In November 2010, Renault agreed to sell its remaining 25 percent stake in the Enstone-based team to Genii Capital, the Luxembourg investment firm that had already purchased a majority share in 2010. As part of the arrangement, Lotus Cars entered a sponsorship deal with the team until 2017, prompting the rebrand to Lotus Renault GP. Renault continued to supply engines free of charge and provide technical expertise, while Red Bull Racing was elevated to the role of Renault's primary works partner. The new livery combined black and gold — an intentional callback to the Lotus-Renault partnership of the 1980s and the famous JPS colour scheme used by Team Lotus during that era.
In January 2011, team principal Éric Boullier announced the team would race under a British licence, leaving Formula One without a French-licensed constructor for the first time since the 1975 season.
The team entered 2011 with Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov as its race drivers. On 6 February 2011, Kubica was severely injured in a rally accident in Italy, leaving his participation in the season in severe doubt. Nick Heidfeld was signed as his replacement while Kubica technically remained contracted to the team.
Petrov opened the season by taking the team's sole podium of the year, finishing third at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Heidfeld followed with a third place at the Malaysian Grand Prix. As the season progressed, however, the team's early promise faded. Both drivers regularly finished outside the top ten. Heidfeld was replaced mid-season by Bruno Senna from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards after failing to match expected performance levels.
At the end of the year, the team announced Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean as its 2012 drivers. The simultaneous use of the Lotus name by another team — the rebranded Team Lotus, which had raced as Lotus Racing in 2010 using a licence from Group Lotus — created a parallel naming dispute in the paddock during 2011. The two teams were entirely separate entities using the same name under different arrangements.
The car used for the season was the Renault R31, powered by a Renault RS27 V8 engine. The team had designed the car around off-throttle blown diffusers, a technology that became a significant point of controversy in 2011 when new restrictions were introduced before the British Grand Prix. The Lotus Renault GP car was reported to be among the teams most adversely affected by these restrictions, contributing to the decline in form during the second half of the season.
For 2012, the team rebranded as the Lotus F1 Team, reflecting Group Lotus's option to purchase a stake in the squad. Renault continued as engine supplier through the Lotus years without charge. The name Lotus Renault GP was used for one season only, making 2011 the sole year this particular identity raced in Formula One. The Enstone operation would not carry the Renault name again until Renault repurchased it at the end of 2015.