Bernie Ecclestone says the situation surrounding Renault’s proposed takeover of Lotus is “strange”, given that nothing has been announced or even agreed.
The billionaire is pushing behind the scenes for Renault to complete the deal and even admitted one of the major roadblocks, that of historical payments, had already been promised and was therefore no longer an issue.
“Apparently Renault are going to take over Lotus. Apparently,” the 84-year-old told Reuters. “This is what has been foreseen. Whether it will be completed, I don’t know.
“If they don’t complete it by Monday or put some money in soon… unless Renault come to the party, it won’t happen.
It’s strange that a company as large as Renault are taking such a long time to make a decision, to be honest with you.
“They’ve been waiting for us to make a contribution to give them a reason to do something, which we’ve done two weeks ago. So I don’t know.”
Lotus’s financial problems are starting to become a real burden on the team and therefore a deal with Renault is likely their only lifeline.
Earlier this week Ecclestone invited the Lotus team to eat in the Paddock Club hospitality suite after they were locked out of their own due to late payments.
“What we’ve done for them is not anything that we need to do, or had to, but we’ve done it to try and be helpful and keep Renault in Formula 1. Our agreement is with Renault and not with Lotus.”
