Weather Dry, overcast

Min/max air temperature: 23°/23°

Min/max track temperature: 27°/28°

Positions/fastest laps

FP3

KOV 18th, 1.17.093 (lap 18) / TRU 19th, 1.17.523 (lap 22)

QUALIFYING

Q1

TRU 19th, 1.16.745 (lap 11) / KOV 20th,  1.16.786 (lap 4)

Total laps

FP3

KOV: 21 / TRU: 24

QUALIFYING

Q1

TRU: 12 / KOV: 10

Runplan

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-01

FP3

1000 - 1003: Installation, 1 lap

1003 - 1014: System checks

1014 - 1027: Run 2, 8 laps

1027 - 1033: Adjustment - brake blanking

1033 - 1045: Run 3, 8 laps

1045 - 1050: Adjustment - brake balance

1050 - 1100: Run 4, 7 laps

QualifyingQ1 (all runs on option tyres)

1301 - 1308: Run 1, 6 laps

1308 - 1311: Refuel

1311 - 1322: Run 2, 6 laps

Finished 19th

Runplan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-04

FP3

0959 - 1002: Installation, 1 lap

1002 - 1012: System checks

1012 - 1026: Run 2, 9 laps

1026 - 1031: Adjustments - brake blanking

1031 - 1038: Run 3, 4 laps

1038 - 1046 Adjustment - brake balance

1046 - 1100: Run 4, 7 laps

QualifyingQ1 (option tyres)

1302 - 1309: Run 1, 5 laps

1309 - 1312: Refuel

1312 - 1321: Run 2, 5 laps

Finished 10th

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "I'm pleased with the performance today. It was very windy out there, and a lot cooler than yesterday which maybe affected our ability to get the most out of the tyres, but I think I got as much out of the car as I could on the final lap in qualifying. The gap to the guys ahead keeps coming down and I think with the rain tomorrow it's going to be an eventful race, and hopefully we'll be in a position to take advantage of whatever happens."

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "A pretty good session for me today. The car felt fine and the strategy worked out as we wanted it to so I think we did what we set out to. Little by little we keep on improving and I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow - it's going to be eventful and I think what we've shown all season is that we can fight with the guys ahead, so let's see what happens."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We can be pleased with the performance today but it was more difficult than yesterday to extract the maximum pace from the car. I think we have some more work to do to get the most out of it but as there is only a small gap to the teams ahead and we have had good speed in the races all season I think that is encouraging for tomorrow."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a good qualifying session for us and overall it has been a very solid weekend so far for the whole team. Both drivers drove well in qualifying - Jarno struggled a bit with the brakes and Heikki couldn't improve on his second set of tyres as he reported that they had lower grip levels than the first, but we finished the session with a small gap to the cars ahead and I think we will have a good race tomorrow."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am very happy with today. From my perspective that was the best qualifying of my short career in Formula 1 because we showed that we did not have to rely on other teams making mistakes or using different tyre strategies to finish the session with a very small gap to making it into Q2 on merit. That is a clear sign that the hard work being put in across the team is paying dividends as we are genuinely edging ever closer to the midfield."

Team Lotus Information

Year LG was first established: 1958

Number of customers Dell connects with every day: 5.4 million

EQ8 cans filled each minute in production: 1,000

Weather  Dry, sunny

Min / max air temperature: 16˚ / 22˚

Min / max track temperature: 25˚ / 43˚

Fastest laps / positions

FP1

TRU 18th, 1.19.279 / KOV 19th, 1.19.422

FP2

TRU 16th 1.18.470 / KOV 17th, 1.18.482

Total laps

FP1

TRU: 29 / KOV: 30

FP2

TRU: 33 / KOV: 38

Runplan

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-01

FP1

1001 - 1003: Installation, 1 lap

1003 - 1005: Change nosecone

1005 - 1007: Installation 2, 1 lap

1007 - 1037: System checks / front wing flap adjustment

1037 - 1053: Run 3, 10 laps

1053 - 1102: Adjustments - brake blanking

1102 - 1114: Run 4, 8 laps

1114 - 1120: Adjustments - brake blanking 1120 - 1132: Run 5, 9 laps

FP2

Adjustments: front / rear ride height, front wing

1359 - 1415: Run 1, 9 laps

1415 - 1422: Adjustments - rear ride height

1422 - 1432: Run 2, 6 laps

1432 - 1446: Adjustments - front wing flap

1446 - 1458: Run 3, 8 laps (red flag)

1458 - 1515: Adjustments - front wing flap

1515 - 1532: Run 4, 8 laps

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-04

FP1

0959 - 1001: Installation, 1 lap

1001 - 1004: Change nosecone

1004 - 1006: Installation 2, 1 lap

1006 - 1033: System checks

1033 - 1047: Run 3, 9 laps

1047 - 1052: Adjustments - front wing flap

1052 - 1053: Run 4, 1 lap (red flag)

1053 - 1100: Red flag

1100 - 1113: Run 5, 9 laps

1113 - 1118: Adjustments - brake balance

1118 - 1131: Run 6, 9 laps

FP2

Adjustments: Brake balance, front camber, rear wing flap angle

1359 - 1414: Run 1, 10 laps

1414 - 1421: Adjustments - brake balance

1421 - 1436: Run 2, 9 laps

1436 - 1448: Adjustments - rear wing

1448 - 1459: Run 3, 7 laps (red flag)

1458 - 1515: Adjustments - rear ride height

1515 - 1532: Run 4, 12 laps

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "That was a good Friday for us. We ran well all day with no problems, got through the tyre evaluation programme and put good mileage on both the compounds. The grip level this morning was as dusty as we expected it to be and then it improved throughout the day, but with wet weather coming I think it will be harder work for everyone over the rest of the weekend."

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "Overall I'm pretty satisified but it was a bit of a strange day. In the early runs this morning it felt like one of the hardest Fridays I've had this year in terms of the balance and overall performance of the car, but as we kept putting more laps in we made some good improvements with the brakes and the setup and I think we pretty much got what we wanted out of it by the end of P2."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "Another good Friday for us. We generated a lot of data from the mileage we ran, particularly on maximising performance on the very long straight here, and both drivers have given us good feedback about the maps we worked on so we have definitely achieved what we set out to today."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A very useful day for the team and good preparation for the weekend ahead. Both drivers completed their full programmes and we ran all day with no mechanical issues on either car. This morning we ran on the development tyres and both the primes and the options in the afternoon and were pleased with how well all the compounds behaved. We have definitely made some progress on the setup, particularly on Heikki's car, so that goes down as a good day."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Today's performance in both sessions is a good way to mark my first visit to Canada. We have obviously made good strides on the reliability of the cars and that sets us up well for the whole weekend which is key to our development on track, so I am very pleased with how today has gone. Off track we have also had a very good lead up to the Canadian race by completing a number of very exciting deals for both Team Lotus and AirAsia. We will unveil everything we have been working on in due course and when we do I am confident that it will serve as proof positive of how successfully we are growing both the F1 team and the airline."

Qualify Result

P1 HAM 1:15.105 Q3

P2 WEB 1:15.373 Q3

P3 VET 1:15.420 Q3

TL best P19 KOV 1:18.237 Q1

Race Result

P1 HAM 1:17.806 L62

P2 VET 1:18.144 L66

P3 KUB 1:18.207 L44

TL best P16 KOV 1:20.654 L65

Quick description

Very high brake energy track therefore critical on brake wear and cooling

Asphalt very smooth and very low grip damaging tyres

Longitudinal track with several traction events

Braking stability is critical due to bumps T8 & T10

Good ride over kerbs and top speed are important for lap time

Track was partly re-surfaced in 2010 (mainly apexes) but no major difference confirmed from 2008

Typical balance issue

Braking and traction are the main issues

Overall grip is poor during the whole weekend

Gears ratio (1st gear/others): 1st gear used in T2 and T10

Circuit particularity

Bumpiness: Very bumpy

Overtaking chance: T10

Kerbs: Medium / high

Track grip evo during WE: Low

Engine severity: Medium

GBX severity: Very high

Lat/Long grip: Longitudinal

RH setting particularity: None

Aero settings: Medium / low

Brake wear severity: Very high

Brake cooling necessity: High

Pirelli tyre compounds in Canada: Soft (Prime) / Super Soft (Option)

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "Monaco was really busy but the final result was great for the whole team. I enjoyed myself on track and I think the performances we've put in there and in Spain show that we are progressing in exactly the right direction. Since then I've taken some time off before heading to Canada which has always been a bit of a strange one for me. I love Canada and especially Montreal - the track itself is great, a real challenge, the people are very welcoming and the city is that cool mix of Europe and North America, but the race itself has always been a tough one for me! I don't know if it's a luck thing but while I've had strong races there in the past I've always suffered with luck. Last year was a DNF so I really want that to change this year.

"As it's a temporary circuit the first challenge is dealing with the track surface. It improves throughout the weekend but with the constant threat of the walls it's critical not to make any mistakes and experience usually counts around there. It's a very quick lap and one of the toughest tracks of the season on the brakes, so cooling and stability under braking both play a big role, particularly in the race. It'll be interesting to see how the tyre strategies play out over the weekend and I think it'll be another great race, hopefully for us as well!"

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "Canada is one of the highlights of the whole season and I know everyone in the team is looking forward to getting out there. It's obviously not the same intensity as Monaco when you're away from the track, but the whole city buzzes when we're in town and they get behind the whole event right across the city so there's an amazing atmosphere wherever you go. The crowd are also very knowledgeable and you can see what it means to them when the race takes place in their back yard as it's packed from Thursday right through to Sunday.

"On track it's a good challenge. It's hard on the brakes and you need to be really precise in the braking zones to nail a quick lap. Another key is to use the kerbs as much as you can and as efficiently as possible - you can make up good time if you have a car that's set up to ride them well so that will be one of the key goals for the practice sessions. On the car I think we'll be looking to repeat the performance we showed in Spain. Monaco was an odd race for me - I couldn't get the best out of the tyres and even though there was more to come from the car we just couldn't hook it all up in the race. However, now we have so much more data on the car we can get much closer to maximising its potential and Canada's a good place to do our best to achieve that."

Mike Gascoyne: "Montreal is one of the races that is universally popular up and down the pitlane. The city welcomes us with open arms, the track is a great challenge for the cars, the drivers and the whole team and the fans create the sort of atmosphere that proves they love having us in town. On track the aim is to put in another performance that continues the progress we've shown all year. Different tracks may reduce or increase the gap to the cars ahead, but the facts are clear - we have been into Q2, we can race cars ahead on pace and we are now lapping the teams we were racing last year. Canada gives us another chance to keep moving forward and we have a new low downforce package for Montreal that we have seen some good numbers on in the wind tunnel, so I think the progress should continue."

Tony Fernandes: "Monaco was obviously a very important weekend for both Team Lotus on and off track, and Team AirAsia who came of age on Friday. This will be my first trip to Canada and I am looking forward to going to what I am told is one of the best races of the season. Off track we have some more good news to unveil and on track we will have another chance to see how much more we have learnt about the car. Monaco was not the best environment for us to make significant steps forward with the new package, but having had such good reliability recently we have a lot of data that will help us put in another good performance in Montreal. With all that in mind we will all head there in a very positive frame of mind."

Total number of @myteamlotus tweets (@ 1600 on Monaco race day):

5,718 Typical speed of an F1 car through the Loews Hairpin: 47 kph

Number of stacked Ruroc pitcrew helmets equivalent to the height of

The Eiffel Tower: 1350

Weather Dry, sunny

Max air temperature: 22˚

Min / max track temperature: 42˚

Fastest laps

KOV 1.20.678 (lap 54) / TRU 1.21.277 (lap 66)

Runplan

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03

1330: Car leaves for grid / 1 lap

1345: Pitlane closes

1359: Fire up

1401: Lights out - start on option tyres

Lap 24: Pitstop 1 - option tyres

Lap 46: Pitstop 2 - prime tyres

Finished: 13th

Runplan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-04

1330: Car leaves for grid / 1 lap

1345: Pitlane closes

1359: Fire up

1401: Lights out - start on option tyres

Lap 19: Pitstop 1 - prime tyres

Lap 52: Pitstop 2 - prime tyres

Finished: 14th

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "That was a great result for the team, the best of the season so we're all pleased with that. I had another great start - I wish I had made starts like that in previous seasons as I think I would have won several races with starts like that. After that I was holding position and keeping up with the cars ahead but the safety car hit our race strategy hard.

The gap we had was wasted behind slower cars and even though I passed D'Ambrosio the second safety car pretty much defined the rest of the race."

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "Finishing 13th and 14th is a very good team result, but that was a bit of an average race for me. I lost a position at the start and that was pretty much the end of my race. The first stint was pretty difficult and on the second stint I couldn't really find a rhythm as I kept having to let cars past. After the second stop I was able to start pushing but by then I couldn't really do much. Having said that, it's been a good weekend overall and we'll keep fighting in two weeks time in Montreal."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "I think that is a very good result for us, the best finish of the year for both cars.

The car setup and strategy was good for both drivers and we are very satisfied with what we have achieved this weekend."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A strong result for the team and it was good to get both cars over the finish line. Both drivers drove very strong races and we gave them a chance to fight with a two stop strategy, starting both cars on options. We switched Heikki to the prime for the last two stints because he had higher degradation but kept Jarno on the options until the second pitstop and even thought they were held up by slower cars we are very pleased with 13th and 14th."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I watched the race from Bali and that capped off an incredible week for us. This time last year neither car finished the race but today both cars crossed the line in 13th and 14th places. Our pace was good but most importantly both cars finished the race, we brought the Team Lotus brand home and we won the first of the GP2 races in Monaco. That constitutes a very good weeks work at the office. Now we go to Montreal and as we keep moving forwards to the rest of our history, our heritage and our destiny with Caterham. Thank you all for one hell of a ride."

Min / max air temperature: 24˚ / 25˚

Min / max track temperature: 34˚ / 40˚

Fastest laps / positions

FP3

KOV 18th, 1.18.115 (lap 14) / TRU 21st, 1.19.259 (lap 17)

QUALIFYING

Q1

KOV 18th, 1.17.343 (lap 8) / TRU 19th, 1.17.381 (lap 8)

Total laps FP3

KOV: 20 / TRU: 19

QUALIFYING

Q1

KOV: 10 / TRU: 9

Runplan

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03

FP3

1100 - 1102: Installation, 1 lap (prime tyres)

1102 - 1119: System checks / session red flagged

1119 - 1137: Run 2, 10 laps (prime tyres)

1137 - 1149: Adjustment - front wing flap

1149 - 1155: Run 3, 4 laps (option tyres)

1155 - 1157: Session red flagged / Adjustment - front wing flap

1157 - 1204: Run 4, 4 laps (option tyres)

Qualifying

Q1 (all runs on option tyres)

1404 - 1410: Run 1, 4 laps

1410 - 1415: Refuel

1415 - 1422: Run 2, 5 laps

Finished 19th

Runplan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-04

FP3

1100 - 1102: Installation, 1 lap (prime tyres)

1102 - 1122: System checks / session red flagged

1122 - 1137: Run 2, 11 laps (prime tyres)

1137 - 1149: Adjustments - front wing flap

1149 - 1155: Run 3, 4 laps (option tyres)

1155 - 1157: Session red flagged / Adjustment - front wing flap

1157 - 1205: Run 4, 4 laps (option tyres)

Qualifying

Q1 (option tyres)

1403 - 1411: Run 1, 5 laps

1411 - 1415: Refuel / Adjustment - front wing flap

1415 - 1422: Run 2, 5 laps

Finished 18th

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "Before I talk about the sessions today I want to say that it's good to hear that Sergio is conscious and talking. I've had a big accident myself and know what it's like for the team, friends and family as you wait for news, so I hope he's back on track soon.

"In quali it was quite a tricky session for me today, but I'm reasonably pleased with where I ended up. My first run didn't really go to plan - I definitely didn't get the best out of the tyres so I had to really go for it with the second set and that was definitely better, but not quite enough to get into Q2. But the gap to the cars ahead is pretty close and I think we'll be ok tomorrow."

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "That was a bit unlucky for us. The car's not been responding as I'd like all day and the tyres were behaving strangely - the first set was mega and the second set were really poor, so I'm not too sure where we're going wrong. I know I could have gone much quicker on the second run with more rubber on the track but for some reason I was only marginally faster which is why we ended up where we did. Tomorrow in the race we'll keep our heads down, run to our plan and see what happens around us. I'm sure there will be places to pick up so let's wait and see. I also want to say that I hope Sergio is ok. That was a massive shunt and I hope we have more good news about him soon."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "During FP3 we worked more on the driveability of the engine which is the most important aspect of engine behaviour here. We had good feedback from the drivers who were both happy, especially in the slow speed corners where the engine is reacting in a good way but unfortunately in qualifying we were not able to get into Q2, but were pretty close. Both cars were very close to each other so we have clearly found a good, consistent setup, but I think we struggled a bit with the tyres and that is what has stopped us pushing into Q2 today. I also want to echo what the whole team has said about Sergio - I hope he's ok and recovers soon."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "Firstly we obviously hope that Sergio Perez is in good shape following his accident. Our best wishes are with him and the whole Sauber team. For us that was a reasonably good qualifyign session. Jarno was reporting more grip than in the morning but he couldn't get the most out of his second set of tyres, but overall we are close to the group in front and we look forward to a strong race tomorrow."

Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "To begin with I want to say that I hope Sergio Perez recovers quickly. He had a big accident and the early news is that he's taken a knock but is ok so that's encouraging.

"On track I think we knew we would probably struggle to get into Q2 here as the performance difference between the tyre compounds doesn't give us the same chance we had in Spain to play with the strategies. Despite that we have had a good, reliable weekend so far and the aim is definitely to have both cars cross the finish line tomorrow. We have obviously had a couple of pieces of good news so far this weekend so perhaps tomorrow will bring us something else to cheer."

- The Judge ruled that Team Lotus owns the separate goodwill in the "Team Lotus" name and roundel and we cannot be prevented by Group Lotus from using either of them in relation to Formula 1 racing. This was their headline argument in this case and the primary objective of Group Lotus was to stop us racing under the Team Lotus name. On this point they have lost.

- Until 1985 Group Lotus and Team Lotus had their own separate pools of goodwill in respect of the two separate businesses - the road car operation as one entity and the Formula 1 team as another. The claim by Group Lotus to have always owned the goodwill in Team Lotus failed.

- Having clearly established that there were two separate pools of goodwill the judgement also establishes that the goodwill in the Team Lotus name and roundel has continued and still survives - it has not been eliminated by non-use. The claim by Group Lotus on that point has failed.

- It has also been established that there is no confusing similarity between Team Lotus and Lotus. As there is independent goodwill in the mark Team Lotus it is not confusingly similar to Lotus. Group Lotus cannot stop Team Lotus racing under the name we own, so again, Group Lotus has failed in their main cause of action.

- Although goodwill in the "Team Lotus" name and mark subsists, our trade marks for the Team Lotus name and roundel have been revoked for non use between 2003 and 2008. This however has no impact upon our ability to continue to use the "Team Lotus" trade marks, and indeed to re-register them.

- The only point that Group Lotus won on, and could therefore claim any sort of victory, was the point that the Judge himself referred to in paragraph three of his judgment as "less important". The Judge found in their favour that Team Lotus had breached the licence agreement by producing merchandising without pre-approval and that Group Lotus was therefore entitled to terminate. This has no bearing whatsoever on the key question as to whether Team Lotus is allowed to continue to race under the Team Lotus name.

Team Principal Tony Fernandes gave his comments on behalf of his fellow shareholders Kamarudin Meranun, SM Nasarudin and the 250 strong workforce based in Malaysia and Hingham, UK: "We are all pleased that it has been clarified that we are the rightful owners of Team Lotus. We have always been confident that the factual evidence we presented would lead to this decision and today's judgment confirms that belief. We are of course disappointed about the decision that Group Lotus was entitled to end the our licence agreement in 2010. We entered into that contract on the basis that we were beginning a long-term partnership with Group Lotus but unfortunately they then used technical breaches of the merchandising pre-notification process to bring the licence and our partnership to an end. However, my fellow shareholders and I are firm believers that when one door closes another door opens. In the early days of our agreement we realised its termination was inevitable and as events have unfolded the end of the licence has proved positive for us, with many new avenues being opened up as a result.

"We wanted to develop a long-term relationship with Group Lotus and help them sell more cars around the world but that door closed and now we are delighted that we can turn our attention to ensuring success for Caterham Cars on the road and Team Lotus on track. These are two very exciting brands and their future development, bringing these two iconic brands together under the Caterham Team Lotus umbrella, will see us introduce new Caterham cars and a range of new Team Lotus brands into the global marketplace. Now our main aim is to build on the solid foundations that has made Caterham Cars the model for how to run a profitable contemporary car company and add more history to the incredible story of Team Lotus over the coming months and years and with the people, spirit, passion and determination we have in both businesses we know that marks the next stage in our incredible story."

AirAsia's Big Sale - Number of hours in which AirAsia sold more flights than entire first year of operations (650,000): 24

Number of EQ8 cans laid end to end to cover length of entire Monaco Circuit: 66,800

Year of Jarno Trulli's Monaco Grand Prix race win: 2004

Weather

Dry, sunny

Min / max air temperature: 24˚ / 28˚

Min / max track temperature: 34˚ / 44˚

Fastest laps / positions

FP1

KOV 17th, 1.20.083 (lap 16) / TRU 18th, 1.21.116 (lap 14)

FP2

KOV 18th, 1.18.266 (lap 33) / TRU 19th 1.18.490 (lap 19)

Total laps

FP1

KOV: 23 / TRU: 27

FP2

KOV: 50 / TRU: 38

Runplan

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03

FP1 (all runs on prime tyres)

0959 - 1004: Installation, 2 laps

1004 - 1039: System checks

1039 - 1049: Run 2, 7 laps (red flag)

1049 - 1054: Adjustments - brake blanking

1054 - 1105: Run 3, 6 laps

1105 - 1115: Adjustments - front torsion bar

1115 - 1134: Run 4, 12 laps

FP2

Adjustments: front ride height, front & rear toe, rear wing, rear brake blanking

1401 - 1412: Run 1, 8 laps (prime tyres)

1412 - 1432: Adjustments - rear ride height, front anti-roll bar, front wing flap

1432 - 1444: Run 2, 8 laps (prime tyres)

1444 - 1452: Adjustments - front wing flap

1452 - 1503: Run 3, 7 laps (option tyres)

1503 - 1511: Adjustments - front wing flap

1511 - 1533: Run 4, 15 laps (option tyres)

Runplan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-04

FP1 (all runs on prime tyres)

0959 - 1004: Installation, 1 lap

1004 - 1040: System checks

1040 - 1049: Run 2, 6 laps (red flag)

1049 - 1054: Adjustments - rear brake blanking

1054 - 1109: Run 3, 10 laps

1109 - 1123: Adjustments - front ride-height, brake balance

1123 - 1133: Run 4, 6 laps

FP2

Adjustments: front and rear wings, brake balance

1400 - 1414: Run 1, 10 laps (prime tyres)

1414 - 1421: Adjustments - front wing flap, front anti-roll bar

1421 - 1443: Run 2, 15 laps (prime tyres)

1443 - 1448: Adjustments - rear wing

1448 - 1502: Run 3, 9 laps (option tyres)

1502 - 1509: Adjustments - front wing flap

1509 - 1533: Run 4, 16 laps (option tyres)

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "That was good. We've got a good deal of data from both sessions and we can use that to put us in a better position tomorrow. I had a few issues with traffic during the performance run which means there is definitely more pace to come tomorrow so all in all this was a good day. We've also run reliably in both sessions and that's what we need to give us the best chance of fighting in quali so I think it'll be a very interesting Saturday afternoon."

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "Not too bad at all. We completed the whole programme, worked a bit on fine tuning the balance and I think with some more work tonight there's a bit more to come. The degradation levels on both tyres was better than many people were expecting and I think both the primes and the options will give us some interesting strategy options to play with."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "This was a good day. We have put a lot of miles on the cars and with the unique nature of this track we can have driveability problems so it's important to set up the engine to give the drivers something they are happy with. The feedback we have had so far looks like we have found a good setup so I think we are set for a good P3 and qualifying."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A very useful first day of running with no mechanical issues with either car. The track had its normal issues with dirt and traffic but overall we're very happy. Tyre degradation looks to be much lower than expected and we have accumulated a lot of data that will be good for the race. In performance terms we are really quite close to the cars in front and with the improvements we expect to see on Saturday I think this has been another good day for the team."

Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "That sort of performance is very encouraging. It is good to see that we have we had another day without reliability problems and today everything went how we wanted it to. Finishing around half a second from the guys ahead gives us something to fight for in qualifying and I think the experience we have in both cars, and throughout the team, should give us a good chance of having another good day on Saturday."

P1 WEB 1:13.826 Q3

P2 KUB 1:14.120 Q3

P3 VET 1:14.227 Q3

TL best P18 KOV 1:17.94 Q1

2010 Race Result

P1 WEB 1:15.318 L63

P2 VET 1:15.192 L71

P3 KUB 1:15.353 L72

TL best P15 TRU 1:19.340 L69

Quick description

Needs high brake cooling to avoid caliper overheat but brake wear is not an issue

Bumps and kerbs are not major issues after 2009 resurfacing work

Max downforce needed compared to better efficiency aero package

Very low grip especially on Thursday P1 and track improving a lot between sessions

All setup changes between sessions are usually shadowed by track improvement

Highest percentage of low speed of all circuits with the slowest corner @ T6

First gear is used 35% of time a lap and better to have a longer one for driveability

Partly resurfaced in 2010

Typical balance issue: Traction and lack of overall grip are usually the main issues

Gears ratio (1st gear/others): 1st gear used often on track

Circuit particularity

Bumpiness: Medium

Overtaking chance: Low

Kerbs: Low / medium

RH setting particularity: Slightly higher than normal tracks

Sensitivities

Engine severity: Very low

GBX severity: Very high

Lat/Long grip: Longitudinal

Aero eff ratio: Very low

Track and base set-up

Track grip evo during WE: Very high

Aero settings: Very high (Max)

Brake wear severity: Medium high

Brake cooling necessity: Very high

Pirelli tyre compounds in Monaco: Soft (Prime) / Super Soft (Option)

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "Monaco is a unique race and one that is challenging, slightly chaotic and a bit mad, for the drivers and all the teams. Everywhere you move there are people who want to come up and say hi, and that's great but after almost a week it adds to the pressure, but we all just get on with it as it's the same for everyone. I'm very proud to have won here and count myself so lucky that I can say I'm a Monaco winner. I remember when I won it was so busy - I went to the dinner with the Prince that night and that was special, but the minutes and hours straight after the race were almost more intense than the race itself! However, I don't really like looking back. It'll be great for my kids in the future to know their Dad can say he won Monaco, but for me I want to keep looking ahead.

"I think this year the race will be fascinating. We've already seen how much the tyres are influencing the qualifying and race strategies, and here that could be even more true. We're on the super softs and the softs here so I don't think there will quite the same difference in lap times as there was in Spain. Obviously in Monaco aero performance is less important but I think strategy will play a critical role and we have some very good guys looking after that so I think we'll be ok."

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "Straight after Barcelona we go to Monaco where we take on one of the most fascinating challenges of the season. You obviously need a good car but you don't necessarily need the peak performance that you have to have at some of the other circuits, as the demands on aero are lessened by the nature of the track. As it's a temporary street circuit it's very dirty at the start of the race weekend and experience plays a massive part in how well you perform whenever you're in the car. I've always felt very comfortable in Monaco and as the performance difference between the cars is always less around here I hope we can use our experience to take the fight to the guys ahead. There has been some talk about the use of DRS there and even though it's only at certain parts of the track I'll definitely be using it whenever I'm on full throttle, and I think that's true for the whole grid. As we don't have KERS it's important we use whatever we can to keep fighting so there's no question of not using it. I'm very comfortable with DRS and I don't think it'll be a distraction at all. We'll just get on with it."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Unfortunately I won't be in Monaco this year but I will be watching every second from Malaysia and will be supporting the whole team as much as I can from several thousand miles away! Monaco is obviously a special place for Team Lotus. The Principality has been the scene of many of the moments that makes Team Lotus such an iconic name in the sporting world and it's very pleasing that in our team's 2011 guise we go back there after another positive weekend in the previous race. I was so pleased with the whole team's performance in Spain and even though we didn't record the race finish that perhaps we would have wanted to, we showed that our measured progress is bringing rewards, this time in the shape of Q2 on strategy and pace. I think that Monaco could be another race where we can use the tyres quite aggressively in qualifying and the race, use strategy to give the teams ahead another reason to look over their shoulders and keep on learning, and that is the keys to our long-term success. Use all the assets at our disposal as intelligently as we can, set realistic targets and then go out and achieve them. Monaco is another chance for us to do just that and I hope it is another great weekend for the whole team."

Dry, sunny

Min / max air temperature: 17˚ / 27˚

Min / max track temperature: 24˚ / 41˚

Fastest laps

KOV 1.30.618 (lap 34) / TRU 1.30.783 (lap 34)

Runplan

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03

0900: Car cover off

1000: Race programme and strategy briefing

1025: First engine fire up / shift check / complete systems check

1200: Race briefing

1330: Pitlane open

1330: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps (1 through pitlane)

1345: Pitlane closes

1359: Fire up

1401: Lights out - start on option tyres

Lap 16: Pitstop 1 - option tyres

Lap 30: Pitstop 2 - option tyres

Lap 45: Pitstop 3 - prime tyres

Finished: 18th

Runplan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-04

0900: Car cover off

1000: Race programme and strategy briefing

1037: First engine fire up / shift check / complete systems check

1200: Race briefing

1330: Pitlane open

1330: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps (1 through pitlane)

1345: Pitlane closes

1359: Fire up

1401: Lights out - start on option tyres

Lap 17: Pitstop 1 - option tyres

Lap 29: Pitstop 2 - option tyres

Lap 43: Pitstop 3 - prime tyres

Lap 52: Accident at turn 4 ends race

DNF

Jarno Trulli, Car 21: "The race was really good. It was another great start for me, another strong start this season, so that was very positive. I gained a number of positions and was right in the race in the beginning. Obviously with soft tyres our car was looking better than it did with the hard tyres and that gave us a very good first couple of stints. Unfortunately towards the middle of the race I felt I had a problem with the exhaust which affected the rear end of the car and meant that my performance was not as good as earlier. But all in all, it was a very good race for me. I fought like a lion and I'm happy with myself and felt that I really got the best out of the car today. There's still a bit of work to do to catch up with the guys in front, but it's fantastic that we've lapped the guys behind us once again. The overall aero package is good - we just need to focus on developing that for the future and increase the gap even more from the guys behind, and keep on closing the distance to the cars ahead."

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20: "It's a real shame my afternoon came to an end like that. I made a mistake on the entry to turn four and went off but up until that point the race was pretty good. Both Jarno and I were right in the mix early on and we were fighting in the midfield for a lot of the race but then the tyres started to go off and the early pace wasn't there for the later stages of the afternoon. Maybe we should have pitted earlier on but we've still learnt a lot from this weekend and can take that to Monaco where I think it will be a very interesting weekend for everyone."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We had a good start, particularly Jarno, and in the early stages of the race the pace was ok. Later on we had to manage a couple of small issues on Jarno's car which somewhat compromised his overall speed so we had to manage those throughout the race, but the point is that we have seen the potential of the car. We have made quite a lot of changes over the weekend and now we need to work hard to understand how to maximise the whole package, in set-up and translating that into performance."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a long hard race that was all about managing the tyres. Both drivers started well but Heikki suffered some damage to his front wing that helped Jarno get past. From then on the pace was good. We were trying to stay on three stops and maybe stopped a little late in the first stint, but in the end it was a shame we were not able to get both cars to the flag. Heikki made a small mistake on lap 52 and then Jarno had a cracked exhaust which meant we had to keep an eye on that, but overall we have made real progress this weekend and have amassed a great deal of data on the new package that will help us learn how to get the most out of all the changes, so it is another positive weekend for the whole team."

Kamarudin Meranun, Deputy Team Principal: "The whole weekend has been pretty good for us. We had an excellent result in qualifying and had reasonably high hopes for the race but we always knew it would be tough to replicate what we did on Saturday afternoon over the race distance. We started well and were looking good in the early stages of the race but then Heikki's accident brought his race to an early end and Jarno was pushing as hard as he could on the hard tyres for the final stint but finished a credible 18th. There are a number of positives to take from this afternoon - we were able to fight with the established teams and have shown that we are consistently improving, little by little. That is the key goal for this year and we keep moving forward so we leave Spain pretty pleased overall."

Highest G Force load on Pirelli tyres at the Circuit de Catalunya: 3.9g Journey time - Barcelona to Monaco (663 KMs): 7 hours

Shock absorbency test load Ruroc pitcrew helmets withstand: 250g

Go to www.teamdellracing.com to see how Team Lotus has the power to do more with Dell

Weather

Dry, sunny

Min / max air temperature: 21˚ / 26˚

Min / max track temperature: 24˚ / 35˚

Fastest laps / positions

FP3

KOV 18th, 1.26.236 (lap 10) / TRU 19th, 1.27.000 (lap 17)

QUALIFYING

Q1

KOV 17th, 1.25.874 (lap 2) / TRU 18th, 1.26.521 (lap 3)

Q2

KOV 15th , 1.25.403 (lap 5) Total laps FP3

KOV: 11 / TRU: 20

QUALIFYING

Q1

KOV: 3 / TRU: 4

Q2

KOV: 3

Runplan

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03

FP3

1059 - 1103: Installation, 1 lap (prime tyres)

1103 - 1110: System checks

1110 - 1123: Run 2, 7 laps (prime tyres)

1123 - 1134: Adjustments - rear ride-height, front anti-roll bar

1134 - 1147: Run 3, 7 laps (prime tyres)

1147 - 1151: Change to option tyres

1151 - 1200: Run 4, 5 laps (option tyres)

Qualifying

Q1 (all runs on option tyres)

1408 - 1413: Run 1, 1 lap

1411 - 1417: Refuel

1417 - 1421: Run 2, 3 laps

Finished 18th

Runplan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-04

FP3

1059 - 1102: Installation, 1 lap (prime tyres)

1102 - 1126: System checks

1126 - 1135: Run 2, 5 laps (prime tyres)

1135 - 1147: Adjustments - bleed brakes, change to option tyres

1147 - 1155: Run 3, 5 laps (option tyres)

Qualifying

Q1 (option tyres)

1409 - 1414: Run 1, 3 laps

Q2 (option tyres)

1438 - 1441: Run 1, 3 laps

Finished 15th

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20: "This is obviously a great day for Team Lotus and I want to thank everyone here and back at the factory for working so hard to get us to this next step in our story. There is a lot more to come from this car and while we have performed really well today we can see that we can keep progressing and taking the fight to the cars around us on merit. With the work we did overnight and in FP3 I can feel that we have found a much better balance in the high-speed corners, and we can work more on how it feels in the low speed corners which is where I think we will find even more time, but for now this is a good feeling and puts us into a good position for the race tomorrow."

Jarno Trulli, Car 21: "First I want to congratulate to the whole team for getting Heikki into Q2. That's a great achievement for us and a sign of what's to come. For me the session was interrupted by what looks like an electrical issue that meant I was stuck in second gear when I went out for my first run, but we changed the steering wheel and I managed to get a lap in right in the last few seconds that still put me ahead of Rubens, so we'll start tomorrow from 18th and with the pace we have in the car in race conditions I think we'll have a good afternoon."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We worked hard last night on the data from yesterday and in this morning's session we were able to do more work with the floor and the new exhaust which I think helped us perform so well today. Heikki reaching Q2 is very good news for the whole team, and we feel that there is a lot more to come. Rather than just working on different parts of the car and making those parts work, we will be able to make them work well together and the results of this will continue to be seen as we progress through the season. The plan for tomorrow is to keep our focus on maintaining our reliability. The performance matters throughout the race, not just in qualifying, and we need to see how the tyre degradation influences our strategy but for now congratulations to everyone and we must enjoy this feeling today."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That is a very pleasing result and thank you to the whole team for today's result. We took advantage of the misfortune that befell a couple of the other cars but Heikki did a great job to get the best out of his runs today, and Jarno put in a strong performance to get in a decent time at the end of Q1 after a gearbox problem cut into his first run. Now the important thing is to focus on having a good race tomorrow and learning as much as we can about the upgrades we have brought here over a race distance."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am so thrilled. It is almost unbelievable but this is a great day for Team Lotus and just reward for the effort that the whole team keeps putting in. I am so thrilled for everyone associated with our team. Heikki did a fantastic lap and the whole team worked together brilliantly to give him the chance to take his car into Q2, and on top of that Jarno managed to put in a great lap in the dying seconds to put himself into 18th place under a great deal of pressure. We have a lot of work to do so we are not going to get carried away, but it is important that we enjoy days like this and the feeling that comes with hard work being rewarded with this sort of result. As I keep saying, these small steps will keep us moving up the grid, so well done and thank you to everyone."

DuPont employees worldwide: 61,000

Packaging material in which Dell ships computers (the first PC manufacturer to do so): Bamboo

Total hours T128 has spent in the wind tunnel: 4300+

Weather

Dry, sunny

Min / max air temperature: 16˚ / 25˚

Min / max track temperature: 23˚ / 35˚

Fastest laps / positions

FP1

KOV 19th, 1.29.231 (lap 6) / TRU 23rd, 1.31.418 (lap 9)

FP2

KOV 18th 1.26.417 (lap 23) / TRU 20th 1.27.189 (lap 28)

Total laps

FP1

KOV: 21 / TRU: 12

FP2

KOV: 37 / TRU: 34

Run plan

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03

FP1 (all runs on prime tyres)

1001 - 1005: Installation, 2 laps (extra lap for new diffuser aero data collection)

1005 - 1027: System checks

1027 - 1042: Run 2, 8 laps (pitstop practice / lay rubber in pitlane)

1042 - 1126: Adjustments - power-steering, rear brake blanking

1126 - 1131: Run 3, 2 laps

FP2

Adjustments: Front wing flap, front ride height, front anti-roll bar

1400 - 1414: Run 1, 8 laps (prime tyres)

1414 - 1425: Adjustments - front ride height, front torsion bar

1424 - 1435: Run 2, 6 laps (prime tyres)

1435 - 1447: Adjustments - rear ride-height, front anti-roll bar

1447 - 1504: Run 3, 10 laps (prime tyres)

1504 - 1516: Adjustments - front wing flap

1516 - 1530: Run 4, 10 laps (option tyres)

Run plan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-04

FP1 (all runs on prime tyres)

0959 - 1003: Installation, 2 laps (extra lap for new diffuser aero data collection)

1003 - 1037: System checks

1037 - 1048: Run 2, 7 laps

1048 - 1057: Adjustments - front wing flap

1057 - 1108: Run 3, 6 laps

1108 - 1123: Adjustments - rear ride-height

1123 - 1131: Run 4, 6 laps

FP2

Adjustments: Front wing flap, rear ride height

1400 - 1416: Run 1, 9 laps (prime tyres)

1416 - 1429: Adjustments - rear anti-roll bar

1429 - 1448: Run 2, 12 laps (prime tyres)

1448 - 1454: Adjustments - front wing flap

1454 - 1502: Run 3, 5 laps (option tyres)

1502 - 1510: Adjustments - front wing flap

1510 - 1528: Run 4, 11 laps (option tyres)

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20: "Overall we can be very happy about this Friday. I think we've seen an improvement today on where we were and throughout the sessions we could see that we were getting more and more out of the new package. The gap to the cars ahead seems reasonably small so I think it's all positive. The key point is that there is a lot more to come out of it. Optimising the whole update will take time and even though the car felt good on both the options and the primes we know that after going through the data tonight we can make more improvements tomorrow, and in the coming races."

Jarno Trulli, Car 21: "A bit of a mixed day for me. The team made a change to my steering in the morning session which meant I couldn't complete the program in FP1 but in the afternoon session we completed a decent number of laps and I could start to feel where we have found some improvements on the car. For much of the day I didn't really feel like I was getting the most out of it but we have found some of the pace we want to with the updates and with more work there is clearly much more to come."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "In FP1 we struggled a bit with Jarno as we had a couple of mechanical issues which needed to be resolved during the session. That cut into the program but we redoubled our efforts in FP2 and have had some good feedback from both drivers, especially from Jarno on the new package overall. We have generated a great deal of data from the mileage we completed today so we will analyse that and look to implement it in FP3 and qualifying tomorrow."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a very interesting and useful day, and good to put so many laps on the new package. As we expected the behaviour of the car is now quite different to what we have been working with so far this season and it will take a lot of fine tuning to get the best out of all the improvements, but I think that on the soft tyre and the longer runs we could clearly see some of the improvements we were aiming for. There are obviously areas we need to focus on, but those can all be dialled out, so all in all this has been a good day with the new package, well done to the whole team for working hard to get it all working so well on the car on its debut and I am sure there is much more to come."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I always thought it would take some time for us to maximise the potential of the updates we have applied here, especially for the drivers who have basically a new rear end of the car to get to grips with. However, I am very happy with the mileage we have accumulated today and the fact we are faster than we have been before. I cannot remember a Friday when we have run so many laps and that has given us a lot of very useful data for Marianne and her team to work on in the wind-tunnel. We clearly performed very well on the options, maybe not so well on the primes, but for me, even though I am not a veteran of this sport, I knew it would take time to integrate the updates so I keep realistic goals and know that we will keep working hard and moving forward step by step."

General

Race laps: 66

Circuit Altitude (m): 129

2010 Air/track temp (˚C): 20 / 33

2010 ATM Press (HPa): 994

2010 humidity (%): 40

2010 wind (kph): NNE 15

2010 Timing

Qualify Result

P1 WEB 1:19.995 Q3

P2 VET 1:20.101 Q1

P3 HAM 1:20.829 Q1

TL best P19 TRU 1:24.674 Q1

2010 Race Result

P1 WEB 1:24.828 L62

P2 ALO 1:24.846 L57

P3 VET 1:25.176 L56

TL best TRU, P17

Quick description

Lateral track with high percentage of high speed corners

Slow-speed traction important through sector 3

Medium brake energy

Bumps at entry to T9 & braking into T10

Grip level changes depending on conditions (rubber, track temp & wind)

Typical balance issue: Us in HS T3 and T9 and traction issues in S3

1st gear not used on track Drivers usually prefer to go through T9 without downshifting

Circuit particularity - Sensitivities

Bumpiness: Medium

Engine severity: Low

Overtaking chance: Low

GBX severity: Low

Kerbs: Smooth to medium

Lat/Long grip: Lateral

RH setting particularity: None

Aero eff ratio: Low

Track grip evo during WE: High

Aero settings: High

Brake wear severity: Medium

Brake cooling necessity: Medium

Safety car history

2010: None

2009: 1st lap accident

2008: 2

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "It's always good to get back to Spain. I've spent so much time at the Barcelona circuit it's like a second home to me and the whole team and even though I must have completed thousands of kms around there it's still a good challenge. It's very technical and that puts demands on the car's aero - a good aero package is one of the keys to being quick.

"Looking at the circuit itself I particularly like T9 - it's one of the quicker corners in the whole calendar and one that rewards confidence and good balance. There's not a lot of overtaking chances around the lap and we'll see if the DRS plays the same role in Spain that it did in Turkey - if it does then tracks like Barcelona will suddenly have overtaking chances and that's got to be good for the fans."

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "Barcelona is one of the tracks where we all know every single centimetre of the whole lap. We test there so much that it usually ends up with the whole grid having teammates side by side but it's the kind of circuit where you can't hide anything at all. If you are quick there you can be quick everywhere as it's demanding aerodynamically, and if you struggle there you could have problems at a variety of circuits.

"A good lap kind of flows until you reach the last three corners which are a bit fiddly. The first sector is probably the best - T1 is a quick chicane and then turns three, four, seven and nine are all fast. You need good high-speed stability there and good grip to get the best out of the car and when you hook it all up and put in a quick time it's pretty rewarding."

Number of Team Lotus tweets since October 2009: 5,190 Year a Renault engine won its first Grand Prix (French GP): 1979

Average age of drivers in AirAsia Team Lotus Driver Development Program: 16

General

Total race laps: 58 Weather: Sunny

Max track temp: 30°

Fastest laps

KOV - 1:32.695, lap 55 / TRU - 1.32.862, lap 39

RACE

Runplan

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03

1000: Car cover off

1100: Race programme and strategy briefing

1135: First engine fire up / shift check / complete systems check

1300: Race briefing

1430: Pitlane open

1430: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps (1 through pitlane)

1445: Pitlane closes

1459: Fire up

1501: Lights out - start on option tyres

Lap 13: Pitstop 1 - option tyres

Lap 25: Pitstop 2 - option tyres

Lap 39: Pitstop 3 - prime tyres

Finished 18th

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-04

1000: Car cover off

1100: Race programme and strategy briefing

1130: First engine fire up / shift check / complete systems check

1300: Race briefing

1430: Pitlane open

1431: Car leaves for grid / 1 lap

1445: Pitlane closes

1459: Fire up

1501: Lights out - start on option tyres

Lap 15: Pitstop 1 - option tyres

Lap 31: Pitstop 2 - prime tyres

Lap 53: Pitstop 3 - prime tyres

Finished 19th

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - qualified 19th, finished 18th: "That was a reasonably good race, particularly in the early laps. I had another incredibly good start but was blocked in the first corner so couldn't really exploit how well I'd got off the line. Early on I started fighting with the tyres so we changed to a three stop strategy which eventually worked out pretty well. However, the result today doesn't really show how we have improved our performance so I think that when we get to Barcelona with the whole new package on the car we'll really be able to fight with the midfield teams."

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - qualified 18th, finished 19th: "That was a pretty tough afternoon. I had a couple of mechanical issues, with a small hydraulic leak which affected the DRS and the diff, and I think the strategy didn't work out how we would have liked. Despite that it's been another good weekend for the team and a two car finish was always a major goal here, but now it's about looking forward to Spain and we're all focusing on taking a big step forward there."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "That was a good race because both cars finished so for us it was okay reliability-wise. That is the second time we have done that and that is the first job of the team, so that is a good result for us. We struggled a bit with Heikki today but I think it was a bit easier for Jarno and even though we can see that we need some more time to be able to catch the teams ahead I am sure that will come soon."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "The key goal today was for both cars to cross the finish line and I am pleased we achieved that and it is pleasing to see that both drivers performed very well all weekend, and the whole team. With Heikki we tried to stick to two stops but the degradation of the tyres was higher than we expected so we switched Jarno to a three stop plan. Heikki's car then developed a hydraulic leak and we were concerned that he would not be able to get to the end, and that if his tyres went off he would be unable to stop again but we were forced to keep him on two stops and turn off the differential and clutch off which made his car very difficult to handle. Without that, I think we would have been able to beat Maldonado on the track. Jarno drove a good, strong three stop strategy but reported quite high tyre degradation so we have to look at why he is suffering more than Heikki. However, overall it is good to get two cars to the finish and we look forward to Barcelona where we will have our big update and I hope that we can take the fight to those in front."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "This has been a good weekend for us and we are all happy that we got two cars to the finish. Heikki had some hydraulic issues and if they had not affected his race I think he would have given Maldonado a much better fight. Looking at the laptimes I am very happy that we keep improving every weekend. The whole team is excited about the updates we have for Barcelona, but for now I am very pleased with this weekend. Here in Turkey last year neither car finished so this is another positive development in our growth. We keep making small steps and moving forward and that has always been the plan - grow in a measured, controlled way that gives us the best foundations for future success."

Team Lotus Information

Number of times in ten laps Juan Manuel Fangio broke the lap record in the 1957 German Grand Prix on Pirelli tyres: Nine

Team Lotus Facebook fans: 95,895

Number of orders per second on dell.com: Four

Weather

Dry, SunnyMin/max track temperature: 24° / 37°

Total laps

FP3: KOV 15 / TRU 17 - QUALIFYING: KOV 8 / TRU 8

Fastest laps

FP3: KOV 1.28.911, lap 7 / TRU 1.29.697 lap 13

QUALIFYING: KOV 18th, 1.28.780, lap 7 / TRU 19th, 1.29.673, lap 7

FP3 Runplan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-04

1100 - 1102: Installation, 1 lap

1102 - 1114: System checks

1114 - 1121: Run 2 / 4 laps

1121 - 1139: Adjustments - change to option tyres

1139 - 1150: Run 3 / 7 laps

1150 - 1157: Adjustments - stay on option tyres

1157 - 1204: Run 4 / 3 laps

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03

1100 - 1102: Installation, 1 lap

1102 - 1115: System checks

1115 - 1126: Run 2 / 6 laps

1126 - 1139: Adjustments - front wing flap, rear ride height, front anti-roll bar

1139 - 1146: Run 3 / 5 laps

1146 - 1152: Adjustments - Front wing flap, front anti-roll bar

1152 - 1204: Run 4, 6 laps

QUALIFYING

Runplan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen / Chassis: T128-04 Q1

1403 - 1411: Run 1, 5 laps

1411 - 1417: Refuel

1417 - 1423: Run 2, 3 laps

Finished - 18th

Driver: Jarno Trulli / Chassis: T128-03 Q1

1406 - 1412: Run 1, 5 laps

1412 - 1417: Refuel

1417 - 1423: Run 2, 3 laps

Finished - 19th

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20: "I'm happy with that. We only have to find a little bit more to join the fight in Q2 but today we had a good strategy and got everything that we could from the tyres. I'm pleased with my own performance - the quick lap was right on the money with no mistakes so it's a good feeling to keep edging closer. We're all looking forward to the Barcelona upgrade package where hopefully that will deliver a greater performance gain compared to what the opposition will bring but we're nearly there so for now it's just about keeping up the effort and putting in another strong performance tomorrow."

Jarno Trulli, Car 21: "I'm pretty much satisfied with my run today. Unfortunately I had a DRS issue which obviously costs a lot of time on a circuit like this but I think that all round we did as good a job as we could today. Our race pace definitely gives us a chance to fight with the cars ahead so hopefully we can sort out the DRS issue and replicate what we did in the race in China."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "It was quite a good day when you look at the result, especially for the engine because the weather yesterday had limited our running. This morning we worked on the driveability characteristics of the engine and have had some very good feedback from the drivers on that, so that's another step forward. Cooling-wise, the car was okay because it was colder today than the usual ambient conditions in Turkey, so the engines ran well in the qualifying session."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "I think we can be reasonably happy with qualifying and both drivers got the most they could out of the car. Unfortunately we went into qualifying knowing that we had a problem with the DRS on Jarno's car and that costs quite a lot of time around Istanbul Park which explains his final position. However, we know that we are kinder on the tyres in the race than the cars in front of us so I think we can have a very competitive Sunday and take the fight to the cars in front."

Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "We keep edging ever closer. Half a second now from Q2 is another improvement and I think it's a measure of our ongoing development that we keep pushing the teams ahead. We're still 18 months old and the fact we have, relatively, made the biggest performance gains of any of the teams this season is a sign of the fact we are now an established team ourselves and will keep progressing to make good on that title as the season progresses."

Team Lotus Information Number of field cameras CNN has deployed worldwide: 350 +

Dell technical support centres worldwide: 60

Year of Pirelli company's birth: 1872

Total laps

FP1CHA - 6TRU - 6

FP2KOV - 37TRU - 40

Weather

Rain (am), Overcast / dry (pm) Min/max track temperature: 12°/20°

Fastest laps

FP1

CHA 1.51.676 lap 3

TRU 1.43.986 lap 4

FP2

KOV 1.30.281 lap 19

TRU 1.29.409 lap 21

06/05/11 Runplan

Karun Chandhok (FP1) / Heikki Kovalainen (FP2)Chassis: T128-04

FP1 (CHA)

1003 - 1005: Installation (1 lap)

1005 - 1125: System checks

1125 - 1130: Run 2, 5 laps

FP2 (KOV)

1400 - 1415: Run 1, 8 laps

1415 - 1423: Adjustment - rear brake blanking

1423 - 1436: Run 2, 8 laps

1436 - 1443: Adjustments - rear brake blanking

1443 - 1455: Run 3, 7 laps

1455 - 1504: Adjustments - front suspension setting

1504 - 1511: Run 4, 4 laps

1511 - 1516: Adjustments - front wing

1516 - 1530: Run 5, 10 laps

Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03

FP1

1002 - 1004: Installation (1 lap)

1004 - 1125: System checks / Adjustments: front wing, brake balance, F & R brake blanking

1125 - 1130: Run 2, 5 laps

FP2

1400 - 1414: Run 1, 9 laps

1414 - 1424: Adjustments - rear brake blanking

1424 - 1437: Run 2, 8 laps

1437 - 1445: Adjustments - F&R brake blanking, rear wing element

1445 - 1458: Run 3, 8 laps

1458 - 1509: Adjustments - front wing, rear wing element, front brake blanking

1509 - 1530: Run 4, 15 laps

Karun Chandhok: "The wet weather meant we limited the morning runplan but despite that it was good to get back out on track. I didn't get a chance to push but I'm enjoying working with the team and the more time I spend with everyone the more I can see how far this team can go. There's a great spirit across the whole garage, and back in the factory, and with the constant progression towards the midfield this is a great place to be working in."

Heikki Kovalainen (car 20): "That was a reasonable session for me - I had a DRS issue that definitely cost me some time but I think the balance was pretty good and we got through some decent setup work so I think we'll be ok tomorrow."

Jarno Trulli (car 21): "I'm pleased in general with today. It's been a positive, trouble free day and we managed to run through a number of options that give us a good direction for tomorrow and the race. We have made an adjustment to the power steering and that's definitely improved things in the cockpit for me but there's more to come from that and the whole car so I think we can go into tomorrow in good shape."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We didn't manage to do much running in P1 this morning due to the weather so we had to work a lot harder during P2 this afternoon, especially with specific engine mapping. I hope we will have good feedback from the drivers and can take another step forwards on strategy. I think there is more to come from the whole package tomorrow so this was a pretty good start to the weekend."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A pretty good day. Obviously we had limited running this morning in the wet conditions as we wanted to save tyres in case we have to use wets in the race. Unfortunately that limited the running Karun and Jarno could do but this afternoon we completed the whole program without any real problems with the performance levels we showed I think we are looking at having a pretty good weekend."

Team Lotus Enterprise today announces that it has purchased British sportscar maker Caterham Cars.

The acquisition by Tony Fernandes, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin, the men behind the Team Lotus Formula 1 squad, from the shareholder consortium led by Corven Ventures, will see the legendary lightweight sportscar manufacturer expand its brand profile and product family.

The acquisition of Caterham Cars by Team Lotus Enterprise will not only signal the continued development of the legendary Seven, but will provide Caterham with the platform to apply its philosophy of 'adding lightness' to exciting new models for the 21st Century.

This exciting new era for Caterham will be led by the company's existing management team, headed up by Caterham Cars Managing Director Ansar Ali.

Ansar's direction has been responsible for energising Caterham's export prowess during the last five years, creating the iconic Superlight R500 - Top Gear's Car of the Year for 2008 - and Caterham's first brand new model in 15 years, the stunning SP/300.R sports prototype racer.

As custodians of Colin Chapman's two-seater Seven since 1973, Caterham has been responsible for the evolution of a car originally conceived as a 'fit for purpose' race-car for the road in 1957.

Today, the Seven is arguably the benchmark for the perfect balance between power and intuitive, user-friendly handling, and in spite of its years remains one of the most raced cars in the world. It has also been the inspiration for the recently-launched Caterham-Lola SP/300.R for the race and track day community.

Tony Fernandes said: "Caterham has a unique place at the heart of the motoring world. As well as being proudly and staunchly British, it has an enviable and uniquely unblemished reputation within the industry for performance, handling and engineering excellence.

"Caterham Cars has remained wholly faithful to Colin Chapman's philosophy of 'less is more', and the DNA of the original Seven can still be traced to the newest additions to Caterham's product offering.

"It is already a successful business with sales across Europe, Japan, Australia and the Middle East, and under the guidance of the existing management team,we now have all the ingredients and the launch pad to further evolve that spirit and take Caterham to new exciting horizons with innovative products and greater global brand exposure."

Caterham Cars, Managing Director, Ansar Ali, added: "This is yet another exciting chapter in the Caterham story. Until now, the resources Caterham has had at its disposal have, naturally, limited the exposure of the Caterham experience and the legendary Seven has had to rely almost entirely on its remarkable reputation and legacy.

"We will remain entirely true to the philosophy that we, as custodians of one man's motoring concept, have protected for nearly 40 years.

"However, the acquisition of the company by Team Lotus Enterprise will allow our existing management team to take Caterham's core spirit of pure driving enjoyment to a hitherto un-served audience.

"While the Seven will now have the global springboard it deserves and will continue to be evolved yet further, we also have the opportunity to expand the Caterham family beyond the Seven and SP/300.R and breathe new life into our uniquely respected brand and mature it into a truly global business."

Rodac International, worldwide supplier of pneumatic equipment to the automotive industry, has concluded a sponsor agreement with the Team Lotus Formula One team. For the next three years, Rodac will provide Team Lotus with tools and garage equipment which makes Rodac an official supplier to the Anglo-Malaysian F1 team.

Rodac International is a Dutch company that supplies pneumatic tools and garage equipment to the automotive and industrial sector. The partnership with Team Lotus begins immediately and the Rodac company logo will be displayed by Team Lotus on press communications, the website, all the race and test trucks and in the Team Lotus Garage.

Previously Rodac has been the sponsor of the Super Aguri F1 Team and the company is pleased to commit their name to a Formula One team again. Leon J.W. Melchior, CEO of Rodac International: "We are very proud that Rodac becomes and official supplier of Team Lotus and that our company name can be added to the list of well known Team Lotus partners and suppliers including Renault, Air Asia, CNN and Pirelli. With our equipment we hope that we can contribute to the success of the team."

About Rodac International

Rodac International is originally an American company that has been founded by Mr. Rodstein 50 years ago. From a location in the Netherlands that opened afterwards, Rodac became active in the European market. After the closing down the American site, Rodac continued as an independent entity in Europe. In the mean time, Rodac has grown significantly and the company has become an authority on the field of pneumatic equipment for the automotive and industrial sector. Rodac has dealers in 22 countries, but focuses mainly on the Benelux countries, Germany, Italy and Denmark. In the Benelux countries Rodac is market leader in the automotive industry and the company is rapidly increasing its market share in other countries as well.

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart" Confucius (551 - 479 BC)

Team Lotus Information

Number of EQ8 drink cans filled per minute: 1,000

Minimum weight of an F1 engine in 2011 rules: 2011

Weight of Team Lotus freight brought to flyaway races: 30 tons

General

Total race laps: 56

Weather: Overcast, cloudy (am), sunny (pm)

Max track temp: 32˚

Fastest laps

KOV - 1:42.672, lap 45 / TRU - 1.42.052, lap 53

RACE

Runplan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen / Chassis: T128-01

1000: Car cover off

1100: Race programme and strategy briefing

1130: First engine fire up / shift check / complete systems check

1300: Race briefing

1430: Pitlane open

1431: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps (1 through pitlane)

1445: Pitlane closes

1459: Fire up

1501: Lights out - start on option tyres

Lap 19: Pitstop 1 - option tyres

Lap 41: Pitstop 2 - prime tyres

Finished 16th

Runplan

Driver: Jarno Trulli / Chassis: T128-03

1000: Car cover off

1100: Race programme and strategy briefing

1135: First engine fire up / shift check / complete systems check

1300: Race briefing

1430: Pitlane open

1430: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps (1 through pitlane)

1445: Pitlane closes

1459: Fire up

1501: Lights out - start on option tyres

Lap 20: Pitstop 1 - option tyres

Lap 43: Pitstop 2 - prime tyres

Finished 19th

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - qualified 19th, finished : "That is our best ever performance. It's not the highest place we've had but today we beat two midfield cars in a straight fight so I am very happy, with my performance and the performance of the whole team. We knew we would struggle in the cool conditions yesterday but today the temperatures rose and we expected to be able to put in the sort of race that would do justice to the pace that is in the car. We will keep working hard to improve the car's behaviour in the cooler conditions and we can only get better from here."

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - qualified 20th, finished: "I had a good start and then Heikki and I were able to pull away from the cars behind and keep to the strategy to fight with the guys ahead. My first stop wasn't great and I'm still having a few issues with the tyre degradation but really today is about the team result. We have shown we are developing exactly as we want to and that's a huge motivation for everyone."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "That is a very good result for the whole team and it is important we enjoy it. The key goal today was to get both cars across the finish line and to achieve that, and beat both Perez and Maldonado is a big step forward for us. A very satisfying day."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was an absolutely fantastic race from both drivers and from the pitcrew who performed brilliantly under huge pressure. It is very satisfying to have beaten two other midfield teams on track on pace and strategy and to be able to show that we have bridged the gap to the established teams. Both drivers made a good start and with the higher track temperatures we knew our race pace would be good, and so it proved. With the tyre degradation we were able to stick to two stops, which was always our plan and that allowed us to jump a couple of people, giving us our strongest race in F1. Additionally, we were only lapped once, right towards the end of the race, so I am very proud of the whole team today."

Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "I am actually lost for words. We were racing today, actually taking on teams who have been in the sport for many years, and even though there is a huge amount of work ahead of us, now we need to enjoy this moment, build on this feeling and keep moving forwards."

Chinese Grand Prix - FP1/FP2 report - 15/04/2011

"Great acts are made up of small deeds", Lao Tzu 600BC - 531BC

Team Lotus Information

Total 2011 F1 Race venues AirAsia flies to: Nine

Hours Dell employees devoted to voluntary organisations in 2010: 200,000

Number of tyres Pirelli brings to each race for all teams: 1,800

Total laps

FP1

KOV - 13

RAZ - 9

FP2

KOV - 30

TRU - 32

Weather: Cloudy, overcast

Min/max track temperature: 23˚/31X˚

Fastest laps

FP1

KOV 1.41.579 lap 7

RAZ 1.44.542 lap 8

FP2

KOV 1.40.476 lap 18

TRU 1.41.482 lap 21

15/04/11 Runplan

Heikki Kovalainen - Chassis: T128-01

FP1

1007 - 1009: Installation (1 lap)

1009 - 1035: System checks

1035 - 1049: Run 2, 7 laps

1049 - 1102: Adjustments: Front wing flap, rear ride height, front torsion bar

1102 - 1112: Run 3, 5 laps

FP2

1400 - 1412: Run 1, 7 laps

1412 - 1425: Setup change inc. wing, ride height and suspension

1425 - 1440: Run 2, 8 laps

1440 - 1453: Adjustments - Front and rear ride height

1453 - 1503: Run 3, 5 laps

1503 - 1510: Adjustments - Front wing

1510 - 1530: Run 4, 10 laps

Luiz Razia (FP1) / Jarno Trulli (FP2) - Chassis: T128-03 FP1 (RAZ)

1000 - 1002: Installation (1 lap)

1002 - 1023: System checks

1023 - 1040: Run 2, 8 laps

1040 - 1130: Session end due to suspension issue

FP2 (TRU)

1400 - 1415: Run 1, 8 laps

1415 - 1428: Adjustments - front wing, rear ride height, front ant-roll bar

1428 - 1445: Run 2, 9 laps

1445 - 1455: Adjustments - front wing, rear ride height, front ant-roll bar

1455 - 1505: Run 3, 5 laps

1505 - 1510: Adjustments - front wing

1510 - 1530: Run 4, 10 laps

Luiz Razia: "It was good to get back in the car and even though the suspension issue brought the session to an earlier end than we would have liked I could still feel that the car has taken a step forward since I last drove it in Barcelona. I was taking it steadily, aiming to bring the lap times down and give the team some useful feedback so it's a shame I couldn't complete the plan, but that's racing."

Heikki Kovalainen (car 20): "It's good to get through the whole day with no reliability issues and hopefully that sets us up well for the weekend ahead. The car had a good balance this morning but this afternoon the changes we made maybe didn't take us in the right direction so I wasn't quite as comfortable in FP2. I had a few issues with traffic on my performance run which meant I couldn't get everything out of it but having had a clear day we'll put in the work tonight as see where we are tomorrow."

Jarno Trulli (car 21): "Clearly it's good that I had a trouble free afternoon but I am struggling a bit with the balance to be honest. We'll work on that tonight with the data we've generated today and with another clear session tomorrow we should be able to pick up where we left off in Malaysia."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "That was a good Friday engine-wise. We were able to set up the engines according to the driver requests and we worked through a program that tested a number of maps and the feedback we have had is good. We have definitely taken another step on from Sepang and as the ambient conditions here are less severe than in Malaysia the engine is consequently under less stress so I think we should be able to continue the progress through qualifying and into the race and maximise our performance across the weekend."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a far more productive Friday than we have had in the two previous races this season and I think it is a measure of our increased competitiveness that we are actually a little disappointed with the overall pace. We ran Luiz Razia this morning and he did a good job for the team, despite having a suspension problem that brought his run to a premature end. With the race drivers we completed the full programme on each car but traffic interrupted both their runs on the soft tyres so we are a little disappointed that we were not able to show more pace that we know is in the cars. The tyres are working pretty well here - we have found our way around the warm up issues, so while today is satisfying in terms of reliability, there is definitely more to come tomorrow and we want to be pushing towards Q2."

Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "I think that was a pretty good day for the team. We put in the laps and have accumulated some good data on the tyres so I think we're in good shape for tomorrow and Sunday."

BRP has supplied the teams with top of the range Can-Am vehicles. This is the first time BRP has entered into such an agreement with Team Lotus and Team AirAsia.

"The FIA Formula One World Championship and GP2 Series attract motor sports enthusiasts and we believe that our Can-Am products clearly set the benchmark when it comes to the world of powersports and performance and fits perfectly in this environment," said Bernard Leblanc, Vice President & Regional General Manager - Western Europe, Middle-East and Africa.

Each team will be equipped with a Can-Am Outlander Max 800 Limited which will sport their respective team's colours: green and yellow for Team Lotus and red and white for Team AirAsia. BRP's state-of-the-art ATV (quad) will be at race events throughout the season, as well as other shows and events, and will be used to tow equipment between the pits and the garages.

BRP will also be providing one of its signature vehicles, the Can-Am Spyder RS roadster, the ultimate three-wheeled ride with the Y-shaped footprint. It will be made available to these motor sports professionals throughout the season, catering to Team Lotus's love of tarmac and high performance vehicles, so they can experience the Y-factor for themselves.

Riad Asmat, CEO of Team Lotus and Team AirAsia Team Principal commented: "We are delighted to welcome BRP into both teams and are very pleased we have the opportunity to showcase the Can-Am Outlander Max 800 Limited in the F1 and GP2 environments, and improve our logistical capabilities on track as a result."

Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP), a privately-held company, is a world leader in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of motorised recreational vehicles. Its portfolio of brands and products includes: Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and boats, Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines, direct injection technologies such as E-TEC, Can-Am all-terrain and side-by-side vehicles and roadsters, as well as Rotax engines. BRP products are distributed in more than 100 countries.

General

2010 Air/track temp (˚C): 19 / 27

Race laps: 56

Circuit Altitude (m): 8

2010 ATM Press (HPa): 1022

2010 humidity (%): 35

2010 wind (kph): NNW 25

2010 Timing

2010 Qualifying Result

P1 VET (1:34.558 Q3)

P2 WEB (1:34.806 Q3)

P3 ALO (1:34.913 Q3)

TL best P20 TRU (1:39.399 Q1)

2010 Race Result

P1 BUT (1:42.886) L14

P2 HAM (1:42.061) L13

P3 ROS (1:43.245) L14

TL best P14 KOV (1:47.141) L14

Quick Track Description

Overtaking is difficult

Easy on brakes

Kerbs are not an issue

Wind has a big influence in S2, for the high speed section and top speed

2010 race was started in semi-wet condition then constant light rain

Typical Balance Issue

Traction instability out of T6 and T14 and Us in T7/T8

Gears ratio (1st gear/others): 1st gear sometime used in T6

Circuit Particularity

Sensitivities

Bumpiness: Low

Engine severity: Medium

Overtaking chance: Low

GBX severity: Medium

Kerbs: Smooth

Lat/Long grip: Medium

RH setting particularity: None

Aero eff ratio: Medium

Track and Base Setup

Track grip evo during WE Medium / High

Aero settings: High

Brake wear severity: Low

Brake cooling necessity: Medium

Team Lotus Partners

Number of people worldwide CNN content reaches on TV, web, radio and wireless devices: 2 billion +

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "We head to China after taking a good step forward in Malaysia, but we are all focused on the reality of where we are now and know there we have a lot of work ahead of us. The main aim for me now is to improve our reliability and make sure both cars cross the finish line on Sunday. We have shown there is pace in the car, and there will be more to come when we start putting the updates on in Europe, but now we have to make sure we give the drivers the time they need on track to optimise the setup and the only way to do that is to avoid reliability issues."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "In China we have Luiz Razia and Davide Valsecchi driving for us in FP1 and I think Shanghai will be another interesting weekend for us, especially as we have had two races so far in such different conditions. In Melbourne the tyres lasted longer than I think everyone expected and then in Malaysia there was much higher drop-off and multiple stops as a result. In China we will all be in slightly unknown territory with the tyres and the cooler temperatures will mean the most important goal for us will be to maximise our track time on Friday and Saturday morning, getting the cars set up properly for qualifying and bridging the gap to make it into Q2."

Heikki Kovalainen (car 20, chassis T128-01): "I enjoyed my time in Malaysia but now it's about building on the performance there and looking ahead to China. It'll be cooler than in Malaysia for sure, but for me the heat isn't a problem anywhere we go, and obviously that's the same for the cold! However, pace wise, I think that if we can repeat our performance in the race in Malaysia then it means we can repeat it anywhere in the world. I do enjoy driving in China - it's similar to Malaysia in that it's a modern circuit, fairly small and it has some pretty heavy braking zones. The DRS will come into play on the main straight and I think it'll be another good race."

Jarno Trulli (car 21, chassis T128-03): "China is one of those tracks where I have never been too lucky, so it's always a bit of a challenge. Despite that, we go there in a good position after getting pretty much the best out of the car in Malaysia. We learnt a lot from Saturday and Sunday there, and that will be very useful for us in Shanghai where obviously it will be a different challenge, but hopefully we can have a better shot at qualifying and let's see what happens on Sunday."

Highest temp in Team Lotus garage so far..... 44°    

Team Lotus Facebook fans 90,024   

Number of AirAsia routes, covering 78 destinations 150+

General 

Total race laps: 56   

Weather: Overcast, cloudy (am), sunny (pm)

Max track temp: 35˚    

Fastest laps 

KOV - 1:43.677, lap 43 / TRU - 1.45.280, lap 23            

RACE       

10/04/11 Runplan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-01  

1100:   Car cover off

1200:   Race programme and strategy briefing

1215:   First engine fire up / shift check / complete systems check

1400:   Race briefing

1530:   Pitlane open

1530:   Car leaves for grid / 2 laps (1 through pitlane)

1545:   Pitlane closes

1559:   Fire up

1601:   Lights out - start on option tyres

Lap 16: Pitstop 1 - stay on option tyres Lap 33: Pitstop 2 - change to prime tyres 15th

10/04/11 Runplan

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03  

1100:   Car cover off

1200:   Race programme and strategy briefing

1200:   First engine fire up / shift check / complete systems check

1400:   Race briefing

1530:   Pitlane open

1531:   Car leaves for grid / 2 laps (1 through pit)

1545:   Pitlane closes

1559:   Fire up

1601:   Lights out - start on option tyres

Lap 14: Pitstop 1 - stay on option tyres Lap 32: Retired - clutch sensor failure

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - qualified 19th, finished 15th: "That was a pretty good race all round. The balance was good on both sets of tyres and I think the strategy worked well for us - we pitted at the right times and we didn't have any problems all afternoon. I think we can be pleased that after a difficult Friday we showed the sort of performance that the winter tests had given us hope we could do so now it's about continuing development of the car and keeping up the pressure on the guys ahead. China will be a good test of how the car behaves in cooler conditions so the goal will be to repeat this kind of performance there and keep on pushing." 

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - qualified 20th, DNF: "Unfortunately a clutch problem brought my race to an early end which is pretty bad luck as we were looking ok at our home grand prix. I had a tricky start with the anti-stall kicking in but I recovered and then after the first pitstop I locked a front wheel coming out and had to make up ground again. I got past Timo but then the clutch gave up, which is a shame as we looked like we have started to show what the car is really made of."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "It was a good day today, especially for the overall package of the car. Although only one car came home at the end of the race, it was a good result as engine wise it was not easy this weekend - this track is particularly hard on engines due to the very high temperatures so overall we are pretty pleased. We fixed the issues we had on Friday and we are going in the right direction. We have had some great feedback from the drivers this weekend and I am sure we will find some more lap time next week, and looking ahead to China we will be able to make some positive changes based on the results we have from here." 

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A very strong race from both drivers although unfortunately Jarno stopped in the garage with a clutch sensor problem. We looked to do a two stop strategy with both cars. We might have struggled with Jarno as his tyre degradation was slightly higher, but it worked well with Heikki. Overall our pace was very good at the end, particularly when we were with the leading cars, and we were very close to passing one of the Torro Rossos as we came over the line which shows how we have progressed. This weekend has been by far our strongest race performance since we came back into Formula One, so it is good to be racing again." 

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Well I think we can officially say we were racing today! It was a real shame about Jarno as I really wanted two cars to come home but Heikki drove a fantastic race and was really pushing the Toro Rossos in the final few laps - maybe with a couple more laps he would have passed one of them. He kept pace with cars that were much faster than us during qualifying so I'm thrilled that we have recorded 15th at what was a very tough circuit, so huge congratulations to the whole team and well done to everyone."

FP3: KOV 19 / TRU 15

QUALIFYING: KOV 8 / TRU 8

Fastest laps

FP3: KOV 1.39.260, lap 16 / TRU 1.39.699 lap 14

QUALIFYING: KOV 19th, 1.38.645, lap 4 / TRU 20th, 1.38.791, lap 7

FP3 09/04/11 Runplan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-01

1300 - 1302: Installation, 1 lap

1302 - 1312: System checks / brake blanking reduction

1312 - 1325: Run 2 / 7 laps

1325 - 1331: Slight oversteer - stiffen front to compensate / gain traction

1331 - 1342: Run 3 / 6 laps

1342 - 1351: Change to option tyres

1351 - 1401: Run 4 / 5 laps

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03

1300 - 1302: Installation, 1 lap

1302 - 1312: System checks

1312 - 1321: Run 2 / 5 laps - test revised qualification engine map

1321 - 1332: Reports understeer in low and high speed corners

1332 - 1339: Run 3 / 4 laps

1339 - 1349: Wait - change to option tyres

1349 - 1401: Run 4 / 5 laps

QUALIFYING 09/04/11 Runplan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-01

Q1

1606 - 1608: Run 1, 2 laps (soft tyres) - aborted due to red flag

1608 - 1612: Refuel

1612 - 1617: Run 2, 3 laps (soft tyres)

1617 - 1619: Refuel

1619 - 1626: Run 3, 3 laps (soft tyres)

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03 Q1

1606 - 1609: Run 1, 2 laps (soft tyres) - aborted due to red flag

1609 - 1613: Refuel

1613 - 1617: Run 2, 3 laps (soft tyres)

1617 - 1620: Called to FIA scales / Refuel

1620 - 1627: Run 3, 3 laps (soft tyres)

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20: "That was a great session for us and I'm really pleased with how we've performed. After yesterday, I didn't really know what to expect going into today's sessions but the guys have done a great job to give me a car that is totally different to yesterday. As soon as I went out on track this morning I could feel there was a huge improvement in every area and we have had no reliability issues at all today so I was able to really push. I've enjoyed the whole day and I felt like I was able to get the best out of the car in all the runs. There's still a bit more to come so I think tomorrow will be a really interesting race for us, particularly when you see how close we are to the midfield, and with the pace we know the car has in race trim."

Jarno Trulli, Car 21: "Today's performance is obviously a lot more positive for the whole team. We had no issues with the car in either session and I think we got pretty close to showing what the car can really do. FP3 was very useful and we have also taken some good data from qualifying itself as we tried to get the best out of the car. The plan for tomorrow is to keep consistent and reliable, take our chances when they come and be there at the end. It is a long and very hot race where anything can happen but I think we are ready for it, so let's see how it goes."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "That was a much more solid performance from the whole team, particularly compared to Melbourne where we were not able to show the true pace of the car. We have looked strong all day, especially in qualifying, and I think that we have found improvements in a number of areas that have contributed to the step forward today - cooling, engine mapping and the car behaviour in general, I think this is a good result all round. The improvements are very encouraging for us and I think that seeing it here at Sepang is particularly pleasing as it is tough on everyone's engines, so for us that goes down as a good day."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A very very good day for the team, however we are left feeling a little disappointed because we felt we had a real chance of getting into Q2. We had no problems on the cars at all today which meant we were able to show the true level of performance that we had seen in winter testing, and ultimately we were very close to Q2 on merit. The drivers did a great job and the whole team has worked very hard to turn everything around from yesterday, and from Melbourne.

"In Heikki's last run he made a couple of small mistakes and we could have been even closer, but, looking at the positives, we are all looking forward to the race tomorrow. Tyre degradation will be very important here - it will be an interesting Sunday for the whole grid and at last we have a car with which we can go and take the fight to the midfield."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Words cannot express how happy and overjoyed I am right now. To see 18 months of hard work come good with us finishing within a couple of tenths of teams that have been around for a long time, and less than a second away from the midfield pack, that is an amazing achievement. It is made even more satisfying after what has been a pretty hard winter test program, taking on the issues we have been working through and, honestly, not a great start to the season - but this is a great feeling. Both Heikki and Jarno know there's more to come from the car, and we feel good about the race this weekend. The aim is to keep our reliability and bring two cars home. I am really proud of the team, particularly after such a hard winter, so I take my hat off to every single one of them for keeping up the progress and helping us reach where we are today."

KMs Melbourne - Sepang: 6,340.644

Litres of water consumed by Team Lotus at Sepang (estimated): 2,000+

Total laps VAL - 18KOV - 4TRU - 40 (21 FP1 / 19 FP2)

Weather Grey, cloudy, humid Min/max track temperature: 32˚/ 49˚

Fastest laps VAL 1.44.054 (lap 16)TRU 1.41.620 lap 1 FP1KOV 1.44.886 lap 3 FP2

Davide Valsecchi (FP1) / Heikki Kovalainen (FP2)

Chassis: T128-01 FP1 (VAL)

1000 - 1001: Installation (1 lap)

1001 - 1023: System checks, brake blanking adjustment

1023 - 1038: Run 2, 8 laps

1038 - 1048: Front wing / brake balance adjustment

1048 - 1103: Run 3, 8 laps

1103 - 1118: Front wing flap angle change / brake balance adjustment

1118 - 1120: Run 4, 1 lap (run aborted as a precaution due to sensor issue)

FP2 (KOV)

1400 - 1409: Run 1, 4 laps

1400 - 1530: Suspected differential failure / end of session

Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03 FP1

1000 - 1001: Installation (1 lap)

1001 - 1004: Front wing flap adjustment

1004 - 1010: Run 2 (2 laps) aero measurements with modified front wing

1010 - 1032: System checks

1032 - 1042: Run 3, 5 laps

1042 - 1050: Brake blanking adjustment

1050 - 1103: Run 4, 7 laps

1103 - 1119: Ride height change

1119 - 1130: Run 5, 6 laps

FP2

1400 - 1409: Run 1, 5 laps

1409 - 1456: Power steering change, front wing and brake balance change

1456 - 1506: Run 2, 5 laps

1506 - 1510: Tyre change

1510 - 1518: Run 3, 4 laps

1518 - 1524: Tyre / fuel change

1524 - 1530: Run 4, 5 laps

Davide Valsecchi: "It was nice, so nice and such a good feeling to be in the car here in Malaysia. My lap times weren't incredible as I had a bit of an issue on the last run, so I didn't have the chance to test the car with the different tyre set up which would have given better times. It's hot and a bit humid, which never makes it that easy, but the track was fine. The car felt really good but with the limited time I had it was important to take it easy and not push the car to the limit. Heikki gets back in this afternoon and I'm sure he and Jarno will do a good job for the team, so let's hope for a good race this weekend."

Jarno Trulli (car 21): "We managed to get through most of the program but the fact the traffic held up my quickest lap I think masks how we're really looking in outright pace. It's a bit tough as we have had a great build-up to the race here, and the support we have had from the fans and the media in Malaysia has been just great, so we'll work hard to make sure we put on a good performance tomorrow and on Sunday."

Heikki Kovalainen (car 20): "That was just one of those days. I went out in the second session and felt something go at the rear so came straight back in. It looks like a differential problem and despite the fact the guys worked really hard to try and get me back out the time beat us. However, we'll work on it overnight, and on the data Davide and Jarno have collected today and get back on with it tomorrow."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "I think we have done a good job today. We have learnt a lot about the engine behaviour here at Sepang and that puts us in a good position for qualifying and the race. We have completed a lot of work on the qualification maps and we have had some good feedback from the drivers on that part of the program. With all of this in mind I think we will be able to extract more performance from the engine in qualifying tomorrow so we'll look to confirm that in FP3."

Mike Gascoyne: "Today really was a day of two halves. This morning we had a pretty good session, with Davide having his first run in the car here at Sepang and he did a good job for the team, although his last run was cut a bit short. With Jarno we tried both the hard tyre and the development tyre and have good feedback on both. This afternoon we had what looks like a differential problem on Heikki's car which meant his afternoon was cut short, so apologies to him for that. With Jarno we managed to complete most of the program, despite changing his power steering, but unfortunately when he was on the soft tyres traffic held him up which meant he wasn't able to extract the maximum speed from the car. Despite this it is clear that the pace of the car is closer to the midfield than we were in Melbourne and now the onus is on us to make sure the reliability issues are solved and give the drivers a chance to show what the car can really do."

Tony Fernandes: "The day started very well off track, with the announcement that Dell has upgraded their relationship with us to become an official Technical Partner. When a company of the stature of Dell wants to increase their partnership with us it is a clear sign that we are going in the right direction, so that was very positive. On track it was a day of mixed fortunes. It started well but ended up fairly mediocre, but there are still many positives that have come out of today. If Jarno had not had traffic issues we would have been much closer to being able to show our true pace than we were in Melbourne and even though we keep being dogged by reliability issues we are still very excited about the weekend ahead and what will happen in qualifying tomorrow."