Renault team principal Eric Boullier has brushed aside rumours that the team has financial problems, insisting that “everything is fine, perfectly fine”.
Reports at the Monaco Grand Prix speculated that Renault owed money to its parent company and had asked Group Lotus for an advance on payments. Boullier told Autosport that there was no truth in the rumours, and that he believed it could be a case of ex-Renault employees fabricating a story.
“It is very funny how stories can blow up like this and constantly come back,” Boullier said. “It is maybe not a coincidence, but there is some old guard from Renault here [in Monaco] so maybe they keep spreading rumours on their own.”
Boullier also said that he felt the original story had not been researched properly as the team was not approached, and that he was willing to show the state of Renault’s finances to the media in order to put an end to the rumours.
“This journalist [who wrote the story] did not come and see me to ask if it was true or not, and I am ready to do it whenever he wants – to open my books for him. Like any business, we have some loans for our own business and our own investment, but we don’t have any debt now to Renault in 2011.
“We have a multi-year contract and a special agreement between us and Renault, like when you pay your mortgage back. We have some pending loan payments for the future, but that is for the future – it is not for this year. We have absolutely no issue at all. Everything is fine, perfectly fine.”
After a verdict on the legal battle between Renault sponsors Group Lotus and Team Lotus was delivered last week, Boullier even felt that the team was now in a stronger position as a result of the team not being forced to make any changes.
“It has clearly reinforced the involvement of Lotus Cars and Proton in our company. We have a seven year sponsorship agreement with a title sponsorship level, which is a lot of money, and that is the best that we can dream to have.”
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