Renault in Formula One under a British licence in , having raced as a French outfit since Renault took over in 2002. This left the sport without any team racing under a French licence for the first time since the season. Group Lotus had yet to purchase a stake in the team, but had an option to do so by the end of . Along with the launch of their new car, Lotus Renault GP announced that they had hired Jean Alesi as an ambassador for the team and test driver for the T125 single-seater project. On 6 February 2011, Robert Kubica was severely
High-speed rail in Europe in Europe was the Italian "Direttissima", the Florence–Rome high-speed railway (254 km/158 mi) in 1978, which used FS Class E444 3 kV DC locomotives. Italy pioneered the use of the "Pendolino" tilting train technology. The Italian government constructor Treno Alta Velocità has been adding to the high-speed network in Italy, with some lines already opened. The Italian operator NTV is the first open access high-speed rail operator in Europe, since 2011, using AGV ETR 575 multiple units. In March 2011, a contract for the second phase of construction on the Milan–Verona high-speed line was signed. This section will be 39