Good Times, Bad Times – Mugello Test, Thursday 3Rd May 2012

Lotus F1 Team completed the final day of testing at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello in Italy this afternoon, with Romain Grosjean the fastest driver of the day. His best lap of 1min 21.035secs was also the fastest time of the three day test.

Fast facts:

• Track: Mugello, Italy, 5.25km
  
• Chassis: E20-02
  
• Weather: Cloudy with sunshine, air 14-24°C, track 15-30°C
  
• Programme: Aerodynamic work, setup work, suspension configuration & evaluation, high and medium fuel runs, data collection and correlation
  
• Laps Completed: 66
  
• Classification: 1st, 1:21.035
  
• Interruptions: Red flags – no issues for the team
  
• What’s next? The team heads to the Circuit de Catalunya for the Spanish Grand Prix on May 11-13.
  

Romain Grosjean, Lotus F1 Team Race Driver:

“It was another nice day today so I have been lucky with the weather here. We continued to work on the car and have gained more valuable data. We made a big change to the car at lunchtime and everything went according to plan. Mugello puts high demands on the driver so it’s been a very good experience for me – and quite a workout! We were conducting a specific programme of evaluating components, so to be quick relative to our opposition even when we were not looking specifically to try to top the times is satisfying. I’m happy at the progress we’ve made here in Italy and looking forward to seeing how well this translates into lap time when we get to Barcelona.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director:

“After looking at the data from yesterday, we ran further back-to-back tests on our suspension configurations. Track conditions were better today as a result of yesterday’s running. We stopped early for lunch so that we could change the suspension and be out running straight away in the afternoon session. In the afternoon we also assessed some new floor updates applicable for Barcelona, as well as a rear suspension update fitted late in the day. After the rain on the first day, it’s been a valuable two dry days of testing. Mugello is quite hard on the tyres; not in terms of degradation, but through the high speed loadings generating heat. This has taught us some interesting lessons applicable to the rest of the season. Mugello is also an excellent circuit for doing aerodynamic evaluation, so it has been time well spent here.”