The team's Formula One history began in 1981 as Toleman Motorsport, based in Witney, Oxfordshire. In 1986, following its purchase in 1985 by the Benetton family, the squad was renamed Benetton Formula. The team relocated to Enstone in 1992–93. Michael Schumacher won the Drivers' Championship with the team in both 1994 and 1995; the team also claimed the Constructors' Championship in 1995, with Johnny Herbert driving alongside Schumacher.
Renault purchased Benetton in 2000 and renamed it the Renault F1 Team in 2002. Fernando Alonso won the Drivers' Championship with the team in both 2005 and 2006, and the team won the Constructors' Championship in both years, with Giancarlo Fisichella as the second driver. At the end of 2009, Renault sold a majority stake to Genii Capital. Lotus Cars became involved in 2011, leading to the team being renamed "Lotus Renault GP" for 2011 and "Lotus F1 Team" for 2012. The base at Enstone became colloquially known as "Team Enstone." Starting with the Lotus E20, the team recognised prior achievements by placing three gold stars in the livery just forward of the cockpit.
The original Team Lotus, a sister company of Lotus Cars, had competed in Formula One between 1958 and 1994, winning seven constructors' titles and six drivers' titles between 1963 and 1978. The Lotus name had also returned through Tony Fernandes's Lotus Racing in 2010, before Fernandes's outfit became Caterham F1 Team for 2012, clearing the way for the Enstone team to adopt the Lotus F1 name.
On 29 November 2011, the team announced that Kimi Räikkönen would race for them in 2012, returning from a two-year stint in the World Rally Championship. Räikkönen signed for two years with a third-year option. On 9 December 2011, GP2 Series champion Romain Grosjean was confirmed as his partner.
At the start of the season the team protested the "F-duct rear wing" concept on the Mercedes F1 W03; the stewards unanimously rejected the protest at the Chinese Grand Prix and Lotus did not appeal. Grosjean qualified third in Australia but first-lap incidents in Australia and Malaysia cost him points. Räikkönen and Grosjean took Lotus's first podiums of the season in Bahrain, with Räikkönen close to winner Vettel and Grosjean third. Räikkönen took podiums in Germany, Hungary, and Belgium in succession; in Hungary he and Grosjean battled after pit stops, with Räikkönen finishing second and Grosjean third.
At the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix, Grosjean was involved in a multi-car pileup at La Source, eliminating himself, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and Sergio Pérez. Grosjean received a one-race ban covering the Italian Grand Prix and was replaced by reserve driver Jérôme d'Ambrosio. Räikkönen then took the team's first victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. After finishing in the points in 19 of 20 races and achieving seven podiums including the Abu Dhabi win, Räikkönen finished third in the Drivers' Championship and Lotus fourth in the Constructors' Championship.
Räikkönen was confirmed for 2013 on 29 October 2012, with Grosjean again as his partner. The 2013 Lotus, the E21, was launched on 28 January at the team's Enstone headquarters with a black, gold, and red livery featuring more prominent red on the sidepods, air intake, and wings.
Räikkönen won the Australian Grand Prix despite qualifying seventh, giving Lotus the championship lead. At the Bahrain Grand Prix both drivers finished on the podium despite a poor qualifying result, replicating the top three from the previous year. A proposed deal for Mansoor Ijaz's Quantum Motorsports consortium to acquire a 35% stake from Genii Capital, announced in summer 2013, was ultimately never finalised.
After first-corner contact in Abu Dhabi, Räikkönen announced he would undergo back surgery and miss the final two races. Heikki Kovalainen replaced him; initial speculation had suggested Michael Schumacher would stand in for the United States Grand Prix, which Schumacher's manager ruled out.
Ahead of 2014, Andrew Ruhan — a British property developer who had become co-chairman the previous year — converted loans to the team into equity, taking effective control from Genii Capital. Genii also sold a 10% stake to Yotaphone. Team CEO and team principal Eric Boullier both departed, with Boullier joining McLaren. Ruhan installed Matthew Carter as chief executive; Gérard Lopez became titular team principal and Federico Gastaldi deputy team principal.
Lotus kept Grosjean and signed Pastor Maldonado, who brought PDVSA sponsorship. The team finished eighth in the Constructors' Championship.
On 5 July 2014, Lotus announced a switch to Mercedes engines from 2015, ending a 20-year association with Renault. Grosjean and Maldonado remained; Jolyon Palmer and Carmen Jordá were signed as test and development drivers.
Early-season results were hampered by driver error and poor reliability. Both cars retired by lap 2 in Australia. Grosjean finished seventh in China — the team's best result since the 2013 United States Grand Prix. By lap 41 of the Bahrain Grand Prix, both drivers had worked into the top ten before a pit-entry issue for Maldonado dropped him back. In Canada, Grosjean and Maldonado qualified fifth and sixth; Grosjean recovered to tenth for the team's first double points finish of the season. In Austria, Maldonado finished seventh from tenth on the grid while Grosjean retired with gearbox problems.
The team's financial difficulties became acute in 2015. Pirelli refused to release the team's Hungaroring tyre allocation until less than an hour before the opening session over unpaid bills. The Lotus cars were temporarily seized after the Belgian Grand Prix due to a legal dispute with former test driver Charles Pic. At the Japanese Grand Prix, the team was locked out of its hospitality unit over unpaid bills from the previous year. Grosjean nonetheless finished third in Belgium — the team's first podium since the 2013 United States Grand Prix.
On 30 September 2015, Renault signed a letter of intent to buy a controlling stake from Genii Capital, having bailed the team out of arrears on income tax and insurance payments to the British government.
The team competed in a black-and-gold livery inspired by Team Lotus's colours when sponsored by tobacco brand John Player Special in the 1970s and 1980s. In April 2012, this sponsorship agreement was prematurely terminated, though the team continued using the Lotus name. In March 2013, American conglomerate Honeywell pulled out of a reported €50 million sponsorship deal. In 2014, title sponsor slots were shared race by race by existing partners alongside temporary sponsors Interwetten and Hisense. Other sponsors across the team's existence included Total, Trina Solar, Richard Mille, Symantec, Avanade, Rexona, Clear, Burn energy drink, and Saxo Bank. For 2013, the team signed a deal with Coca-Cola group brand Burn and with PDVSA.
On 21 December 2015, Groupe Renault officially confirmed its re-purchase of the Enstone team, appointing Jérôme Stoll as chairman and Cyril Abiteboul as managing director. The team entered the 2016 season as the Renault Sport Formula One Team, formally ending the Lotus F1 era.
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