Gerard Lopez has confirmed for the first time that he is interested in purchasing the Renault Formula 1 team.
It was revealed last week that Lopez was one of the main parties interested in getting involved in a takeover of the French car manufacturer's F1 outfit – with Prodrive also seeking a deal. Although Lopez has so far stayed out of the spotlight on the matter, he spoke about it for the first time at the Motor Sport Business Forum in Monaco on Wednesday.
"We are very opportunistic," he said during a debate about the economics of Formula 1. "We have been in F1 for quite a while as friends to lots of people there, we have done some business in the environment, and never thought about getting more heavily involved than that.
"The situation is such now that it presents an opportunity for new teams or new investors in a time, not of uncertainty, but of change. They [moments of change] provide for a good entry point for a new business. We are in the middle of times of change. We have looked at one other opportunity, and that is about it. We believe there is a chance now to enter the sport and build on a platform that will reinvent itself, and we can part of that reinvention."
It is believed that if Lopez's bid is successful, the team will continue to run under the "Renault" moniker rather than have a new identity.
"It would be very different from a start-up team," he said. "If we were to do a deal with Renault, we would still be basing ourselves as a constructors' team – but it will be a different kind of business.
"For us, it is important to confirm the stability over time. The business opportunities should rely not on making more out of the team, but about making money out of the business platform we have."