Group Lotus has teamed up with Renault for next year's Formula One championship, creating further uncertainty over the use of the famous name.

Lotus reappeared in F1 in 2010 after a 16-year absence with Group Lotus leasing the name to Tony Fernandes' Lotus Racing, but Renault said Wednesday that the new seven-season agreement to create Lotus Renault GP "marks the complete return of the Lotus manufacturer to the sport."

"We're well aware that there has been a lot of controversy around the usage of our brand in F1 and I'm delighted to be able to formally clarify our position once and for all," Group Lotus Chief Executive Dany Bahar said. "We are Lotus and we are back."

Renault, which finished fifth in the 2010 constructors' championship with Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov on board, will race in the traditional black-and-gold Lotus livery until the end of the 2017 season.

But Fernandes, the Malaysian businessman who runs the AirAsia airline and tried to buy English Premier League football club West Ham this year, plans to rebrand as Team Lotus for next season and is pursuing a case through London's High Court to keep the right to use the name.

Fernandes responded to the new agreement on Twitter: "Never felt better about our future and Team Lotus. Looks like (they're) trying to hijak our black and gold idea."

Lotus Racing failed to score a point in 2010.