Lotus ready for Monza as Renault speculation intensifies

As the team awaits final confirmation from the Renault board about a potential takeover, its race staff have faced delays in its preparation for the Italian Grand Prix.

After bailiffs impounded the team's equipment in Belgium as part of a dispute with former test driver Charles Pic, it took until early this week for the matter to get sorted.

It meant the trucks were only able to travel from where they were held in Belgium on Tuesday night, arriving at Monza on Wednesday evening.

Work began immediately in preparing the two cars, garages and infrastructure.

Although the situation is not ideal, and it will be missing some elements that would have been in place on a more typical weekend, the team is confident it will be ready in time to begin running on Friday.

It also reckons this can be done without breaking F1's curfew limits.

Renault rubber stamp

Renault has been pushing on with trying to finalise a takeover of Lotus, as it looks to bring a works team effort back to F1.

Meetings between the car manufacturers' management and Lotus owners have been taking place this week in a bid to close the deal, and it is understood that it now rests on a final seal of approval from the Renault board.

That could come within the next 24 hours, which may then open the way for a formal announcement about its intentions to be made over the Italian Grand Prix weekend.

Renault is likely to become majority shareholders in the team, with Gerard Lopez and Alain Prost also holding stakes.

Lotus has been hamstrung by a lack of finance over recent months, as the team's current owners hold fire on investment until the Renault situation is clear.

It is hoped that a green light for the Renault deal will allow it to begin ramping up its operation again and allow it to exploit the car that helped Romain Grosjean take third place at the Belgian Grand Prix.