard admitted that Button could leave McLaren: “If Jenson still has a passion and the belief that Honda will make a big step forward like Ferrari did this year, then he should continue. But if he fears another year like this, then he should change teams."