Group Lotus has appointed Claudio Berro to the new role of director of motorsport for Lotus to spearhead the brand’s return to Formula One and other motorsport events.

Prior to joining Lotus, Berro held the position of operations racing director for the Speedcar Middle-East International Race Series.

Before that, he spent 14 years at Ferrari, Maserati and Fiat where he held positions as F1 team manager, director responsible for all sport activities for Ferrari and Maserati (excluding F1), general manager Maserati Corse and director of Fiat Group’s motorsport activities, before becoming racing operations director for Abarth.

Dany Bahar, Group Lotus CEO, said: “He has a proven track record of not only setting up and managing the motorsport’s divisions within sportscar brands but also winning championships in GT racing and rallying.

"His skills will be very valuable as we look to return Lotus to high level motorsport around the world.”