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
Scott Speed Scott Speed Scott Andrew Speed (born January 24, 1983) is an American race car driver, who currently races in Global Rallycross for the Subaru Rally Team USA team. In , Speed became the first American driver to race in Formula One since Michael Andretti in , when he made his début at the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix for Scuderia Toro Rosso. He contested 28 races, before he was fired midway through the season and replaced by Sebastian Vettel. Speed later turned his career towards stock car racing; specifically NASCAR, where he drove for Red Bull Racing Team, Whitney Motorsports and