The current Lotus F1 team can trace it's roots back the the Benneton team that won world championships with Michael Schumacher, but more recently this was the Renault team that Fernando Alonso drove for and won the two championships in 2005 & 2006, and the team principle was Flavio Briatore.
Last year I actually put some effort into researching Lotus, and who was racing in F1, and who supplying the engines to the IRL, and who was building the cars, and the more I researched the more confusing it got. A few years ago there were two teams running under the Lotus name in F1, and that matter ended up in the European courts, and now there's only one.
I do know that when Colin Chapman (founder of Lotus) passed away in 1984 the heirs to his estate sold the Lotus car company to one party, and they sold the Lotus Race team to another party, so the car manufacturer and the race team became two different businesses. Toyota became involved in the ownership of Lotus cars, but by the end of 1986 General Motors owned over 90% of Lotus cars, and in 1993 GM sold Lotus cars to Proton who still owns Lotus cars today.
I don't know if you've heard this but recently over in the European media Lewis Hamilton was asked who was the most talented driver in F1 and he said Fernando Alonso, and when Alonso was asked he said Hamilton. Both totally snubbed the kid who won the championship the last 3 years, Sebastian Vettel, but I think both Hamilton and Alonso both got it wrong because like I posted on this message board last year Kimi Raikkonen is the most talented driver in F1.

Lotus Cars

Lotus F1