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Lotus in the Peak |
| 28th - 30th June 2024 |
Lotus F1 Team
Lotus F1 Team Racing news and discussion
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We have started already. Yes, that’s right, the wheels have started spinning and Monte Carlo felt a sense of lift-off today as one of the greatest spectacles in the world of sport got underway. Some might say “well this is only the dress rehearsal, I’m only going to tune in on Sunday”. Well, that may be the case to a certain extent – today was, after all, a practice day. But this was a day of trialling new tyres, reminding oneself about the twists and turns of this most unusual of circuits and concentrating 100%. In short, this was a day of absolute concentration. The time allocated to try out this season’s F1 cars here in Monte Carlo is very much of the …
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Nick Heidfeld, R31-04 Free Practice 2: P10, 1:17.126, 38 laps Vitaly Petrov, R31-03 Free Practice 2: P11, 1:17.337, 35 laps LRGP enjoyed a full outing in FP2, with both Nick and Vitaly trialing the soft and supersoft tyres provided by Pirelli this weekend. On his fourth stint on-track, Nick posted a session-best time of 1min 17.126secs on the supersoft tyres. Vitaly managed a time of 1min 17.337secs on the same compound, but had to finish the session before his teammate after an incident where he lost control when he faced some oversteer and understeer problems. LRGP managed to complete the programme it set out to on Day 1 of the 2011 Mon…
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Both LRGP drivers continued their preparations for the Monaco Grand Prix this afternoon, using both prime and option tyre specifications, also working on different fuel levels in order to get an idea of the potential performance for both race and qualifying conditions. “Our target was also to get a lot of track time with Nick and Vitaly”, says Eric Boullier, “In Monaco, the confidence of the driver is worth several tenths. They have to get used to the track, the lines, the rhythm.” The target of the day was also to understand the supersofts Pirellis. Evaluating these tyres was key to the day, as a good grid position is always a priority in Monaco. In the end…
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Vitaly Petrov, R31-03 Free Practice 1: P9, 1:18.733, 16 laps Nick Heidfeld, R31-04 Free Practice 1: P11, 1:18.928, 19 laps In hot conditions (26°C), the first practice session of the 2011 Monaco GP got underway, with Nick and Vitaly both getting out onto the famous street circuit. It was a frenetic session with plenty of action on-track, including a burst water pipe bringing a short halt to proceedings 30 minutes in. Vitaly went out for his installation lap on Pirelli’s soft tyres and, despite reporting understeer and poor traction, posted a session-best time of 1min 18.733secs, leaving him in P9 having completed 16 laps. Nick, meanwhil…
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At the Official Monaco GP Driver FIA Press Conference yesterday afternoon, Nick shared his thoughts on the race, and what he believed the key elements would be over the coming days. Nick, second here in 2005. Renault reckon they are historically good here. What are your thoughts about this race coming up? NH: I am definitely looking forward to it. Renault has been strong here the last couple of years. Robert (Kubica) did a strong job here last year qualifying second and finishing on the podium. Obviously, it is going to be the first time for me with this car here. It seems that our car performs strong over a bumpy surface, which we always have here in Monac…
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After mixed fortunes in Barcelona, Eric looks ahead to Monaco – a race that traditionally fares Enstone teams well. It was a race of contrasting fortunes in Spain, what are your emotions following such a mixed result? EB: On the one hand it was frustrating. Vitaly qualified sixth on the grid, could have been even quicker on his qualifying lap on Saturday and then during the race he dropped some places today, so we had greater expectations with his car. On the other hand, we are pleased for Nick who started the race at the back of the grid and came all the way up to 8th before crossing the line, so that was positive. On top of that, he was fast chasing both …
Last reply by Mark H, -
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LRGP blasted from the back of the grid to a points finish as Nick took advantage of his stash of fresh tyres and a polished performance to finish eighth today. • Nick had more fresh tyres than his rivals after missing qualifying yesterday. • Nick started on new hard tyres, taking on fresh sets of softs on laps 21, 36 and 50. • Vitaly started on scrubbed soft tyres, changing to scrubbed softs on laps 11 and 26, then to new prime on lap 41. • Nick set his fastest time, 1:26.958, using soft tyres on lap 61. It was the third fastest of the race; • Vitaly set his best time, 1:29.592, on lap 35 using soft tyres. Vitaly Petrov, P11, R31-03 “I am natur…
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And so here it is. The LRGP convoy's arrival into the Principality of Monaco last night held a certain significance. We were not just arriving at another Grand Prix, we were arriving at the Grand Prix. There may well be other contenders for those races that like to consider themselves the Grand Prix. The British GP at Silverstone, the home of motorsport. The name of Spa-Francorchamps is synonymous with any competition on four wheels. Singapore even, as a new contender for most memorable race because it takes place at night. However, there is nowhere quite like Monaco for wow factor. This time yesterday, we were still in Barcelona chewing over what was a m…
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What have you learnt from the race today? VP: “We learnt even more about tyre degradation, and it’s clear that we need more new, fresh tyres because they wear very quickly. To start on the grid in P6 and finish 11th is not what I’d hoped for, but we must now start looking at improving for Monaco which is only a few days away. We’ve had a chance to analyse some aspects of the race already and we will come into Monaco with a stronger performance. How was the reception from the Spanish fans this weekend? VP: “It was great actually. I did the Driver Parade earlier and they were all clapping and cheering me, so I was really pleased about that. Looking ahe…
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How does racing here this weekend compare to the visit you made a few months ago for testing? NH: Well, the main thing is we know the car and the tyres better, but of course the conditions are a lot hotter this time around, so that has an effect on the tyres. Pre-season it was much cooler so we had bigger engine power and more downforce, and we were a bit quicker than we are now. However, generally, the car is stronger now and this should help us today. Yesterday was challenging, ‘one of those days’ if you like – how far can you move up the ranks today? NH: I’m actually looking forward to the race quite a lot because I have to and I will do quite a lot of overtaki…
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You set some fast times today, and finished strongly in Q3? VP: Yes, I think we have to be proud of our performance and the result we managed today, especially because yesterday it was difficult with the KERS issues in P1 and P2. We did not manage top ten then but we improved today and I managed to get P6 on tomorrow’s grid. I could have got an even higher position but I had a poor second section. Still, I’m pleased going into tomorrow’s race. How did the car feel to drive today? VP: I enjoyed driving today and the balance felt very good, which was important. I didn’t sense any issues of understeer or oversteer and generally I’m very happy with how it dro…
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Nick Heidfeld, R31-04 Free Practice 3: P23, 1:29.200, 6 laps Qualifying: No time set Vitaly Petrov, R31-03 Free Practice 3: P8, 1:24.043, 18 laps Qualifying: P6, 1.22.471, 14 laps An action-packed Spanish qualifying session amid hot conditions at the Circuit de Cataluña resulted in Vitaly securing P6 on tomorrow’s grid. With just over two minutes remaining of Q3, Vitaly came out onto the track to secure a time of 1min 22.471 seconds. The Russian finished ahead of both Mercedes cars and Felipe Massa to claim the position and put him in contention at the top end for tomorrow’s race. Nick, meanwhile, was unfortunate in not being able to com…
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Nick Heidfeld, R31-04 P10, 1:24.366, 31 laps Vitaly Petrov, R31-03 P12, 1:24.786, 43 laps During a session full of activity, both cars managed to clock up some laps on both Pirelli’s new hard tyres and the softs. At the end of the 90 minutes, Nick finished up 10th fastest with a 1min 24.366secs lap, two places ahead of team mate Vitaly, whose best lap was timed at 1min 24.786secs. Nick, continuing with chassis R31 04 drove the car for 31 laps, obtaining some important data from runs with both tyres. Vitaly, meanwhile managed to drive 43 laps in chassis R31 03. Work on both high and low fuel loads and an understanding of the tyres was the focu…
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Nick Heidfeld, R31-04 P8, 1:27.132, 21 laps Vitaly Petrov, R31-03 P11, 1:27.241, 22 laps Nick Heidfeld led the way for the Lotus Renault GP Team in first practice for the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona this morning. Using chassis R31 04, Nick set the eighth fastest time after 21 laps in glorious weather of sunshine and blue skies. His 1min 27.132secs lap was just over a tenth faster than Vitaly’s 1min 27.241secs, with the Russian - using the R31 03 chassis - completing one more lap than Nick. Vitaly ended up with the eleventh fastest time. Both drivers, who used only the Pirelli hard tyres during the 90-minute…
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The time is nigh. Practice is finally getting underway here in the Catalan hills, and the motorsport race is bracing itself for a feast of adrenaline-fuelled action over the next three days. In the spirit of previous blogs here at the home of Lotus Renault GP, it would be disappointing not to talk about the weather. So, I will. Cloudless skies. That’s right – cloudless skies, and the scene is set for an action-packed weekend, which begins today with the two practice sessions, a third session tomorrow followed by the crucial qualifying session. Come Sunday, of course, it will be race time. All the talk is on the tyres, and how very different the conditions are…
Last reply by Mark H,