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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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So, now it really begins. The Spanish Grand Prix is already upon us and the likes of Australia and Malaysia feel like a long time ago. There is a real sense of anticipation ahead of the first real European Grand Prix of the season, a clamour of excitement that is building around this mountainous region north of Barcelona. Here in Spain, we are in more traditional motorsport territory than before and there will be fans a-plenty come this weekend. As we get a little closer to the home of motorsport, everyone can taste that the action is about to get that bit sweeter. All the teams here tested in Barcelona before the season began, and so the circuit has a f…
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Barcelona in numbers 1.1: longest distance in metres on full throttle is 1.1km on the start / finish straight 15.7: the percentage of the lap spent braking 60.8: that's the percentage of the lap spent at full throttle 250: in km/h this is the highest apex at turn 3 3.4: this is the highest g-force the drivers experience in the lap at turn 3 for 3.5 seconds 40: gear changes in a lap of Barcelona 75: in km/h this is the lowest apex speed at turn 10 310: the top speed in km/h This post has been promoted to an article
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“Teams using a simulator won’t have such an advantage here”. The German believes the team’s knowledge of the circuit will only help come Race Day. Seventh place in the race in Istanbul and six points for the team - what did you make of the last race? NH: The race in Istanbul was good, we had good pace and I think generally we’ve got the speed to compete with the teams ahead. If we have stronger qualifying sessions, we’ll definitely give ourselves a good chance each Sunday. This is my main focus now. You tested in Barcelona pre-season and you’ve raced there a number of times down the years. How do you like the Circuit de Cataluña? NH: During testing, we…
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"F1 never stays the same”. Russia’s first F1 podium man describes the team’s progress and looks forward to the start of the European races. You achieved eighth position in Istanbul and scored four more valuable points for the team… VP: Firstly, it is of course very important that we both finished the race - if you achieve that, you will have a lot more data and information on tyres and other technical aspects. It was also good that we both finished reasonably well and took some good points for the team. On the other hand, I was a little disappointed about the incident with Michael (Schumacher) because that cost me some time and points. You are currently…
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After 10 more points in Turkey, Eric discusses the merits of having two drivers battling for position. Both drivers scored points in Istanbul however post-race you said that the team must push harder - what are your feelings after Turkey? It is good to have both cars competing at the same level and scoring points together but obviously when you have chased podiums each time with different drivers you would expect to have a better finish than 7th and 8th. This is why there was maybe an expectation to do a bit better. Nick and Vitaly fought hard for position in Turkey - what is your opinion on the team’s drivers battling it out at a race? My opinion is ver…
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Immediately after the Turkish Grand Prix, Eric Boullier (LRGP Team Principal and Managing Director) flew to Italy to see Robert Kubica. On returning to factory in Enstone, Boullier was optimistic and gave staff some positive news. “Robert has made another step forward in his rehabilitation process and doctors are pleasantly surprised by the way in which his condition is improving”, he said.”Now, it is a matter of time and even if patience isn't Robert's first quality, he is fully aware that rehabilitation could be quite a long process. “We spoke about the latest developments of the car and of the team, and he was also interested to hear more on the detai…
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Group Lotus F1 Spokesman Jean Alesi gives his view on the Turkish Grand Prix Grand Prix.With Heidfeld coming in 7th and Petrov in 8th both Lotus Renault GP drivers finished in the points this weekend, what’s your view on the race? As I’ve said before, I think it’s very clear that the car is really competitive, to have two cars finish in the top ten at this stage of the season is great. I enjoyed the race and I had a little moment of real pride when I was watching the post race coverage on RAI (Italian TV and F1 host broadcaster), they had an exclusive interview with Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey and they asked him what had surprised h…
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When the convoy of LRGP vehicles crossed over the Bosphorus last Wednesday, we were all pondering what may lie in wait at the Istanbul Park Circuit in the days ahead. We were all expecting a stronger performance than in Shanghai three weeks earlier, but perhaps it would be too much to hope for a third podium so early on in the season, or would it? Well yesterday our questions were answered, and whilst we did not witness the spectacular start we had seen at the first two races this season, we did see a healthy, strong team performance. The outcome was a further 10 points next to the Lotus Renault GP name in the Constructors Championship Standings, which gave us all a g…
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What was your verdict on the performance of the team in the Turkish Grand Prix? Satisfied rather than happy is the truthful answer. Satisfied because we did better with our finishing positions than we had managed in qualifying, but satisfied rather than happy because the gap to the guys in front, who won the race, was quite large. Strategically it was a very challenging race; how do you plan for a race like that when you know there's likely to be quite a few stops? The work on Friday reveals to you roughly how the soft and the hard, the prime and the option are going to perform relative to one another and you can calculate from that roughly what sort of a race i…
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In a race packed full of pit stops, LRGP advanced on yesterday’s qualifying positions by finishing in P7 (Nick) and P8 (Vitaly). After scoring another 10 valuable points, Lotus Renault GP remains fourth in the Constructors Championship. • Both Nick and Vitaly adopted a four-stop strategy: soft / hard / hard / hard / soft • Vitaly stopped on laps 8, 19, 34, and 45. Nick stopped on laps 10, 22, 36 and 46. • Nick and Vitaly are now on equal points in the Drivers Championship – 21 points. Vitaly Petrov, P8, R31-04 “It was an interesting race, and strategically it was challenging for all the teams. I think what really affected my position today was the col…
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The paddock arises as the Turkish sun makes its first appearance of the morning. The Istanbul Park Circuit is a picture perfect scene this morning, with the sun glimmering off the motorhome windows, and all the teams’ people pounding the paddock have a noticeable spring in their step – it’s Race Day. Looking at the classification of the top 10 positions after yesterday’s Qualifying, there was a feeling amongst the media fraternity that it was somewhat predictable. Red Bulls at the top, Mercedes beginning to show their true colours, McLaren pushing hard, and the Ferraris and LRGP amongst it. Complacency, however, can be poisonous and with today’s race likely …
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Dawson's Creek star Joshua Jackson joined LRGP in the garage for the Turkish GP Qualifying today where he watched Vitaly and Nick secure P7 and P9 on the grid. The 32-year-old Canadian, who also once featured in the famous sports film The Mighty Ducks , took time out of his holiday to enjoy an afternoon as a guest of the team. "I'm really enjoying the day, and I think I have a great position here watching the action from track level. It's my first time to a Grand Prix, first time to Istanbul and so first time at the Turkish Grand Prix! This post has been promoted to an article
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After a challenging P3 session, LRGP improved throughout Qualifying allowing Vitaly and Nick to finish in P7 and P9 respectively. • P7 and P9 grid positions are on the clean side of the track, which could allow for a strong start tomorrow. • Vitaly Q1: new hard, new soft, Q2: scrubbed hard, new soft, Q3: new soft, new soft. • Nick Q1: new hard, new soft, Q2: new soft, new soft, Q3: new soft Vitaly Petrov, P7, R31-03, 1:26.296 “I’m not fully satisfied with where I qualified today because we’re capable of finishing even higher than seventh on the grid. However, for both of us to secure top 10 positions should be seen as a positive thing and it is good that…
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Eric, you recently took up the position of Vice Chairman for FOTA (Formula One Teams Association), can you explain what the position entails? EB: The position of Vice Chairman involves working very closely with Martin Whitmarsh and to ease his duties within FOTA, and for what he is doing everyday. What are the topics cropping up at the moment, what is on the agenda? EB: Well, there are a lot of different things going on. We are obviously working on a different subject that is the core for FOTA which is the RRA. And we're also working on making a lot of forums for the fans which we did last year and was very successful, so we'll have a couple of them this …
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We’re catching up with Nick after free practice on day 1 at Istanbul. Nick, how did the day go? NH: Not too bad. Obivously, because of the rain this morning, we could not do a lot of useful work. This said, I have been able to use the extreme tyres for the first time. The afternoon was dry, so I did a long run with a high fuel load. Have you been able to learn for the first races? NH: Yes, quite a bit, not just from China but from the first three races because there was a bit more time to investigate and understand.Obviously we found places where we could improve, but on the other side it also seems that we have done some good races, and got some good…
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