London (AFP) - The Lotus Formula One team was granted a reprieve Monday in insolvency proceedings brought by Britain's tax authorities as French car maker Renault announced its acquisition bid.

London High Court Judge Colin Birss granted a 10-week adjournment in the case, meaning that the next hearing will be on December 7.

Birss told the court that the most important thing in the case was to allow the business to be successful.

"The best chance of doing that is for this business to be rescued by Renault," the judge said.

HM Revenue & Customs has applied to put the team into administration over unpaid income tax and national insurance bills.

The adjournment in the case was requested by Lotus after an agreement that the tax authorities would be paid Â£2.7 million (3.6 million euros, $4.1 million) this week.

Renault said earlier Monday that it had struck a deal with the Lotus team's current owners Genii Capital marking the manufacturer's "first step towards the project of a Renault Formula 1 team from the 2016 racing season".

Due to their financial problems, Lotus were locked out of paddock hospitality at the Japanese Grand Prix and left waiting for their engines before Sunday's race.



