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Found 25 results

  1. Romain Grosjean finished sixth and Kimi Räikkönen seventh in today’s Malaysian Grand Prix from the Sepang International Circuit. A wet but rapidly drying track saw all competitors start on Pirelli’s intermediate tyres, with both Romain and Kimi moving to medium then hard compound dry tyres as the race progressed. Kimi keeps up his run of consecutive points finishes but falls to second in the Drivers’ Championship, behind today’s race winner Sebastian Vettel. The team maintains second position in the Cosntructors’ Championship, with third placed Ferrari on an equal 40 points. Kimi and Romain both started on new intermediate wet tyres. Kimi pitted for new medium tyres on lap 6, scrubbed mediums on lap 19 then new hard tyres on lap 34. Romain pitted for new medium tyres on laps 7 and 20 then new hard tyres on lap 35. Kimi Räikkönen, P7, E21-03 “Although the car felt very good on Friday, yesterday and today have been pretty difficult. Since Saturday morning it has not been behaving as we expected for some reason, especially in the wet where we really struggled for grip. It was a tough race and I lost part of my front wing at the start which didn’t help, but at least we scored a few points which is better than coming away with nothing. If we can get the car back to how it was in Australia then I’m sure we’ll be at the front again.” Romain Grosjean, P6, E21-01 “I think we can be quite happy with the result today. It was a tough race, starting wet and finishing dry, but that’s what you expect in Malaysia. I spent a lot of time stuck behind Felipe [Massa] in the middle phase of the race and I’m sure if I could have passed him earlier then I would have stayed ahead, but by the end my tyres were finished so it was best just to let him through. It’s not the result we would have wanted at the beginning of the weekend, but at the end of the day it’s more points for the team and we’ll try to come back stronger in Shanghai.” Eric Boullier, Team Principal "It’s not been the best day for us, but when you take into account our qualifying positions and the difficult start for both drivers I think the points we take for sixth and seventh is a solid result. Unfortunately with the conditions today we didn’t see the full potential of the car, and the time we lost at the start was always going to be difficult to catch up. To finish within a reasonable distance of the leaders was a good effort from both drivers and also the team in terms of our strategy. With a normal weekend I’m sure we can expect some stronger results.” James Allison, Technical Director “This weekend feels like a case of what might have been. We had a car on Friday which looked extremely promising, but unfortunately that didn’t translate into the sort of result we’d expect. Qualifying tenth and eleventh – particularly in the wet – was not an ideal start, with the consequence that within seven laps we were around thirty seconds from the front. Our progress thereafter was actually quite respectable so it’s frustrating to have lost touch with the race at such an early stage, but I’m confident we’ll be delivering some stronger results in the coming races.” Ricardo Penteado, Renault Sport F1 Team Support Leader “A double points finish today for the team after some good racing. Sepang is a hard challenge for the engines with high top speeds needed for the straights and low speed driveability for the hairpin turns, plus managing the fuel consumption is tricky considering the changeable weather. We moved to a second engine this weekend to give more flexibility later in the season – looking at how tight things are at the front having this margin could be useful later on.”
  2. Mark H

    Saturday 23 March

    Kimi Räikkönen set the seventh fastest time in a rain affected qualifying session for tomorrow’s Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang. The Finn will however start from tenth after receiving a three place grid penalty for blocking Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg. Romain Grosjean placed eleventh after the rain scuppered his Q2 lap on new tyres; forcing him to abort his final attempt. Kimi Räikkönen, E21-03 – Q: P7, 1:52.970. FP3: P5, 1:36.806. “We weren’t quick enough on the intermediates so I don’t think we could have found much more time in the wet today. For sure I wanted more but it is what it is and I hope we’ll do better on Sunday. It’s obviously disappointing to lose three places on the grid, but we’ll have to see what happens in the race. I have no idea what the weather will do, but it will be the same for everyone.” Romain Grosjean, E21-01 – Q: P11, 1:37.636. FP3: P14, 1:37.690. “The car felt better today for sure and we were looking good after free practice earlier this afternoon. We should have easily had both cars in the top ten, but unfortunately the skies opened at just the wrong time for me. My first run in Q2 was on scrubbed tyres and then as soon as we came in to fit the new ones it started raining, so for now they stay new. It’s a shame but there’s a long race ahead of us tomorrow and we now have extra sets of fresh dry tyres in our pocket so hopefully we can use them well.” James Allison, Technical Director: “It’s likely to be a stern test of driver and team.” What do we say about today? It was a disappointing qualifying session for us. Rather like in Melbourne, we haven’t placed our cars in the sort of positions our dry pace merits. Like last time, rain disturbed qualifying and we’re not as effective in the wet as we are in the dry. That was qualifying; the race is tomorrow and we have potential for both drivers to put in strong performances. What weather considerations are there for tomorrow? Unfortunately, it looks like the weather could be much like today, with further wet conditions. This sort of variable weather is what we frequently see in Malaysia and it’s likely to be a stern test of driver and team, in that it’s very difficult to make the correct strategy choice as the conditions develop. We haven’t shone yet in the wet, but the higher fuel loads we will use tomorrow may make it easier for us to build heat in the intermediate tyre. How are we placed if it stays dry? We are looking good on dry pace, especially on heavy fuel loads, so if someone could devise and deploy an effective anti-rain dance we’d be well-placed for a good result. A common Malaysia scenario is a dry track followed by extreme rain, followed by a safety car and it’s in these conditions that bold decisions can bring big rewards. The trick is making the correct bold decision.
  3. Kimi Räikkönen topped the times on the first day of running as the second round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship – the Malaysian Grand Prix – got underway at the Sepang International Circuit. Kimi set a 1min 36.569secs lap in an afternoon session which was interrupted by a minor rain shower, while Romain Grosjean was sixth fastest. The team evaluated new front wings on both cars with a new exhaust and related bodywork also featuring on Kimi’s car. Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director – Technical programme notes - We evaluated a new front wing on both cars. - Kimi ran with a new exhaust and outlet package in both sessions. - Pirelli’s hard (orange) compound tyre was used in the first session, the hard and medium (white) dry tyres as well as the intermediate (green) in the afternoon. - The second session saw rain-interrupted long runs on both tyre compounds. What we learned today: - The E21 ran reliably, giving strong performance on all tyres and in all weather conditions. - The new front wing works well and will be retained for the rest of the weekend. - The new exhaust package works well and will remain on Kimi’s car for the rest of the weekend. Kimi Räikkönen, E21-03 Free practice 1: P2, 1:37.003, 15 laps Free practice 2: P1, 1:36.569, 28 laps Kimi: “It was a pretty good day. We tried changing a few things on the car and made progress with where we wanted to be at the end of the sessions. We had some running in the wet which you often get around here and the car feels fine. We ran pretty heavy today so I don’t know how we’ll be when everyone is light for qualifying, but I’m happy with where we are and expect we’ll be reasonable tomorrow.” Romain Grosjean, E21-01 Free practice 1: P10, 1:37.915 17 laps Free practice 2: P6, 1:37.206, 26 laps Romain: “We’re still working on the setup of the car as it’s not quite right for me and it’s difficult to understand why exactly. The new front wing does feel better than the one before so that helps. Kimi was running an updated aero package which looks to be an improvement so we know there’s more pace to come in that area, but there are still things we can do with the current specification once I get everything working for me. It was pretty hot out there – quite a contrast to Melbourne – but I felt comfortable and I’m looking forward to making some improvements tomorrow before we head into qualifying.” James Allison, Technical Director: “I’m happy with our day’s work. We came here this week seeking reassurance that our car would be equally as competitive in a very different set of conditions to what we saw in Australia, and the early indications are that it looks reasonably useful. The upgrades we’ve trialled today also appear to be working well. Although both drivers ran the new front wing, Romain was at somewhat of a disadvantage in not having the latest exhaust variation and related bodywork on his car, so he can take heart from a healthy position on the time sheets. The only slight interruption to proceedings was a compromise to our long run programme once the rain arrived, but this actually proved to be pretty useful in itself as we now have a better understanding of the crossover point for the intermediate tyres. Overall it’s been a very productive day.”
  4. Kimi Räikkönen opened up Lotus F1 Team’s 2013 championship points account with a maximum deposit by taking victory in the first race of the season; the Australian Grand Prix. Kimi made two pit stops – whilst most of his opposition made three – to secure his 20th Grand Prix win, equalling the tally of compatriot Mika Häkkinen. Romain Grosjean came home in tenth position after a difficult race. Kimi leads the Drivers’ Championship with 25 points to Fernando Alonso’s 18, whilst the team occupies second position in the Constructors’ Championship with 26 points to Ferrari’s 30. · Kimi and Romain both started on used supersoft compound tyres. · Kimi pitted for new medium tyres on laps 9 and 34, Romain on laps 5, 19 and 37. Kimi Räikkönen, P1, E21-03 “I’m happy for the team and for myself also. We’ve had a quick car all weekend and there were no issues with it either, so we could just focus on trying different things and getting the setup how we wanted. I had a good feeling that we would be ok with the tyres after practice and the team got the strategy perfect. I made a few places at the start and then had a good battle with Lewis [Hamilton] but after that it was quite simple; probably one of my easiest wins. You can’t start the season much better than winning the first race and of course we hope we can be fighting at the front of the Championship, but there’s a long way to go still and we need to keep pushing hard all the way.” Romain Grosjean, P10, E21-01 “Something felt wrong with my car, so I have to sit down with the team and analyse where the issue came from. It felt so good all weekend until the race itself, but in the end the race was long and quite difficult for me. We know that Albert Park can be a tricky circuit and the weather has certainly not helped today. It’s been a great weekend for the team with Kimi’s win so it’s clear there’s pace in the car. Let’s hope I can unlock that pace too next weekend in Sepang.” Eric Boullier, Team Principal "I’m very happy. After Kimi’s great start we were hoping that we could achieve a podium finish, then as the race unfolded and we saw the other teams pitting – showing that they were on three-stop strategies – our position became stronger and stronger. It’s a fantastic feeling to open the season in this way. Kimi drove impeccably all weekend and gave the team his all. Romain had a difficult race and we have to analyse what went wrong for him. This win is a further testament to all the hard work which goes on at Enstone and we owe tremendous thanks to each and every employee. We head to Malaysia in the best position we could be. ” James Allison, Technical Director “It was a splendid thing we saw today. It’s a day like this which make everything about this job worthwhile and that will be true for everyone involved with the team. It’s great. We were a little deflated after qualifying, as we knew the car had better pace than our grid positions suggested. Nevertheless we were confident from the long run pace we’d seen on Friday that we could make a two-stop strategy work. It was lovely to see the lap times ticking off metronomically without any real fear that the tyres weren’t going to go the distance. Hopefully we can repeat Kimi’s fantastic performance again next weekend with both cars.” Ricardo Penteado, Renault Sport F1 Team Support Leader “As we’ve seen this weekend the field is incredibly close and each detail counts even more, so we’ve worked hard with the team to exploit every last area of performance from the engine over the winter period. In the race we were aggressive with the fuel strategy to maintain a healthy gap over Fernando and Kimi did a great job with managing the tyres. Romain also came in strongly at the end to get a double points’ finish. A fantastic way to start the season!.”
  5. Kimi Räikkönen qualified seventh and Romain Grosjean eighth in today’s resumed qualifying session for this afternoon’s Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park. With an initially wet but rapidly drying track, both drivers progressed through the Q2 session using Pirelli’s intermediate tyres. The top ten determining Q3 session saw all competitors start on intermediates before moving to the supersoft dry compound. Kimi Räikkönen, E21-03 – Q3: P7, 1:28.738 “It was an okay qualifying session. We had just one lap on the dry tyres and I got a bit sideways at the end on a damp patch which meant I lost some time so that was a bit disappointing. The car seems to be working well. It had the speed, but when you have only one lap on dry tyres on a damp circuit setting a fast lap is not the easiest thing to do. The weather seems to be changing very quickly, but we’ve seen that before in Melbourne. It’s the same for everybody and it will be in the race too.” Romain Grosjean, E21-01 – Q3: P8, 1:29.013 “That has to be one of the trickiest qualifying sessions I’ve ever had; the delay overnight then really mixed weather today made it a big challenge. Unfortunately we only got one flying lap on the dry tyres in Q3, which was a shame as it’s hard to know the limit in these kind of drying conditions. I had a small lock up into Turn 3 which lost me quite a bit of time so it could have been a bit better, but the main thing is we have both cars starting in the points positions. The race is long and it looks like being dry, so let’s see what we can do from here.” James Allison, Technical Director: “There’s nothing to suggest we shouldn’t have a strong race.” How did we perform in qualifying – part two? Reading a drying track like we had today is always very difficult. There was the speed in the car to do better had there been more constant conditions. What’s our potential in the race? We’re more than adequately placed to put in a good showing this afternoon. We’ve shown well on heavy fuel in pre-season testing and the start will be interesting on the supersoft tyres. What about the weather considerations? We’re expecting it to be cool and dry. The temperatures will make graining an ever present threat, but there’s nothing to suggest we shouldn’t have a strong race.
  6. Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean enjoyed successful 2013 season debuts in the E21 during the first day of the Australian Grand Prix weekend at Albert Park. Kimi ended the second of two afternoon sessions with the fourth fastest time, whilst Romain was fifth quickest. The team evaluated a new front wing and floor as well as running through its familiar Friday programme of evaluations over the course of 102 trouble-free laps. Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director - Technical programme notes - We evaluated a new front wing on both cars - Kimi ran with a new floor in both sessions - Pirelli’s medium (white) compound tyre was used in the first session, the medium and supersoft (red) in the afternoon - The second session saw long runs on both tyre compounds - We evaluated revised exhaust outlets on both cars What we learned today: - The E21 ran reliably, providing good data for determining our set-up for tomorrow. Kimi Räikkönen, E21-03 Free practice 1: P6, 1:27.877, 17 laps Free practice 2: P4, 1:26.361, 38 laps Kimi: “It’s good for the season to start and the car felt pretty strong out there. I don’t think we’re the fastest but it’s a good start. It was nice to have a reliable day after spending some time in the garage during testing. The track was as I remembered it and there were no surprises from it or the car. We’ll have to see what happens tomorrow with qualifying as maybe it will be a bit cooler. I’m happy so far this weekend.” Romain Grosjean, E21-01 Free practice 1: P10, 1:28.520 15 laps Free practice 2: P5, 1:26.680, 32 laps Romain: “It feels great to be out on circuit and on such a lovely day too. The track felt good and the car felt better. It took a while for the grip to come to us, but you expect that on a street circuit. We made good progress with set-up on the car over both sessions and I think there’s more to come which is promising.” James Allison, Technical Director: “It’s been a steady start so far. The car has run reliably and reasonably quickly, but we feel there’s more to come from it. Broadly it’s been a successful day in terms of the programme we had in mind for these opening sessions, with both tyre compounds, our latest aero package and a few setup tweaks all given sufficient time for assessment. There’s still work to be done, but we’re certainly running with the leading group which bodes well for the rest of the weekend.”
  7. Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean enjoyed successful 2013 season debuts in the E21 during the first day of the Australian Grand Prix weekend at Albert Park. Kimi ended the second of two afternoon sessions with the fourth fastest time, whilst Romain was fifth quickest. The team evaluated a new front wing and floor as well as running through its familiar Friday programme of evaluations over the course of 102 trouble-free laps. Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director - Technical programme notes - We evaluated a new front wing on both cars - Kimi ran with a new floor in both sessions - Pirelli’s medium (white) compound tyre was used in the first session, the medium and supersoft (red) in the afternoon - The second session saw long runs on both tyre compounds - We evaluated revised exhaust outlets on both cars What we learned today: - The E21 ran reliably, providing good data for determining our set-up for tomorrow. Kimi Räikkönen, E21-03 Free practice 1: P6, 1:27.877, 17 laps Free practice 2: P4, 1:26.361, 38 laps Kimi: “It’s good for the season to start and the car felt pretty strong out there. I don’t think we’re the fastest but it’s a good start. It was nice to have a reliable day after spending some time in the garage during testing. The track was as I remembered it and there were no surprises from it or the car. We’ll have to see what happens tomorrow with qualifying as maybe it will be a bit cooler. I’m happy so far this weekend.” Romain Grosjean, E21-01 Free practice 1: P10, 1:28.520 15 laps Free practice 2: P5, 1:26.680, 32 laps Romain: “It feels great to be out on circuit and on such a lovely day too. The track felt good and the car felt better. It took a while for the grip to come to us, but you expect that on a street circuit. We made good progress with set-up on the car over both sessions and I think there’s more to come which is promising.” James Allison, Technical Director: “It’s been a steady start so far. The car has run reliably and reasonably quickly, but we feel there’s more to come from it. Broadly it’s been a successful day in terms of the programme we had in mind for these opening sessions, with both tyre compounds, our latest aero package and a few setup tweaks all given sufficient time for assessment. There’s still work to be done, but we’re certainly running with the leading group which bodes well for the rest of the weekend.”
  8. Kimi Räikkönen returned to the cockpit of the E21 following yesterday’s absence through illness, only for the gearbox of his car to issue its own sick-note causing a lengthy interruption to running on the final day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya. The E21 remained in the garage for much of the morning as the team diagnosed, rectified and replaced the gearbox for Kimi to run in the afternoon; the Finn eventually completing 50 laps and setting the fifth fastest time of the day. Fast Facts: Track: Barcelona, Spain, 5.9km Chassis: E21-02 Weather: Sunny, dry, ambient 6-18°C, track 8-26°C Programme: System checks, temperature monitoring, data correlation, assessment of the performance of the car with updated aerodynamic package (including new front and rear wing evaluation), set-up changes Laps Completed: 50 Classification: P5, 1:21.568 Interruptions: Gearbox fault investigation and subsequent change What’s Next? We head to Melbourne for the first race of the season. Kimi Räikkönen: “I was sick yesterday and the car was sick this morning. It’s not what you want, but you go testing to find out if there are any problems with the car. For sure, we haven’t completed all the laps we wanted during pre-season, but that is often the case. We’ve found a few issues and we have solutions for them, which is positive. Personally, I felt much better today and I was fine driving. We ran through a lot of assessments this afternoon and the feeling in the team is that we have a strong basis to start the season; even if we haven’t shown that every day. I’m happy with the car and looking forward to going racing.” James Allison, Technical Director: “Today was something like this entire test in microcosm; we spent too much of the day in the garage, but when we did get out on track we made good progress. A definite positive is that we are not finding it difficult to be on the pace. Today’s gearbox problem was the same as we experienced previously but we’re confident we have a solution and are not concerned about it causing us any issues in Melbourne. We were able to confirm some aspects of the Melbourne aero package this afternoon and have some more new parts to be run in Australia. Overall we would have been happy with far more pre-season running, but we have not had any difficulties getting a good lap time out of the car without resorting to low fuel runs at any of the tests.” Eric Boullier, Team Principal: “Pre-season testing was not perfect for us but we are confident in what we have seen from the E21. We had glitches and we didn’t complete as many laps as we wanted, yet we still completed most of the assessments we required and have a good platform heading to the first race of the season. It was good to see Kimi back in the car today to take over from Davide and Romain’s work yesterday. It’s certain going to be a highly competitive season but I’m confident that we’ll be right in the battle at the front.”
  9. A stop-start opening session for Lotus F1 Team at the Circuit de Catalunya brought just a smattering of laps, but plenty of positives as Kimi opened the week with the second fastest time of the day in Barcelona. Technical Director James Allison gives us his view of proceedings: James, what’s the feedback from the opening day here in Barcelona? It was a bit of a frustrating day as we were confined to doing two lap runs by a telemetry system which would only work sporadically. Running what is effectively a brand new car for extended periods without regular feedback as to its condition is not a risk worth taking; especially at this early stage of the season when spare parts are at a premium. Putting that to one side, the favourable impression we received from the drivers in Jerez seems to have continued here which is certainly a positive. How much of an effect will today’s telemetry issue have on the schedule for the week? Without today’s telemetry fuss we would have completed a lot more laps, but it was never our intention to carry out extensively long stints during this first session. We have a full compliment of different tests to complete over the coming days from data logging to setup analysis and race simulations, so today will form a useful platform for the remainder of the week. We’re reverting to an alternative telemetry setup tomorrow, so hopefully that will allow us to rack up the miles. Obviously, we went to Jerez with the car in its very first iteration; will there be many changes here in Barcelona? Most alterations to the package will be run in anger during the second Barcelona test or at the first race in Melbourne. As with every season, this middle test is very much focused on assessing the fundamentals of the car – learning how it responds to setup changes, checking that temperatures and pressures are where they should be and so on – before bolting on any new parts. Although times mean relatively little during testing, it must be re-assuring to see the E21 sitting towards the sharp end despite limited running here today? At each test we go to, it’s always nice to see the car responding well and looking well placed on the leader board. The E21 behaved itself reasonably well in Jerez and – much like its predecessor – seems to be doing the same here so it’s an encouraging start.
  10. With the E21’s inaugural on-track test complete, Lotus F1 Team Technical Director James Allison explains where we’re at and what happens next... How useful has the first week of testing been at Jerez? Winter testing is exceedingly precious. We get just 12 days to prove out a very complex vehicle. Twelve days to push the car and the team to make sure that we are match fit by the time we get to Melbourne. Jerez offers the teams four days of guaranteed good weather on a challenging track that will stress the car from both a reliability and a performance point of view. We leave this first test in high spirits having learned that the E21 looks both competitive and reasonably reliable. What are the initial conclusions about the 2013 Pirelli tyres? Pirelli has changed both the internal construction of the tyres and also the tread rubber compound. In the former they have tried to improve the ability of the tyre to handle braking and cornering loads simultaneously and in the latter they are hoping to deliver exciting racing by aiming for softer tyre compounds that suffer rapid lap time degradation as they wear. From what we have seen so far the construction changes are helpful and we are adjusting our setup to make the most of them. Regarding the compound choices, we are happy with the direction that Pirelli are headed and the challenge for us is to find out how to make the rubber last better than our competition. Now the first test is complete, what happens next for the team? The main thrust of activity between now and Melbourne is to build up the quantity of stock so that we can go racing. We are using just one chassis here in Jerez, but in a month’s time we need to have four tubs ready to go. Gearboxes, suspension, bodywork and thousands of small parts all need to be made to allow us to commence the racing campaign. At the same time, we will be furiously building a crucial set of Melbourne performance upgrades to allow us to stay competitive. While the factory sweats to get this work completed, the travelling component of the team will plan and execute the remaining two tests. They will push the car as hard as they can to make sure we have amplified its strengths and minimised its weaknesses before we have to use it in anger. The car looked good in Jerez last year, but then the team had to stop testing after half a day at Barcelona; any concerns this time heading to the Circuit de Catalunya? We had a problem last year because we designed a single joint poorly. We had created a suspension mounting which was capable of withstanding the loads if it had been made absolutely perfectly. However, that style of joint was very difficult to make accurately enough to get repeatable performance from each chassis. We ran chassis #01 at Jerez and the suspension joint in this chassis was good enough to cope with the loads. We ran chassis #02 at Barcelona and the joint in this one was made just a whisker differently; it was not capable of taking the loads and so failed instantly. Once we realised our error we redesigned the joint so that the glue lines were capable of delivering the required strength without any scatter from chassis to chassis. On the E21 we’ve paid particular attention to this area so we’re not expecting any repeat dramas.
  11. Kimi Räikkönen completed his second day at the wheel of the E21 by setting the fastest time to conclude an encouraging week for Lotus F1 Team at the first pre-season test in Jerez. The Finn ran through a continued programme of aerodynamic assessments as the fine Jerez weather continued. Proceedings today were interrupted by red flag periods including a lengthy pause for track run-off repairs, meaning track running concluded 30 minutes later than billed. Fast Facts: Track: Jerez, Spain, 4.4km Chassis: E21-01 Weather: Sunny, ambient 5-18°C, track 7-26°C Programme: Systems checks, temperature monitoring, data correlation, assessment of the performance of the car with its initial aerodynamic package, exhaust exit evaluations. Laps Completed: 83 Classification: P1, 1:18.148 Interruptions: Red flags and track repairs. What’s Next? The team returns to Enstone. Testing resumes in Barcelona on February 19. Kimi Räikkönen: “We continued our work from yesterday and made some good progress. We’re at the top of the timing monitors, but that means nothing in testing. Our focus has been testing parts on the car, but I’ve been able to get the set-up more to my liking. For sure there’s more work to be done in this area, but that’s what we’re here for. The car feels strong and we seem to have a good idea of where we’re going with improvements. Let’s see what happens in Barcelona.” James Allison, Technical Director: “We certainly have a reasonable baseline to be working from and plenty of data to analyse back at Enstone next week. The E21 was immediately easy to drive which is what drivers want, and it’s demonstrated satisfactory pace from what we’ve seen so far. We’ve had a few minor gremlins to iron out, which is what testing is all about, but nothing to cause too much concern. We’ve established a baseline set-up and gained good data about various aerodynamic packages we wanted to test; particularly with exhaust exit evaluations. Both drivers have pronounced themselves relatively happy with the E21 and we know where we’re going with the next developments.”
  12. Lotus F1 Team’s 2013 car, the E21, took to the track for the first time with race driver Romain Grosjean at the wheel under bright blue skies in Jerez, Spain. Romain was the fastest man on track for much of the day, ending the afternoon with the third quickest time. 54 laps were completed as the team went through its first day programme of shakedown and assessment. Fast Facts: Track: Jerez, Spain, 4.4km Chassis: E21-01 Weather: Sunny, ambient 7-26°C, track 6-21°C Programme: Systems checks, temperature monitoring, data correlation, evaluation of the performance of the car with its initial aerodynamic package. Laps Completed: 54 Classification: P3, 1:19.796 Interruptions: Ballast redeployment and KERS battery change in afternoon. What’s Next? Romain will complete his E21 running at Jerez tomorrow, before handing the car over to team-mate Kimi Räikkönen for the Thursday and Friday sessions. Romain Grosjean: “The feeling is good from the E21; it feels very similar to the E20 from behind the wheel, even if it does look different from the outside. Once again Enstone has produced a car that is quick from the very first lap. We spent a little bit more time than ideal in the garage today, but that’s normal in testing. I’m happy we completed 54 laps, and even happier that all of them were quick. We now have a good idea of the new tyres and we’ll have some challenges from them; the grip level is there but performance does fall away with graining. That said, Jerez is a very specific track in this regard. The speed came easy today and we didn’t respond to the other cars going faster in the afternoon. We should go even better tomorrow.” James Allison, Technical Director: “It’s great to see the fruits of our labours take to the track for the first time here in Jerez. Everything has looked positive so far. The feedback from Romain has been encouraging and on the engineering side there have been no particular dramas of note. Overall it was a promising first day for this car and we hope to continue in this vein for the next days of testing.”
  13. Lotus F1 Team renews its Product Lifecycle Management solution technical partnership with Processia Solutions until at least the end of 2015. Lotus F1 Team is delighted to announce a new agreement with Processia Solutions, who specialise in the customization, implementation and integration of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions. Processia Solutions has been a technical partner of the team since 2005 and their continuous contribution helps enhance integration and efficiency within the design, manufacture and race engineering departments of the team. Lotus F1 Team Technical Director James Allison: “Success in Formula 1 is heavily dependent upon innovation. Each season brings a more intense development battle than the last and the team that can bring developments to the circuit the fastest will prosper. Furthermore, as cost control agreements become an ever larger feature of the sport, there is an even higher premium placed on innovations that allow more work to be done for less cost. Processia help us fight on this often unsung but extremely important front by delivering innovations across a wide range of our processes, allowing us to get our designs to the track faster and more efficiently.” Processia Chief Executive Officer Vincent Fraser: “We are proud to extend our long term partnership with Lotus F1 Team, as it demonstrates Processia’s ability to support and integrate complex design, manufacturing and end to end engineering processes in the most challenging PLM environments. By improving PLM workflows, engineering change management and enterprise wide communications, efficiency gains of up to 15% are expected in the design and manufacturing departments, which provides a fantastic benefit to Lotus F1 Team.”
  14. Following the launch of the Lotus F1 Team E21 earlier this evening, Team Principal Eric Boullier and Technical Director James Allison discuss their thoughts on the season ahead. Eric Boullier: “Great things are possible” The Team Principal wants to play with the big boys in 2013 How are you looking forward to 2013 and what do you hope can be achieved? I think it is fair to say that great things are possible. The leap we made from 2011 to 2012 showed what we are capable of. Add to this the continuity and potential of our driver line-up and we have a very powerful cocktail for the season ahead. Our ambitious plan to turn ourselves into one of the top teams in Formula 1 is coming to fruition and now we need to harness this with strong and regular podium results. What advantages does the team have compared to its championship rivals? We are lean and hungry. Enstone knows how to win championships, but it is a while since we have won so we are very eager to taste glory again. We have a fantastic facility at Enstone and one which has benefitted from significant and strategic investment over the past couple of years. We have a highly accomplished technical and design team who last year produced a fantastic car, the E20. The E21 builds on this. We have a superb driver line-up with the 2007 champion, Kimi, and a hungry young gun in Romain. We have further strength in our partners and we are certainly primed and ready for action. How do you see the driver dynamic evolving through the course of the season? We know that both drivers work well together and their skills and talents complement each other. Kimi has such a wide range of experience and he knows how to react to any situation or circumstance. He’s also a superb resource technically. Romain has superb raw speed which we are confident will be harnessed in a more effective manner during races in 2013. Both are competitive individuals – as racing drivers are – and this pushes each one of them and the team to better things. It was clear how much we benefitted from having two very talented drivers in 2012 and I can only see this getting even better in 2013. Where does the team’s focus lie in 2013? It is certainly an interesting year. On the one hand, we have the season ahead and the very strong desire to achieve great things. On the other hand, we have significant technical changes around the corner in 2014 and an element of resource will naturally be focused on this area. On the track we want to achieve the very best results possible and this is true off track too. In every element of our operations we want to be the best. Are there formal targets for 2013 and what are they? We want to do better than we did last year. 2012 was a good season for us – certainly in the context of the previous season – but we, like every team in this highly competitive sport, want to win. We want to make regular appearances on the podium, and add to our tally of appearances on the top step. James Allison: “There is an element of expectation from the E21” Lotus F1 Team Technical Director James Allison looks to the season ahead How different are the 2013 regulations compared with 2012? After a string of quite eventful rule changes and interpretations in the years since 2009 it looks as if 2013 is going to be a year of regulatory stability. There are only a few, very limited changes which comes as a considerable relief to the entire grid given the size of the transformation bearing down on the sport for 2014. Mind you, even with no changes to the text of the regulations, we never stop poring over the rules to look for new loopholes. Quite often, young engineers fresh from university will point out an ambiguity in the text of a regulation that has been settled for decades because they are looking at what is written with fresh eyes and no preconceived ideas about what is actually intended. Will the cars we see in 2013 look much different from those we saw in 2012? I’m guessing not. There is one rule which opens the possibility for a change as we will now be permitted to fit a non-structural ‘vanity panel’ on the upper surface of the nose as a means of avoiding the duck-bill style designs that we saw in 2012. However, such a panel is optional and I would not be surprised if the majority of the grid chose not to make use of it. The panel will add a few grammes of weight and so is only likely to run on the car if a team can find a performance benefit for doing so. Does continuing with two drivers give the technical team benefits? The best thing about sticking with our 2012 pairing is that they are both fast! Fringe benefits also include not having to re-invent the seat, pedals, steering wheel and so on. Not having to establish fresh relationships between engineers and drivers is also welcome. What is completely new and what is more familiar on the E21? Depending on where you look, some parts of the new car are a ground-up redesign and in other areas we have further optimised the best bits of the design philosophy we’ve adopted for several seasons. The front and rear suspension layouts are substantially revised to try and give us better aerodynamic opportunities. The front wing is a continuation of the concepts we have worked on since the 2009 rules were published. For the rear wing system, we’ve continued to try to work on having a satisfactory level of rear downforce stability whilst having maximum DRS switching potential. Talking of DRS; what about the so-called Double DRS Device? This is an area we continue to work on and the passive nature of the switching of our device means it is not outlawed by the latest regulations. It is not something which will be a silver bullet to transform our car, but it is something which could add performance as part of the overall design. Are there likely to be any further ‘secret weapons’ in the arsenal for 2013? That would be telling. Does the E21 have great expectations on its shoulders? The E20 proved itself to be an effective racing car, so there is an element of expectation from the E21. We have continued with our design themes and tried to build a more efficient and faster racing car based on all the lessons we learnt last year. How successful we have been at this we will only know once we take to the track at Grands Prix. What can we expect from Pirelli’s 2013 tyres? We had a brief taste of the development tyre on track at Brazil and it did appear to be a step forwards. Pirelli have also published the compound list for 2013 and we are happy to see that they are sensibly aggressive choices. Pre-season testing will give us a much better idea of what to expect, but most of the indications suggest that the tyres will play a helpful part in making another attractive season. What are the goals and targets for 2013? In terms of goals and targets, we never set out to build the second-fastest or third-fastest car; we set out to build the fastest and most effective car that we possibly can. We want to improve our car in all areas from last year’s and we want the improvements we make to be greater than those made by the opposition. However, having said all that, the official target established by the team’s owners is to achieve a minimum of third place in the Constructors’ Championship.
  15. The Lotus F1 Team E21 has been unleashed today from the team’s Enstone base in Oxfordshire, England. Revealed to team partners on site, streamed live on YouTube and broadcast live on Sky Sports News in the UK, the E21 will contest the 2013 FIA Formula 1 World Championship with drivers Kimi Räikkönen (E21 n°7) and Romain Grosjean (E20 n°8). With only limited changes to the technical and sporting regulations from 2012, the E21 continues the design themes seen in its race-winning predecessor, the E20. However, it is pushing last year’s concepts even further as well as incorporating some innovative technical solutions. The new car also features a slightly tweaked livery, incorporating an extra touch or red. Joining the team as Third Driver is reigning GP2 series champion Davide Valsecchi, whilst Nicolas Prost will perform Development Driver duties. Jérôme D’Ambrosio will continue with the team as Reserve Driver. Eric Boullier, Team Principal: "I think it is fair to say that great things are possible from the team and the E21. The leap we made from 2011 to 2012 showed what we are capable of. Add to this the continuity and potential of our driver line-up and we have a very powerful cocktail for the season ahead. Our ambitious plan to turn ourselves into one of the top teams in Formula 1 is coming to fruition and now we need to harness this with strong and regular podium results." James Allison, Technical Director: "The E20 proved itself to be an effective racing car – particularly towards the end of last season – so there is an element of expectation from the E21 and plenty to build upon. We have continued with our design themes and tried to create a more efficient and faster racing car based on all the lessons we learnt last year. How successful we have been in this task will only be discovered when we take to the track at the winter tests and – more significantly – at Grands Prix." Kimi Räikkönen, Race Driver: "Of course, I’ve not driven the E21 yet so it’s difficult to say what could or could not be possible for the year ahead. We know we had a good car last season, but everyone is working hard to make the best package. I will be working with the team to help get the car as strong as we can, then in Melbourne we’ll have our first taste of results. It’s a long season from there. 2012 was a good start; let’s see what we can do in 2013." Romain Grosjean, Race Driver: "I can clearly say I want to score a lot of points for the team – everybody knows that – but I think it would be wrong for me to say I want to finish in a particular position in the championship. I really want to jump out of the car as many times as possible thinking that I did a good job. Knowing that everything I could do, I did, and feeling proud of my race or session. I hope to feel that way as many times as possible this year."
  16. Lotus F1 Team took a formation finish with Kimi Räikkönen in sixth and Romain Grosjean seventh in the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas this afternoon. Kimi maintains third position in the Drivers’ Championship on 206 points ; 16 ahead of Lewis Hamilton in fourth. The team remains fourth in the Constructors’ Championship on 302 points ; an increased 166 in front of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 in fifth. Kimi and Romain both started on used medium compound tyres. Romain pitted for new hard tyres on lap 9, Kimi on lap 24. Kimi Räikkönen, P6, E20-05 "It was an okay day, but not a very easy one for us. I got a bad start and then I touched with a Force India at the second corner so I lost a few more places. After that the car was okay and I could get past some of the others. Unfortunately, when it got cloudy it got too cold so the tyres stopped working and that’s where we saw Jenson [button] get past. Basically, it was a race where we were just depending on the tyres to be in their window. I’m still 3rd in the championship and we’ll do everything we can to maintain this position until the end." Romain Grosjean, P7, E20-03 "Not a bad race but the spin on lap seven was frustrating. The start was good, the first lap was good and the pace was definitely there. I recovered pretty well from where I was to finish P7 and was fighting Kimi at the end which is a positive sign. I pushed as hard as I could, so I was happy to bring home some more points for the team." Eric Boullier, Team Principal "Today wasn’t as good as Abu Dhabi obviously, but with both cars in the points we’re quite satisfied. The first part of the race created some expectations that we could have been in a position to fight for a better result, however the race didn’t play out that way. We had a small problem in Kimi’s pit stop and lost time there. Romain made a mistake behind Nico Hulkenberg and lost the opportunity to do a better job, but he had a very strong race from there and came back well. In the end, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari were faster and there wasn’t anything we could do. It’s good to gain some points, plus we know we have better performance still to come from the car and the ability to achieve better results, so we’re looking forward to Brazil." James Allison, Technical Director "Although there were elements of today’s race that were quite positive, overall I have to admit it was a pretty joyless experience. Romain’s off-track excursion during the early stages put a sizeable flat spot on his tyres which proved to be too much to live with past a few extra laps. This was a real shame as he clearly had good pace and put in a very spirited drive to recover from there. After a tricky start from the dirty side of the track, Kimi did a good job of clawing his way forwards and was on course to jump Fernando [Alonso] in the pit stop battle, but unfortunately we had a bit of a drama with our tyre change which put paid to that. On a more positive note, our qualifying pace has certainly improved so with a trouble free race in Brazil we can hopefully wrap up the season with another podium." Ricardo Penteado, Renault Sport F1 Team Support Leader "Coming to a new circuit is never straightforward as we are constantly learning about the track and optimising engine maps, fuel consumption and grip levels. We’ve had a strong weekend overall and sixth and seventh is a solid result, although perhaps we would have expected more after qualifying yesterday. The next race is only a week away and has its own set of challenges so we’ll take that result and look forward now."
  17. 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."
  18. Kimi Räikkönen came home a solid sixth, maintaining his third position in the Drivers’ Championship, whilst Romain Grosjean finished a classified 19th after retiring from 15th position on track after an eventful Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. The team remains fourth in the Constructors’ Championship with increased gaps of 103 points to Mercedes behind and 24 to Ferrari ahead. Both drivers started on Pirelli’s soft compound tyres. Kimi pitted for his first set of hard compound tyres on lap 13, then his second on lap 30. Romain pitted for hard compound tyres and a new front wing on lap 1, served a ten second stop and go penalty on lap 7, then took another set of hards on lap 22. Kimi Räikkönen, P6, E20-05 "Sixth wasn’t the result we were hoping for but unfortunately we didn’t have the speed to do better today. The start was very tight ; I was alongside Fernando [Alonso] straight away and he kept moving further across until there was nowhere left go. We lost some time there and our second pit stop wasn’t the best, so overall it was quite a difficult race. The good thing is we still managed to score points to stay in touch in the championship." Romain Grosjean, DNF / Classified 19th, E20-03 "Ever since I came back in Singapore my priority has been to be very cautious at the start, and I was watching Sergio [Perez] on my left to make sure there was no contact with him. There was quite a big speed difference between me and Mark [Webber] as I came into the first corner which caught me by surprise and we collided. It was a stupid mistake. Mark [Webber] came to see me after the race and was obviously not happy, but I apologised and we have to move on. We’ll sit down and look at things again before the next race to see what we can do to improve these situations. In the last few laps of the race the tyres were at the end of their life and we were out of the points, so it made sense to retire. Not a good day, but we have to look ahead to Korea and a chance to make amends." Eric Boullier, Team Principal "Obviously, it hasn’t gone as well as we expected. We could see in Singapore, when Romain was back on track, that the other drivers were putting some pressure on him at the start. Here it was a little bit easier, but he made a small mistake misjudging his pace compared with Mark, which was a bit higher. I think he has made some progress, but it’s unfortunate that this has happened again in these circumstances. With Kimi, the car’s pace was not as good as we were expecting. Starting seventh we had higher hopes, but if you don’t have the pace completely it doesn’t work well. We couldn’t put everything together in order to make his race more successful and gain more places." James Allison, Technical Director "The best thing that can be said about this event is that we scored some more points, but it’s certainly not been the weekend we hoped for on Friday, nor the one we expected after Saturday. We’re disappointed that Kimi had to race whilst looking in his mirrors rather than attacking those ahead and we need to face the fact that we need more performance from the E20 if we are to move up in the Constructors’ Championship rather than resting on our very secure fourth position. It would have been much better for us to have scored points with both cars but sadly a first lap incident for Romain put paid to that." Ricardo Penteado, Renault Sport F1 Team Support Leader "The combination of corners and wide open throttle time at Suzuka makes the circuit a challenge for the engines so we introduced new units on both cars to maximise power and torque available. We had a trouble-free event on this front and will re-use the same engines in Korea. Kimi has not had the best of weekends so getting eight more points today is very positive and keeps him third in the championship. We look forward to Korea in just a week’s time."
  19. Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean conducted setup evaluation runs and upgrade evaluations during the first day of running at the fabulous Suzuka circuit today. Under glorious skies both cars ran reliably in the morning, however Kimi suffered a coolant-leak induced KERS issue in the afternoon meaning he missed most of the session. Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director - Technical programme notes : We ran updated front wings on both cars today. In the morning we ran the DDRS Device on Kimi’s car and an updated rear wing on Romain’s. In the afternoon, both cars used non DDRS rear wings. The Singapore-spec floor was evaluated on both cars. Pirelli’s hard compound tyre was used in the morning, the hard and soft in the afternoon. What we learned today : We were not able to get ‘The Device’ functioning at a sufficient level for it to be used over the rest of the weekend. We made good progress dialling in the new floor as well as both the front and rear wings, which will all remain on the car for the rest of the weekend. Kimi Räikkönen, E20-05 Free practice 1 : P13, 1:35.691, 22 laps Free practice 2 : P14, 1:34.291, 12 laps Kimi : “We didn’t get much running because of the issue with the KERS, but at least it happened today and we got it fixed. It wasn’t ideal for helping us find the best setup but there’s nothing you can do about these things. Suzuka is not the easiest place to get the car set up, but we still have tomorrow’s practice before qualifying. I think we have the potential to be nearer the front than we have done in the last couple of races.” Romain Grosjean, E20-03 Free practice 1 : P14, 1:35.724, 21 laps Free practice 2 : P6, 1:33.107, 35 laps Romain : “Not a bad day overall. The car felt much better in the afternoon than it did this morning ; we’re still not quite where we want to be but the team has been working hard and hopefully we’ll make a similar step forward tomorrow. Suzuka is not an easy track on the car ; the demands on the tyres are really high but the car felt consistent with both compounds which is a big positive. It’s hard to say if P6 is the kind of position we’ll be in qualifying ; there are definitely still a few tenths we can find so let’s see what happens tomorrow.” James Allison, Technical Director : “We suffered a disrupted day with Kimi’s car but despite that we’ve achieved a reasonable amount. We evaluated ‘The Device’ in the morning but were unable to make it switch effectively so we won’t be using it for the rest of the weekend. Romain suffered from understeer in the morning and by the time we had put this right he had already used up the best performance from his tyres. In the afternoon, with a better set up, he showed that there’s still a reasonable turn of speed in the E20. We look in OK shape on both the hard and soft rubber as well as on high fuel, and we feel there is more to come from the car tomorrow ahead of Qualifying.”
  20. Kimi Räikkönen took a strong third position in the Belgian Grand Prix to move him back into fourth position in the Drivers’ Championship after a warm, dry and action packed race at Spa-Francorchamps. Kimi is now just one point off third-placed Mark Webber, whilst the team remains in third in the Constructors’ Championship. Romain Grosjean had a short race, ending with contact heading into the first corner. He was later penalised by the Stewards and is suspended from the next race in Monza, Italy. The team will not appeal this decision and will communicate the name of Romain’s replacement as soon as possible. Both drivers started on scrubbed medium compound Pirelli tyres Kimi stopped on laps 11 and 28, both times for new hard compound tyres. Both stops were sub 3 seconds. Kimi Räikkönen, P3, E20-05 "I made a pretty okay start, similar to Jenson [button]’s and I overtook the Sauber. I saw a lot of action in the mirrors but luckily it missed me. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the pace today. My car wasn’t great all weekend and we couldn’t find a competitive setup. On new tyres it was okay, but we had to use a lot of downforce to prevent sliding. That meant we were very slow on the straight. You could see this in my battle with Michael [schumacher]. Each time I passed him he just went straight back past down the Kemmel straight. My only chance was to go for a gap at Eau Rouge. Luckily it paid off and I managed to stay ahead of him that time. We didn’t have the pace today and it wasn’t an easy race, so P3 was not too bad.” Romain Grosjean, DNF, E20-04 “When your life is all about racing, not being allowed to attend an event is probably one of the worst experiences you can go through. That said, I do respect the verdict of the Stewards. I got a good start - despite being disturbed by Pastor’s early launch, which I think was the case for everybody at the front - and was heading into the first corner when the rear of my car made contact with the front of Lewis [Hamilton]’s. I honestly thought I was ahead of him and there was enough room for both cars ; I didn’t deliberately try to squeeze him or anything like that. This first corner situation obviously isn’t what anyone would want to happen and thankfully no-one was hurt in the incident. I wish to apologise to the drivers who were involved and to their fans. I can only say that today is part of a process that will make me a better driver." Eric Boullier, Team Principal "It’s been a tough day for the team but we fully respect the Stewards’ decision. Romain won’t be driving at Monza but he still has our full support. We’ll announce the name of his replacement a bit later in the week. As far as the race is concerned, unfortunately we didn’t have the pace for Kimi to challenge Jenson [button] or Sebastian [Vettel]. We had to look closely at the strategy during the race to see if we should switch to one stop, but in the end a podium finish still brings us some good points. Of course, everyone talks about ‘the win’, and this is something we all want. We were not fast enough for it today, so we all need to keep working hard for this goal." James Allison, Technical Director “Kimi did a really good job to salvage third position today with a car which really wasn’t quick enough, contrary to all our expectations coming into the event. In actual fact, this has been one of our tougher weekends and we’re thankful that Kimi did his best to limit the damage to our Championship aspirations. Fortunately, Spa can be viewed as sufficiently distinct in its characteristics to mean that we’re not unduly worried about the car’s potential performance heading to the next races.” Ricardo Penteado, Renault Sport F1 Team Support Leader “Getting a podium here is satisfying considering the challenge of the track, with nearly three quarters of the lap spent at full throttle. We introduced new units this weekend to maximise power on the straights and help overtaking. Wwe needed it today when Kimi made an awesome move to overtake Michal [schumacher]. It bodes well for Monza though where a similar emphasis is placed on outright top speed.”
  21. Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean took to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in wet conditions today for the first practice sessions ahead of Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix. The cold and very wet conditions meant that the team only completed limited running in the morning, when both cars ran the team’s new aerodynamic device. No laps were completed by the team in the afternoon. Free Practice 2 Summary 0mins : It’s raining, a lot 5mins : Kimi gets into his car 17mins : Kimi gets out of his car 29mins : Romain thinks about putting his helmet on, but decides against it 45mins : At the halfway stage, it’s still raining 51mins : Will Buxton and Natalie Pinkham drop by to cheer us up 68mins : The team fire up Kimi’s engine to keep warm 73mins : Serious debate begins as to the best choice of biscuits with our tea 80mins : Romain’s side of the garage gets a bit chilly, so we fire up his motor too 90mins : An enthralling session of damp media members and biscuit banter concludes Kimi Räikkönen, E20-05 Free practice 1 : P23, 2:46.580, 9 laps Free practice 2 : No time set, no laps completed Kimi : “There’s not much to say about today. It was too wet to run and there was little point as the forecast is for better conditions over the next two days. I’m looking forward to driving the circuit in the dry. It’s a shame that we haven’t been able to evaluate our new developments as it would have been interesting to see how they perform here. Tomorrow is another day, let’s see what happens.” Romain Grosjean, E20-04 Free practice 1 : P21, 2:38.701, 9 laps Free practice 2 : No time set, no laps completed Romain : “It’s a big shame we couldn’t do much running today as it was so wet. I was really looking forward to trying the famous ‘Device’ for the first time, but I guess I’ll have to wait. The weather should be better tomorrow, so we’ll have a busy time getting two days of evaluation into one session and then going straight into qualifying. The E20 has been strong at every circuit so far this year, so I’m sure it will be pretty good around this track in any case.” James Allison, Technical Director : “The forecast for the next two days is for dry and warmer weather so running today was not very useful in terms of preparing for qualifying or the race. Today’s rain also prevented us from seeing how the ‘Device’ would perform in the expected race conditions. With discretion being the better part of valour we will conduct P3 tomorrow with a conventional aero package rather than attempting to squeeze Friday’s intended evaluation into the precious final practice session. On the plus side we learned today that the cars are working fine and we’re happy to end the day with no damage from running in these difficult conditions.”
  22. Lotus F1 Team scored a fantastic double podium in Budapest this afternoon, with second place for Kimi Räikkönen and third for Romain Grosjean in a searing hot and searing paced Hungarian Grand Prix. The team returns to third position in the Constructors’ Championship, just one point off second. Despite his strong result, Kimi drops to fifth spot in the Driver’s Championship ; just one point off today’s race winner Lewis Hamilton who is now fourth in the standings. Romain remains in eighth, equal on points with seventh placed driver Jenson Button. Both drivers started on scrubbed soft compound Pirelli tyres, changing to another set of scrubbed softs and finishing on new sets of the medium compound tyres. Romain stopped for tyres on laps 19 and 39. Kimi on laps 20 and 45. Kimi Räikkönen, P2, E20-05 "It’s a shame we couldn’t quite get the win but it’s a good result for the team and we’ll keep pushing to make that final step. My start was not too bad but then we had some issues with the KERS and I lost a place to Fernando [Alonso]. When we got it working again we were stuck in the pack so it was a bit frustrating, but once we were in clear air we could push and it looked like we could make up a few places in the second stops. The team said it would be very close with Romain, but it was okay in the end. We managed to catch Lewis [Hamilton] but it was impossible to pass.” Romain Grosjean, P3, E20-04 “It’s a good result for the team, but to be honest I’m a bit disappointed. We had a good battle for the lead with Lewis [Hamilton] all through the first two stints, but then I got stuck behind Michael [schumacher] who didn’t respect the blue flags at all which cost me a lot of time. Because of this I lost a place to Kimi, and at the same time a possible chance to fight for the win. It’s very hard to overtake here ; every time I came close to someone in front I would lose a bit of front end grip which made it impossible. Still, that’s racing and we’ve take home a lot of points for the Constructors’ Championship which is a real positive.” Eric Boullier, Team Principal "Both cars on the podium end a pretty good weekend for the team. For everyone back at Enstone we must pay credit as they work so hard for results like this, but seldom get to taste the champagne at the track. I’m very happy that Romain came back after a tough weekend in Germany and I’m very happy to see Kimi fighting for the win. Our new approach to qualifying is delivering. We qualified better this weekend and we chased the leader of the race for many laps. On a different track layout which allows overtaking I think we could have won this race.” James Allison, Technical Director “It was an excellent race from both our drivers, from the E20 and from the whole team. We made very strong progress with a good haul of Drivers’ and Constructors’ points today. We’re only just past the halfway mark in the season so it’s not fantasy to think that we’re still in the hunt in both championships. The general trend is of our car getting stronger and I hope that we can press that home in the coming races.” Ricardo Penteado, Renault Sport F1 Team Support Leader “A fantastic double podium today and very important for the championship. We’ve worked very closely with the chassis team all weekend to deliver the correct engine response into and out of the many corners of the Hungaroring and the package has looked quick all weekend. It’s very positive that we are able to score results on all types of tracks, from the high speed circuits such as Hockenheim to the low average speeds of the Hungaroring.”
  23. Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean took to the Hungaroring circuit today for the first practice sessions ahead of Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix. With a wonderfully warm morning and marvellously mixed conditions in the afternoon, the team assessed a number of aerodynamic developments. Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director - Technical programme notes : Pirelli’s medium compound tyres were used in the morning. The medium, soft and intermediate compounds were used in the afternoon. We spent the morning tuning the new aerodynamic device with various improvements after initial running in Hockenheim. Romain had a normal programme in the morning, and an interrupted afternoon after an off which damaged his bodywork. What we learned today : The new aerodynamic system is now working well and will have its race debut in the near future. Kimi Räikkönen, E20-05 Free practice 1 : P8, 1:23.983, 24 laps Free practice 2 : P2, 1:22.180, 20 laps Kimi : “It was a normal Friday for me. We did the normal things and tried to make the car as quick as it can be. We were second fastest which was good, and we’ve managed to improve the setup on my car over the last few races so I’ve been pretty happy with it. We’re just making small improvements, but we’re making them all the time and going in the right direction. It’s only Friday, but we’re hoping for another good day tomorrow. ” Romain Grosjean, E20-04 Free practice 1 : P5, 1:23.633, 24 laps Free practice 2 : P9, 1:22.922, 12 laps Romain : “Not the best day we’ve had but not the worst either. The car didn’t feel quite as I like it, similar to how it felt in Hockenheim, which made things a bit tricky. I made a mistake running wide on the exit of turn seven in the second session which meant I touched the wall, so a big apology to the guys for that. On a more positive note we now understand a few things which need improving in terms of setup, so hopefully tomorrow these will make a difference and I’ll have the confidence to push a bit harder and show the true pace of the car.” James Allison, Technical Director : “We conducted valuable analysis of our latest aerodynamic developments on Kimi’s car this morning which help bring it a step closer to deployment in a race sometime in the future. Romain was uncomfortable with his car today which is something we will try to understand this evening. Kimi was pretty happy overall, even this morning when we weren’t running the native downforce settings for this circuit. With the Hungary setup in the afternoon, Kimi was comfortable, quick, and happy with both specifications of dry tyre. Whilst we haven’t conducted our usual long runs today it looks like both compounds should be reasonable race tyres.”
  24. Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean took to the Silverstone track briefly today for the first practice sessions ahead of Sunday’s British Grand Prix. The day’s running programme was beset by persistent and continual rain which meant only Pirelli’s wet weather tyres were used. Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director - Technical programme notes : We ran evaluations of our wet weather setup, completing a limited number of laps with both cars because of the inclement conditions. Both cars ran Pirelli’s full wet tyre, with Kimi completing limited running on the intermediate tyre at the end of the second practice session. What we learned today : Our base wet weather setup appears to work well at Silverstone. Kimi Räikkönen, E20-05 Free practice 1 : P16, 2:00.253, 6 laps Free practice 2 : P8, 1:58.897, 8 laps Kimi : “It was wet. It’s a shame we don’t have more wet tyres to be able to get more track time, but if it’s going to rain for the whole weekend then everybody tries to save their allocation. We were able to test certain things so it wasn’t a total waste of time. It was interesting to see the new section of the track ; it’s only a few corners so it doesn’t make too much difference to a lap. Hopefully tomorrow the weather will be a bit better. Even if it is wet again, everyone will go out in practice and in qualifying so we should see a drier line emerge. When there are only a couple of cars running this doesn’t happen and there’s much more chance of aquaplaning, but with everyone out there it should be much better.” Romain Grosjean, E20-04 Free practice 1 : P1, 1:56.552, 13 laps Free practice 2 : P21, No time set, 0 laps Romain : “It wasn’t the busiest day ever due to the weather conditions but still FP1 went well. The car looks to be good and consistent. We tested a few new aero parts which have worked pretty well. I also learnt that the old part of the circuit has a bit more grip than the new part. At the end of FP1 this morning it was incredibly wet and the same conditions at the start of FP2 so we had to wait and be patient. I would have liked to have more track time but due to the regulations on tyres we didn’t want to use up all our wet tyre allocation as more rain is expected on Saturday and Sunday. We looked at putting inters on but it wasn’t dry enough so we couldn’t really do many laps this afternoon. The conditions were a shame for the fans out there who came to watch us today, but we always appreciate their support.” James Allison, Technical Director : “It’s never too much fun in conditions like we saw today as it is always a big dilemma about whether to risk the car to learn about what it is like to run in the conditions. We haven’t done a lot of wet weather running this year so it was useful for us to establish that the car behaves well in these conditions, especially as it may well be wet in the race. We were able to validate that all the wings are doing what they are supposed to do, even when the car is wet, and we did that with both drivers. Our pace in the morning showed that we don’t have any problems in these conditions. We were also able to conduct some pit stop practices which went well. Tomorrow and qualifying should be interesting.”
  25. Lotus F1 Team endured a difficult Monaco Grand Prix, with Kimi Räikkönen finishing in ninth position and Romain Grosjean crashing out of the race before the first corner. It was also a difficult race for the strategists with rain looming but never arriving to any significant extent until immediately after the chequered flag fell. Lotus F1 Team are now tied in third position in the Constructors’ Championship with Ferrari. Both cars started on used sets of red-marked super soft Pirelli P-Zero tyres. Kimi changed to a set of new soft tyres on lap 29. Kimi Räikkönen, P9, E20-03 “Ninth was the best we could do today. I didn’t start in a great position and I had some difficulties during the race so it’s not been the easiest weekend, but at least we got a couple of points. It’s better than nothing but not exactly what we wanted. One race doesn’t change the fact that we have been pretty strong everywhere – even here at the beginning of the weekend. This circuit is completely different from any other and I don’t think we should worry too much about the fact that it wasn’t our best weekend. It is what it is – sometimes it doesn’t go the way you expected and now we should look to Canada for a better result.” Romain Grosjean, DNF, E20-04 “We struggled to get off the line and it looked like Lewis [Hamilton] in front didn’t have the best start either. Fernando [Alonso] pulled alongside him so I was then on the outside of both cars, and unfortunately Michael [schumacher] was on the outside of me as well. There just wasn’t enough room and next thing I’m facing all the traffic after just one hundred metres which wasn’t a nice feeling. It’s a disappointing end to the week after some positive early signs, but that’s racing and now we look forward to Canada and a chance to bounce back.” Eric Boullier, Team Principal "We arrived in Monaco after two consecutive podiums and did not really know what to expect at such a unique circuit. Before qualifying it was obvious that the E20 was going to be competitive, but things did not go as planned. Our positions on the grid did not reflect our true pace and that put us on the back foot for the rest of the weekend. Unfortunately Romain’s race ended prematurely after contact with Michael Schumacher, and like the Stewards I think it was a racing incident. With Kimi, we knew that fighting for a podium was going to be more than difficult. It then became obvious that we were struggling with our tyres when the temperature fell. The grip was just not there and we could only defend our position. In the end, the two points we’ve scored today are disappointing but because the field is so tight we have not lost too much ground on our opponents. We have the same number of points as Ferrari in the constructors’ championship, while Kimi is 25 points away from Fernando Alonso who’s leading the drivers’ classification. Anything can still happen and the championship is wide open. We’re now looking forward to Montreal, the first low downforce track of the season, where the E20 should be strong. Finally, I wish to congratulate the team for all their hard work this weekend. Our 500th was not one of our best, but I hope the 501st is!” James Allison, Technical Director “We’ve had five races so far this season where we’ve shown strongly. Sadly, at the sixth we were not on the pace. It was a completely joyless experience from start to finish. Romain has been metronomic this weekend, but he was out of the race before the first corner which was a massive blow to our hopes for today. Kimi had an okay start, but wasn’t able to keep the car running at a challenging pace once the sheen came off his tyres after ten or fifteen laps. We stayed out longer than we would have done otherwise on the first set of super soft tyres as we, and everyone else, were waiting for rain to come. Now we have to pick ourselves up and come back in Canada to bring both cars home in strong placings.” Ricardo Penteado, Renault Sport F1 Team Support Leader “We worked hard to deliver good drive and response over the lower rev ranges to deal with the low average speed of the Monaco track. The package has been quick this weekend, which was reflected in the qualifying positions, but Romain was very unlucky to be involved in the accident at the start. Ninth place for Kimi is a bit frustrating and not reflective of the general level of performance we have shown at this event.”
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