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Renault bought back Lotus for less than a slice of pizza

London, England - French automaker Renault bought back its former works team Lotus for a single British pound.

That is the finding of F1 business journalist Christian Sylt, who wrote in the Telegraph that company documents show only "1 pound" actually changed hands as Renault bought a 90% stake in the team.

'Crash-gate' scandal

In the fallout of the so-called 'crash-gate' scandal at the end of last decade, Renault had sold its formerly championship-winning works team to the private equity firm Genii.

Read: Renault finalise Lotus takeover

Sylt, writing with Caroline Reid, added that Genii recorded a $274-million loss between buying the team and selling it back to Renault just before Christmas.

Genii has, however, now retained a 10% stake, with the firm's Eric Lux also revealing that the team is "in discussion with several parties for a long-term title sponsorship".

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