Romain Grosjean's third place in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix "was just what Lotus needed" as it waits for Renault to decide whether to buy back the troubled F1 team, according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. With bailiffs seeking to impound the team's cars after the race at Spa, Trackside Operations Dir Alan Permane "was open about the situation." He said, "We would welcome them back with open arms obviously. We've got a great relationship and a great partnership with Mercedes but to be a works team again would be fantastic." Renault, currently engine suppliers to Red Bull and sister team Toro Rosso, sold its title-winning team "after a Singapore GP race-fixing scandal erupted" in '09. Permane said of the team's current woes, "We haven't actually really been developing. We brought a new front wing here, that's about the only thing we've done. ... We could have done an awful lot better this season with a little bit more investment and funding" (REUTERS, 8/24). ESPN's Laurence Edmondson wrote Lotus "ended the weekend with bailiffs arriving outside its garage to stop cars and equipment leaving the circuit." Former reserve driver Charles Pic "has taken Lotus to court over a claim it did not fulfil its side of a deal to give him time on track last year." The team "is confident it will resolve the Pic issue early this week, but has made no secret that it has had to hold back development this year due to its financial struggle." Permane said that "an injection of funds from a works deal with Renault would mean the team could once again focus on racing and challenge at the front" (ESPN, 8/24).
