Steve Davies

Bear with us on this one, since it may at first glance seem a little confusing. Renault who used to own and run the F1 team called Renault F1, pulled out of the sport at the end of the 2009 season at the peak of the economic downturn. Shortly after it was announced that Genii Capital, led by Gerard Lopez, had bought a majority stake in Renault F1 and it was this team which competed in the 2010 F1 season with drivers Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov.

This morning with the announcement of the partnership between Group Lotus and Genii Capital, Renault finally step back from being an F1 team owner into being purely a supplier of engines and technology. This new supply company will be called Renault Sport F1.

This is steadily becoming the biggest motorsport pis**ng contest of recent times and clearly goes well beyond the bounds of gentlemanly competition... Welcome to Round 3 of the Lotus-vs-Lotus spat.

We were already aware that Group Lotus were in discussions with Genii Capital - majority shareholders in the Renault F1 team - about bringing a tie-up for 2011. The announcement was due at the final grand prix in Abu Dhabi, but there's been much lobbying and negotiation in the background prior to this morning's announcement.

In less than 48 hours from now we'll be sitting in a production 1 Series M Coupé, getting to know it's unique features and learning just how special M Division's new entry-level model really is. Despite initial reservations when the M Coupé was first revealed, I'm really looking forward to seeing and touching it for myself.

Deliveries of the One-77 are expected to commence in early 2011, but as we count down to D-Day a solitary One-77 will soon be setting off on a tour of Asia.

New Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team were honoured at motorsport’s most prestigious end-of-season gala event, the 2010 Autosport Awards, held last night at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.

It was due to be launched in January 2011, but a video of the new 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK leaked onto YouTube last night before being taken down shortly after. The lengthy promotional film shows the folding-hardtop SLK in detail, highlighting some of its new features including the NECK-PRO head restraint, adaptive lighting and ECO stop/start system.

Group Lotus have announced this afternoon that Karl-Heinz Kalbfell, formerly of BMW, Chairman and CEO Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and CEO of Maserati will be joining the senior management team. Due to be based at the Lotus headquarters in Hethel, Kalbfell, will provide operational support and advise Group Lotus Chief Executive Officer Dany Bahar on the most efficient delivery of the business plan.

Silverstone and its owners, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC), have announced that the name chosen for their iconic new Pit, Paddock and Conference building will be ‘The Silverstone Wing’.

‘The Wing’ is synonymous with motor sport, but also connects with Silverstone’s aviation history, therefore illustrating both the circuit’s rich heritage and its exciting future.