As Chairman of the private investment company Genii Capital, Gérard Lopez bought into the Lotus F1 team at the tail end of 2009, and oversaw some of the operations of the team as well as guiding the general direction of the squad. For the 2014 season he took a more hands on approach, replacing Éric Boullier as team principal, but he was back to being an onlooker when Renault took over control of the squad.

Biography

Although from Luxemburg, Gérard Lopez completed his degree in management at the Miami University in Florida. He has been involved in running many companies, specialising in tech and online development, and has moved on to investing in other companies, including those dealing with real estate and communications.

In 2008, Lopez co-founded Genii Capital, a private investment firm, alongside Eric Lux. The company invested in Lotus F1 at the end of the 2009 season, rebranding the team from their Renault days and introducing Éric Boullier as team principal. Éric came from the Gravity Sport Management company, of which Lopez has also been involved with and even raced with.

Despite no hands on experience of running the day to day activities of an F1 team, Lopez confirmed in early 2014 that he would be taking over the role of team principal after the departure of Boullier. After a full season at the helm, Lopez returned to the more leisurely role of investor and shareholder when Renault bought out the Enstone squad.