Gerard Lopez, co-owner of the Renault F1 team, has insisted that his outfit isn’t in any financial trouble, amid mounting speculation to the contrary.
Lopez bought 75% of the team back in 2009 through his Genii Capital investment business by borrowing £17 million ($27m) from the bank. Reports now suggest the Lithuanian bank, AB Snoras, has demanded repayment, otherwise it will take control of the team.
Lopez says he’s surprised by the rumours and the suggestions that Bruno Senna is only in the car because of the significant sponsorship he attracts – the team signed four sponsors; Gillete, Embratel, OGX and Auden McKenzie upon announcing the Brazilian would replace Nick Heidfeld.
“It’s been one of the surprises for me in Formula 1, the fact that any time we have a new driver, any time we announce something, any time I take a trip to Brazil or Russia or whatever, suppose I’m looking for money for the team,” he’s quoted as saying.
“The fact is that we’re involved in a lot of businesses. This one, as a matter of fact, is one that we hope is going to be break-even at some point in time. It’s not but it’s not one that needs to make money for us. We make money somewhere else.
“I used to answer this giving examples and so on. To be honest, I don’t care anymore because if it was reality we wouldn’t be there for a long time. I think the team that we took over had about 480 people. We saved those jobs and added about forty jobs to those. Facts speak for themselves,” he added.
“As I said, I used to get quite angry every time I would pick up something like that. Now it’s almost like crying wolf and nobody cares. The fact is that the facts are there: we are investing, we’re adding sponsors.”
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