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Romain Grosjean produced a strong drive to take fourth place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from sixth on the grid, whilst Kimi Räikkönen’s race ended in retirement following contact at the first corner. A flying start from Romain saw him jump two places to fourth position through the opening series of corners; settling in behind the third-placed Red Bull of Mark Webber until the first round of pit stops. Kimi meanwhile saw his evening curtailed after just a few hundred metres; a clash of wheels with Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde resulting in a broken track rod on the Finn’s E21. Having emerged right behind Esteban Guttierez after his first pit stop, Romain wasted little time in passing the Mexican, only to be held up behind Adrian Sutil until the second phase of stops. Once in clear air, the Frenchman pushed hard to build a sufficient gap which would allow him to re-join in front of both Ferraris following his second stop; achieving that task by the narrowest of margins. Despite consistently closing the gap to Nico Rosberg in the closing stages, Romain missed out on a fourth consecutive podium finish by a margin of just a single second at the flag. Kimi retains third place in the Drivers’ Championship on 183 points; 34 behind Fernando Alonso in second. Romain remains in seventh position with 114 points; trailing Nico Rosberg by 45. The team remains fourth in the Constructors’ Championship on 297 points from Ferrari’s 323, with third spot remaining a firm target heading into the final two races of the season. Kimi started from twenty-second on the grid with a new set of medium tyres, having been excluded from his P5 qualifying slot due to a technical infringement on his E21. He retired on the first lap after contact with Giedo van der Garde at Turn 1 which broke his right-front track rod. Romain started from sixth on a scrubbed set of soft tyres, having been promoted one position on the grid as a result of his team-mate’s penalty. The Frenchman pitted on lap eight for new mediums, and again on lap thirty-seven for a scrubbed set of the same compound. In his pursuit of the final podium position, Romain set the third fastest lap of the race on his penultimate lap; underlining the pace of the E21 here at the Yas Marina Circuit. Kimi Räikkönen, DNF, E21-05 “There was some contact in front of me through the first corner so I stuck to the inside, but unfortunately one of the Caterhams touched my front wheel and it broke the track rod. It wasn’t a heavy impact, but the angle made it worse. It’s never easy starting so far back on the grid, but after the penalty it was a better choice to help our chances in the race rather than starting from the pit lane. After a difficult start to the weekend we did well yesterday so it was a shame we couldn’t start where we qualified, but these things happen sometimes; it’s just back luck.” Romain Grosjean, P4, E21-04 “That was a pretty long race. I got a good start and made up two places in the first few corners, but after that I lost a lot of time behind the Force India. I could overtake him with the DRS, but he had much better top speed and could just drive straight back past at the next straight. That middle stint cost us the chance of a podium in the end, and on pace we could maybe even have pushed Mark [Webber] for second place, but that’s how it goes sometimes. It’s a shame we couldn’t make it four podiums in a row, but to come away with fourth place after a difficult couple of days is a decent result.” Eric Boullier, Team Principal “It’s been a difficult weekend for the team, but we can be pleased with the fact our car has once again shown strong pace at another different circuit. After the misfortune of his qualifying penalty it was always going to be a tough race for Kimi. Starting at the back with a faster car always puts you in a tricky position, and in the end it was bad luck once again that saw his race end on the first lap; for the first time since 2006 I believe. Romain drove a very mature race to narrowly miss out on his fourth consecutive podium, which on another day and without his issues in qualifying would certainly have been within reach. We have some work to do if we are to achieve our target of third place in the Constructors’ Championship, so our focus must now be on returning to the podium in Austin.” Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director “We came into this weekend anticipating another podium challenge, but unfortunately circumstances have ultimately conspired against that happening. Having already been stripped of his best qualifying performance since Germany, Kimi’s race was cut short on the first lap after a tangle with one of the Caterhams, bringing a disappointing end to a weekend where his pace had been much improved. It was a trouble free race for Romain by contrast, who drove well to take fourth place. His progress was quite heavily hindered by traffic midway through the race and we didn’t quite have the pace to challenge [Nico] Rosberg in the closing stages, so realistically he achieved the best possible result on the day. What’s especially pleasing is that he’s gone from being labelled a ‘first lap nutcase’ to consistently gaining positions away from the line and through the opening sequence of corners at each race. We now head to Austin where we’ll be working hard to make a return to the podium.” Ricardo Penteado, Renault Sport F1 Team Support Leader “Romain did a great job today to finish just outside the podium places. Again he managed the engine and fuel consumption well so we could turn up the engine modes when we needed to push and he came away with some valuable points for the championship battle. Unfortunately Kimi stopped early, but it’s always a risk when starting from that position. We’ll keep it focused for the final two races though and try to get as many points as we can to finish the V8 era on a high.”

The final day of the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi saw reigning GP2 Series champion Davide Valsecchi top the time sheets in the race winning E20. Davide completed a total of 86 laps, running a comprehensive testing programme and showcasing his talent by quickly getting up to speed with the car and team. Today signals the end of the Young Driver Test, with Lotus F1 Team having completed a total of 213 laps and gaining valuable data as the focus now turns towards the forthcoming United States Grand Prix next weekend. Programme Summary : Morning Session : Aerodynamic testing and DDRS iterations. Afternoon Session : Front Drum testing and tyre assessment Programme. Total number of laps : 86 Best lap time : 1:42:677 Tyres used : Two sets of hard, two sets of medium and two sets of soft compound tyres. Davide Valsecchi, E20-01 “It’s been a really good experience for me. I was very pleased with my sessions and followed everything the team asked of me without making any mistakes. I took it very easy in the morning so I could get used to the car and soon became more confident, meaning towards the end I was much better in terms of pace. “The team listened to my feedback and made the changes I suggested, particularly towards the end of running. I want to say thank you to Lotus F1 Team who have been really good ; the engineers and the mechanics have all been brilliant and it has been a great day for me.” Simon Rennie, Race Engineer “The final day’s running with Davide has been a good end to our Young Driver Test this year. In the morning we completed additional aerodynamic work and looked at further evaluation of our DDRS, providing us with enough data to make an informed decision at a later stage in Enstone. Before lunch Davide completed performance runs as he became accustomed to the set up and quickly explored the limits of the car. Obviously the step from GP2 to Formula 1 is not enormous, but we were impressed with how quickly he was up to speed by this morning. “For the afternoon session, we looked at developments of our front drums and then completed a tyre programme which gave Davide the opportunity to try out the various compounds. We ran the hard, medium and soft tyres and he found good improvements in terms of grip with each step in the compounds. All in all it’s been a good day, and Davide did a great job.”

A successful second day at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi showcased the talents of Edoardo Mortara as he took the wheel of the E20 for the very first time. This was a first Formula 1 experience for the young French / Italian driver, who is currently competing in the DTM series. Despite this he finished the day third fastest, setting his quickest time at the last possible moment on his final lap. Programme Summary : Morning Session : Aerodynamic programming and DDRS testing Afternoon Session : Setup adjustments and balance change Total number of laps : 75 Best lap time : 1:43.418 Tyres used : Two sets of hard and two sets of medium compound rubber Coming Up Next… Reigning GP2 Series Champion Davide Valsecchi will round off the three day test as he makes his Lotus F1 Team debut in the E20 hot seat tomorrow Edoardo Mortara, E20-01 “I had a wonderful time and I’m so grateful to everyone at Lotus F1 Team for giving me this opportunity ; I enjoyed every lap. At the same time, it was pretty tough ; I’ve come from a car which is a lot slower and the first laps were certainly an eye opener. I improved gradually over the day and I think my progression was pretty good. Every time I was on track I got a little bit better. I completed the test programme scheduled by the team so it’s satisfying to be able to contribute to their season. It’s been one of the best days of my life.” Simon Rennie, Race Engineer “Today we completed further aerodynamic work Including running two iterations of the DDRS. Edoardo spent the morning acclimatising himself to the car meaning that in the afternoon he was able to tune the set-up to his preferences. He did a great job, completing 75 laps and giving us a lot of valuable data to work with. We ran with new medium tyres in the afternoon meaning he was let off the leash a bit more to show his speed. At the end of the day he was third quickest, but there is more time to come from him and also the car. All in all, he did an excellent job today.”

A successful first day’s running at the Abu Dhabi Young Driver Test saw French driver Nicolas Prost step into the race winning E20. Nicolas completed a full engineering and aerodynamic programme during a trouble-free day, gaining valuable data for the team in the process. Programme Summary : Morning Session : Pressure logging and aerodynamic testing. Afternoon Session : Evaluation of rear drum configuration and further aerodynamic testing. Total Number of laps : 52 Best Lap Time : 1:44.194 Tyres Used : Three sets of hard compound rubber Nicolas Prost, E20-01 Today was my first real experience of a Formula 1 car. I had driven the R30 before, however it’s now two years old and uses different tyres so it’s quite different to my experience today. I’m obviously very happy and I’m impressed by the car ; it’s a massive step up even from the R30. For me it was like a real test driver’s day and we trialled a lot of parts. We only worked on the hard tyres, so were obviously not looking for pace, but we have been analysing the data and I have been comparing myself with Kimi and Romain’s telemetry. Obviously I’m missing a bit in some corners, but others are quite good. For my first day I think it’s very positive and I did the job the team asked of me, so it’s been a very good day. Simon Rennie, Race Engineer For the first day of testing we ran Nico in the car and mainly focused on running some new aerodynamic developments. It was therefore quite a demanding programme for Nico in terms of procedures, but he managed them all very well. We worked our way through the programme and completed everything we hoped to get out of the day ; Nico did a great job. We only used three sets of hard tyres ; as we had discovered from the race, the degradation at this circuit is very low and they were therefore ideal for completing our aero work. We focused on testing parts that take quite a while to change, meaning it is impossible to gain good data on them during a race weekend. We have not done a huge number of laps, however they have been laps where we have gathered very good data. We were not looking for performance, rather consistent runs from Nico which he did well, so all in all it’s been a very good day.

Kimi Räikkönen has taken his 19th Grand Prix victory - the 48th win for an Enstone team - with a glorious day-to-night victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Kimi made an excellent start to take second place at the start from fourth on the grid, then capitalised when Lewis Hamilton's McLaren retired. Romain Grosjean did not finish the race after being involved in an incident for which Sergio Perez was deemed responsible. Kimi maintains third position in the Drivers' Championship on 198 points ; a diminished 47 shy of Fernando Alonso and an increased 31 ahead of Mark Webber. The team remains fourth in the Constructors' Championship on 288 points ; a reduced 30 behind McLaren and an increased 152 in front of Mercedes. • Kimi started on soft tyres, pitting on lap 31 for a set of new medium compound rubber. • Romain started on soft tyres, pitting on lap 1 for a set of new mediums then again on lap 9 under safety car conditions for a further set of scrubbed soft rubber. Kimi Räikkönen, P1, E20-05 "I'm very happy for the team, and for myself also. You never know what's going to happen during the race ; the safety cars made it quite tricky, but I've had similar races many, many times this year. Today we had a clear circuit to be able to use our speed. Perhaps we were not the fastest at the end, but we were quick enough and consistent enough to win so it's great for the team. We've had some difficult races in the second half of the season so it's fantastic to come back with a win." Romain Grosjean, DNF, E20-03 "I am very happy for Kimi as it's the win we were waiting for and it's an unbelievable result for the whole team. For myself I'm disappointed as I was running pretty well. It was a tight battle with three of us in a row at turn eleven, then Sergio [Perez] went off track at turn thirteen and came back on the inside at turn fourteen leaving me with no room to go anywhere else. Mark [Webber] then came from behind and we touched ; it was a big shame. A great day for the team, but an unlucky one for me." Eric Boullier, Team Principal "I have one word first of all : Great. Then there are many words such as 'relief' and 'deserved'. It's obviously a very well deserved result for the team. I'm pleased for Kimi and he did a very good job. We've been pushing very hard all season and we've nearly had it before. There's a little frustration not to have had a win sooner, and we have been waiting for it, but it's a fantastic feeling to finally take that victory and a superb reward for the team. It's great for Formula 1, it's great for Kimi and it's great for our team." James Allison, Technical Director "When you are as happy as this it is hard to avoid lapsing into cliché. Despite being tantalisingly close several times this year, we have waited a long time to return to the top step of the podium. It is a massive tribute both to a flawless drive from Kimi and to the tenacity of the entire Enstone team for never having taken their eye off the prize all year. With two races left in the season we go on to Austin with a spring in our step, invigorated to do it all over again and see what we can achieve." Ricardo Penteado, Renault Sport F1 Team Support Leader "It's just an awesome feeling to finally win a race ; the first victory for the Enstone-Viry partnership in its present configuration. All season the chassis-engine package has been strong and everyone has worked incredibly hard in the last few weeks to successfully introduce new parts to get that last piece of performance. It all worked out beautifully today and hats off to Kimi for judging it perfectly."

A tightly fought qualifying session at the Yas Marina Circuit saw Kimi Räikkönen net a fine fifth position on the grid whilst Romain Grosjean took tenth for tomorrow’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Kimi Räikkönen, E20-05. Q : P5, 1:41.260. FP3 : P9, 1:43.184 “Qualifying was good. The car hasn’t felt fantastic all weekend but we decided we weren’t going to change the car’s set-up from where it was for the last race. It was the right choice because in the end the circuit came to us in qualifying where the car was the best it has been so far here. We’ll give tomorrow our best shot ; Let’s see if we can make a good start to get right behind the Red Bulls, and then we’ll see what happens after that.” Romain Grosjean, E20-03. Q : P10, 1:41.778. FP3 : P6, 1:43.015 “It wasn’t a great qualifying lap for me today, and P10 is not where we want to be on the grid. In the last run in Q3 I had no grip so wasn’t able to find more pace. The car had felt fine before that and we looked good through the other qualifying sessions. It just means I have some more work to do in the race and I think there’s more to come from me and the car.” Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director : “Overall a good performance from the team.” How do you assess today’s qualifying performance ? “We are happy with our achievements today, however we could have possibly managed even more with both drivers. Fifth on the grid is very good for Kimi and means we should be well placed for tomorrow. Romain was looking set for a strong lap too, matching Kimi for the first two sectors, but he lost half a second on the final sector ; we’ll be looking at what went wrong there.” Where do you think the car should be on race pace ? “As has been the trend this season, we’re confident in terms of where our race pace should be relative to our opposition. We completed a promising long run on Friday afternoon ; we have no problems or issues with tyre wear, warm-up, or anything like that so there are no reasons why we should not have a good evening tomorrow.” Do we fear being stuck behind other cars as in the Indian Grand Prix ? “We’ve qualified further up the order with Kimi which should certainly help his race. Overtaking is slightly easier here, however Romain will have his work cut out. That said, he completed some nice overtaking moves last time out, so let’s hope for the same here.”

Romain Grosjean went fifth fastest and Kimi Räikkönen set the sixth quickest time – with just 0.032secs separating them – at the end of Friday’s two practice sessions at the Yas Marina Circuit this afternoon. The team evaluated new chassis wings and an exhaust update. Both cars ran reliably throughout the two 90 minute practice sessions. Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director – Technical programme notes : We evaluated an exhaust update on Kimi’s car in FP1 and FP2. Romain ran new chassis wings in both sessions. Pirelli’s medium compound tyre was used in the first session, the medium and soft in the afternoon. What we learned today : We gained a good amount of data to make a conclusion on the exhaust update. We will run with the new chassis wings on both cars for the rest of the weekend. Kimi Räikkönen, E20-05 Free practice 1 : P10, 1:45.422, 15 laps Free practice 2 : P6, 1:42.532, 28 laps Kimi : “We were good on Friday in India and we’ve been strong again here in Abu Dhabi today. We tried a few new parts on the car in both sessions and we have some things to go through before tomorrow. Our lap times seem to be pretty okay so far ; hopefully we can find a little bit more pace for tomorrow in practice and then again for the qualifying session.” Romain Grosjean, E20-03 Free practice 1 : P14, 1:45.743, 20 laps Free practice 2 : P5, 1:42.500, 34 laps Romain : “Looking at today’s times I think it’s possible for us to be battling nearer to those ahead of us this weekend, as I think we can still improve our lap times. I did not drive the best lap of my life with the option tyres today ; with the first set of options you put on you have to go for it, so I think I can still improve a little bit. To get in front of the cars ahead of us will be difficult, but we will try, so why not ? We had some updates that worked well, so we will keep them.” Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director : “We’re quite happy with where we are today. We spent the morning on medium tyres, setting up and balancing the cars. Both were reasonable, with the drivers relatively happy. We ran an exhaust update with Kimi in FP1 and went back to the standard setup for the start of the second session. We then did another back to back analysis, so whereas we would normally have done a much longer high fuel run we spent FP2 evaluating this to gain good data and give us a clear picture on where we need to be tomorrow.”