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  1. Lotus continue their Grand Prix battle In its 50th year of hosting the sport, Britain’s Silverstone Circuit welcomed the 9th round of the 2014 Grand Prix Championship today, and despite the warm support from British fans for our black and gold team, it was another thorny race for Lotus. The race weekend had not started well with Pastor Maldonado failing to qualify after he ran out of fuel. This resulted in him starting at the back of the grid, in P20. Romain fared slightly better beginning the race from P14. A nasty accident by former Lotus F1® Team Driver, Kimi Räikkonen, then cut short the race in lap 2, with all drivers under the red flag whilst repairs to the guardrails were made and track debris removed. A re-start under the safety car saw Romain then begin in P16 and Pastor in P14. Several laps later, a shunt for Pastor Maldonado saw him airborne for several seconds but continue the race seemingly unscathed. It wasn’t until the penultimate lap, however, that his fight became difficult when he suffered exhaust issues and was finally classified 17th. Romain, on the other hand, who had also been battling hard had advanced to P12, before going on to take the flag in the same position. Both drivers began the race on medium tyres before switching to hard compounds. Romain Grosjean P14 E22-03: “It was a difficult first start to the race for me. I had a switch problem which meant limited power, but despite that we had a good first lap. I avoided the incident with Kimi, but my visor did get damaged by some debris. The restart went pretty well for me and the car felt alright. Towards the end of the race, on medium tyres, our pace was much better. We came close to the points but we’d started the race from too far down the grid. I understood quite a lot from the car today which should assist us in making progress." Pastor Maldonado DNF E22-01: “My first start felt good but after the restart we struggled for power so I wasn’t able to fight with the cars around me. I still pushed as best I could but making progress was difficult. There was contact from Esteban Gutierrez, the result of which I’m told looked spectacular, but in the car it was over very quickly and we kept on racing. We’re not sure if this added to the cause of my retirement, certainly the rear wing was moving about more than normal so we don’t know yet what other damage there was. Now I look forward to testing here on Tuesday.” Federico Gastaldi, Deputy Team Principal: "Once more the team demonstrated great teamwork over a challenging weekend. Unfortunately we weren’t able to take advantage of what looks to be much more competitive damp weather performance as the weather was much better today. It was an eventful race and we’re thankful no-one was hurt in the incident at the start. Our performance was short of where we want it to be, but both drivers gave their all. As our local race, it was fantastic to see so many people from Enstone here and we thank them all for their ongoing hard work.” The team now head to Germany for the next round of the competition that takes place in Hockenheim on the 20th July.
  2. Adrian Hall benefitted from a penalty for main rival Chris Randall in the second round of the 2014 Lotus Cup UK championship at Silverstone this weekend (26 April). The pair had disputed both the race lead and Open class honours throughout a race disrupted by two safety car interventions, and it was a yellow flag infringement that settled the result, after Randall had looked to have asserted his authority over the poleman during a frantic dash for the chequered flag. Hall had taken the race lead from Randall before the first safety car, with round one winner and Exige class pacesetter Adam Balon also in the fight for victory. He put Lotus Cup Europe visitor Jonathan Walker in the shade, whilst reigning champion Simon Deacon boosted his title defence with the 2-Eleven category win and overall seventh place. Meanwhile Fulvio Mussi dominated the Production class after qualifying star Jack Goff was forced to start from the back of the huge 53-car grid for failing technical checks. Martin Wills was a strong second from Stuart Ratcliffe and co-driver Anthony Dunn. The next round of the Lotus Cup UK and Elise Trophy championships will take place at Rockingham on 24-25 May.
  3. Nico Prost completed his second day of testing in the E21 as the third fastest driver to conclude the 2013 Silverstone Young Driver Test. Completing 83 laps, Nico ran through a programme of setup work and aerodynamic assessments, in addition to evaluating a new exhaust. Fast Facts: Track: Silverstone, England, 5.9km Chassis: E21-03 Weather: Sunny, ambient 20-26°C, track 29-42°C Programme: Setup work, assessment of new aero and exhaust components Laps Completed: 83 Classification: P3, 1:33.256 Interruptions: None What’s Next? Lotus F1 Team heads to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Nico Prost: “It was a really good day for me. We focused on some more performance orientated work in the morning – which is always enjoyable to do – and especially beneficial after spending yesterday in the simulator in terms of correlation. I feel that I’m improving each time I get in the car. Obviously, it’s very fast so it takes some time to get used to it, but I feel I’ve definitely made good progress. It was clear that the team made some improvements with Davide [Valsecchi] in the car yesterday so I think it’s been a very productive and worthwhile test for the team. Overall, it’s been a fantastic week for me.” Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “Today proved to be a good conclusion to a productive three days at Silverstone. Nico continued the assessment programme he started on Wednesday and we made further positive steps forwards. We worked more on setup to get the car to Nico’s liking, thereby enabling him to push harder through the day. We ran new aerodynamic parts designed to help extract the maximum performance from the tyres, and it was with these that Nico set his fastest lap time, which is certainly a positive sign. We also assessed a new exhaust in the afternoon which looks to be beneficial. Now it’s time to analyse all the data to determine which parts we intend to use in Budapest.”
  4. Davide Valsecchi completed the second day of running at the Silverstone Young Driver Test as the third-fastest driver of the day. After completing 91 laps, Davide recorded the fourth-fastest time overall due to Daniel Ricciardo setting lap times in two different cars. Davide ran through a programme of aerodynamic assessments including analysis work on the team’s rear wing ‘Device’. Nico Prost returns to the car on Friday in a change to the original programme – which had seen Kimi Räikkönen set to take the wheel – made following clarification of FIA rules. Fast Facts: Track: Silverstone, England, 5.9km Chassis: E21-03 Weather: Sunny, ambient 20-27°C, track 30-44°C Programme: ‘Device’ analysis, heavy fuel running, evaluation of latest hard and medium tyre compounds Laps Completed: 91 Classification: P4, 1:33.554 Interruptions: None What’s Next? The Young Driver Test concludes tomorrow with Nico Prost returning to driving duties. Davide Valsecchi: “Today was the highlight of my season and I really enjoyed my time in the car. Everything seemed to be going well and I hope that I’ve been able to contribute to the team’s efforts ahead of the next race in Budapest. We completed all the jobs on the schedule and I think I got some extra laps in too. I did miss the pit board for a few laps when the team was trying to call me in as the radio was broken. I stayed out until I thought they were going to throw the pit board at me, then I thought it was better that I came in!” Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “Another excellent day from our perspective, with a full programme completed enabling us to develop our rear wing ‘Device’. It was perfect to test it here as we previously ran with the ‘Device’ at the British Grand Prix, so the data from that event combined with today’s work has allowed us to further refine it. Within today’s running we used the hard and medium tyres in high and low fuel configurations. We’re beginning to get a good understanding of the latest tyre evolution and have been looking at how best to get and keep them in their optimum operating window. We have some good data to study the tyre degradation characteristics and we’re well placed to go into the final day of the test and make further progress.”
  5. Nico Prost completed the first day of running at the Silverstone Young Driver Test by setting the eighth fastest time of the day in the team’s E21. Nico ran through a programme of aerodynamic assessments over the course of a glorious day of sunshine at the Northamptonshire circuit. Davide Valsecchi will take over tomorrow with Nico returning to the car on Friday in a change to the original programme – which had seen Kimi Räikkönen set to take the wheel – made following clarification of FIA rules stipulating that race drivers would be unable to test anything other than tyres. Fast Facts: Track: Silverstone, England, 5.9km Chassis: E21-03 Weather: Sunny, ambient 20-28°C, track 29-46°C Programme: Aerodynamic data logging, upgrade assessment, latest tyre evaluation Laps Completed: 72 Classification: P8, 1:34.810 Interruptions: Minor delays in morning for niggle rectification What’s Next? The Young Driver Test continues tomorrow with Davide Valsecchi in action. Nico Prost: “It was a very positive day where we completed everything in the itinerary. We only ran with the hard tyres today; focusing on comparison assessments of the latest parts for the car as well as aero work which meant we didn’t make any setup changes. Considering this our pace was pretty good. I’m happy that I’ll be running again on Friday when hopefully we’ll be able to look for a bit more performance, but the important focus of this test is to complete a programme aimed at putting Kimi and Romain in the best position to be able to win the Hungarian Grand Prix.” Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “Nico got our programme off to a strong start with fast and consistent laps all day meaning we have plenty of data to analyse overnight. We had a few niggles to sort in the morning, but were soon in our stride running with large aero-logging rakes and other data gathering equipment. We’ve evaluated some new updates which are looking promising and we have a good initial impression of Pirelli’s latest tyres. Tomorrow is Davide’s turn on driving duties and we expect another strong day of running. Looking to Friday, in a change to our original plan, we will now run Nico again. Once the details of what race drivers were allowed to do here became apparent, we would have only been able to conduct a very limited programme with Kimi. By running Nico again we can build on the work already carried out and hopefully be in the best position to develop the E21 ahead of Budapest.”
  6. Kimi Räikkönen set a new record for consecutive Grand Prix points placings [25] by taking fifth position in an eventful British Grand Prix at Silverstone today. The Finn ran as high as second place in a race punctuated by safety car periods and characterised by an unusual amount of tyre failures. Romain Grosjean had a more difficult race, from which he retired at the end due to a front wing failure. Kimi leaves Silverstone third in the Drivers’ Championship while the team remains fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. Kimi started from P8 with a used set of medium tyres, changing to new hard tyres on laps 11 and 29. Romain started from P7 on a used set of medium tyres, changing to new hards on lap 9, scrubbed hards on lap 30 and new mediums on lap 42. Today was Kimi’s 36th consecutive race finish – 28th consecutive with Lotus F1 Team – and 25th consecutive Grand Prix points finish; the latter statistic meaning he sets a new record Kimi Räikkönen, P5, E21-03 “I tried to hold on at the end of the race, but with tyres that were maybe twenty laps older than the others’ it was impossible to keep them behind. It’s a shame as the race went pretty well until then; we had good pace and looked set for a pretty easy P2, but this is racing sometimes. It’s three races now where we haven’t had the result we maybe expect, but hopefully if we can have a bit more luck and also get rid of some of the mistakes we’ll be able to get back to the front.” Romain Grosjean, DNF, E21-02 “Towards the end of the race we lost quite a big part of the front wing meaning it became really difficult to drive, so in the end it was best to retire because of safety considerations. We don’t know if it was caused by some debris or something to do with the fact that it was a new part; we will be working to find out the root of the problem. Before that my race wasn’t going quite to plan and we were suffering with tyre performance. This was related to the front wing issue which started earlier in the race. The safety cars didn’t really go our way either so it’s a race I’d rather forget. Let’s go to Germany and have a better weekend.” Eric Boullier, Team Principal "The outcome of the race isn’t rewarding with the amount of work that has been done by the team recently. Most of the upgrades we brought here seem to be working which is a positive sign, although we did struggle a bit in qualifying to generate good grip from the tyres. Our strategy was great today until the last safety car when we should have called Kimi in to save at least one position and make the podium. Unfortunately, we made the wrong call for which we apologise to Kimi and to the team. This sometimes happens and it isn’t easy to manage when you have so many safety car periods. We will be in Germany in a few days’ time where we’re confident we will be competitive and aiming to make amends.” Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director “We have mixed feelings today. We made some good places up during the race but in hindsight, we should have pitted Kimi at the final safety car. It wasn’t obvious at the time, but the benefit of hindsight is always enlightening. Romain had a front wing failure near the end of the race, the cause of which we don’t know yet. We weren’t affected by the tyres issues that we have seen today but warned our drivers to stay clear of the kerb at Turn 4 as there was a suspicion it might be the cause. Despite not being as good as it could have been, it was a better weekend for us than the last two. Further upgrades we have coming for Germany mean we fight on.” Ricardo Penteado, Renault Sport F1 Team Support Leader “A positive Grand Prix on our side and we got the most we could from the engine performance. We decided not to run with new units to retain some flexibility for later in the season; this year it’s very unpredictable so we need to keep as many aces up our sleeves as we can. Obviously we would have liked to end up on the podium, particularly after Kimi’s performance, but a top five finish is important with our rivals scoring big this weekend. We’ll try and redress the balance next weekend.”
  7. Romain Grosjean will start from eighth on the grid and Kimi Räikkönen right behind him in ninth after today’s qualifying for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. After a promising Q1 session where the cars finished P3 and P4, Q2 and Q3 proved to be more difficult at the team’s local circuit. Kimi ran with a Device-equipped E21, whilst Romain ran with a new slimline bodywork package. Kimi Räikkönen, E21-03. Q: P9, 1:30.962. FP3: P8, 1:32.459 “It was a close qualifying session between both of the team’s cars so I think we both got pretty much all there was from the car today. It’s not ideal as we’d like to be nearer the front of the grid, but it is what it is. We’ll go into the race wanting to get a better result than we did in qualifying. Usually this is what happens for us and and hopefully that is the case again tomorrow.” Romain Grosjean, E21-02. Q: P8, 1:30.955. FP3: P5, 1:32.391 “Whilst were very quick on the hard tyres at the beginning of qualifying, we weren’t as competitive on the mediums, I don’t know if it’s the weather or something else, but we weren’t as good on them as in free practice this morning meaning we didn’t have enough to qualify further up the grid. We are working hard and in the right direction, but the tyres are still playing a key part. I’m quite satisfied with my performance today.” Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: How was qualifying for the team? I’m reasonably happy with both cars making it into the top ten but, of course, we would have liked a bit more from today. Romain didn’t have a perfect last lap and suffered from understeer in Turn 15 whilst there didn’t seem to be much more pace in Kimi’s car. How are the tyres working here? They seem to be quite close for us in terms of ultimate lap pace. We had quite a dilemma as to whether we should run Romain on the harder tyres in Q3 as he went very well on them in Q1. Other than that, both compounds are well suited to the demands of Silverstone and there should be a range of strategy permutations available tomorrow. How’s the weather affecting the performance? Like many of the crew, the E21 certainly prefers warmer temperatures. The cloud cover today can mean a reasonable temperature drop, so we’re certainly hoping for clearer skies and a warmer track tomorrow.
  8. Romain Grosjean ended the first day of practice for the British Grand Prix with the ninth fastest time, with team-mate Kimi Räikkönen posting a Friday 13th in what was a characteristically wet start to the weekend at Silverstone. The team completed a solitary installation lap with Romain – and no running at all with Kimi – during the morning session due to an inclement wet track, resulting in all meaningful track time taking place in the drying afternoon session. Pirelli’s wet and intermediate tyres were used today in addition to the hard, medium and developmental dry tyres. Technical programme notes: We didn’t run in the morning – save for an installation lap – due to the wet conditions. In the afternoon, Kimi ran the team’s ‘Device’ for evaluation. He also has a different hair configuration. Romain ran with new specification figure-hugging bodywork. Pirelli’s wet (blue) tyres were used in the morning, the intermediate (green), developmental (no markings), hard (orange) and medium compound dry (white) tyres in the afternoon. What we learned today: The Device appears to be working well, but will require data analysis to determine if it will be used for the rest of the weekend. Romain’s new aero-package also appears to be delivering what we want from it. Kimi Räikkönen, E21-03 Free practice 1: No laps completed Free practice 2: P13, 1:34.120, 30 laps Kimi: “We’re reasonably happy with everything today. We put quite a lot of effort into testing the new Device with feels pretty okay. I only ran with the development and hard tyre so didn’t go for a faster lap, but it didn’t feel too bad and we can work out where everything will be once we put it all together. I don’t think we’re one of the very quickest, but I don’t think we’ll be too far away.” Romain Grosjean, E21-02 Free practice 1: P14, No time set, 1 lap Free practice 2: P9, 1:33.322, 38 laps Romain: “It was a solid day here at Silverstone. Thankfully, the rain stopped for this afternoon and we could get some good laps in so we can make a call on setup and configuration for tomorrow. It’s hard to say exactly where the car is due to the conditions we had, plus we ran with a lot of different tyres so my engineers will have a busy evening checking the info to work out what’s best. The car feels good; I think if we can improve in a few areas we could be well placed for qualifying.” Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “After a wash-out in the morning where we elected not to run, we had a productive afternoon. Kimi was happy with the balance of the car with the Device fitted and we made some tweaks to it by trying different settings too. All appears to be working well and we have a good amount of data from which to decide if we will run it for the rest of the weekend. Romain’s car also looks to be working fine with the new aero package. We’re not concerned by the lap times this afternoon; Kimi didn’t use the softer tyre while Romain ran with it very early in the session, so we’re happy that we will be more competitive than we were at the last race.”
  9. 2013 Lotus Cup UK - 2nd Round Race Report A thrilling battle for the lead of the second round of the 2013 Lotus Cup UK Championship was fought between the Evora of Andrew Bentley and Marcus Jewell’s 2-Eleven, with the former taking the honours on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. The pair fought from the very first lap, along with Adrian Hall, until he made the first of a series of unscheduled pitstops. The lead changed several times in the closing laps, and the margin of victory was little more than a second after an hour of racing. Simon Deacon completed the podium, finishing ahead of Rob Fenn and the Benji and Freddie Hetherington Exige, which grabbed fifth from Steve Train on the final corner of the race. Meanwhile Phil Capstick and Ben Brooks took the Exige Cup victory. A packed production field contained many Elise Trophy entries, however Adam Gore confirmed his status as the man to beat with a dominant performance that almost placed him in the overall top ten. Matthias Radestock and the combination of Andrew Wright and Nigel Greensall completed the class podium. The next Lotus Cup UK round takes place at Brands Hatch, supporting DTM on the Indy circuit on 17-19 May.
  10. #31 Kevin Weeda (USA) – Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) – Christophe Bouchut (FRA) #32 Thomas Holzer (GER) – Dominik Kraihamer (AUT) – Jan Charouz (CZE) Race #32 Position 9 (LMP2) 113 laps #31 retired 42 laps The first race of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship took place today at Silverstone Circuit. Lotus Praga LMP2 was starting from the third row in LMP2 class with Vitantonio Liuzzi (#31) and Jan Charouz (#32) at the wheel of the new Lotus Praga T128 LMP2 cars. Charouz was hit by a competitor in the first lap and had to come back to the garage in order to fix the damages. After 90 minutes, #32 was ready to go again and took the chequered flag after six hours. The sister car #31 had to retire from the race after about two hours due to stearing problems. Until then, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Kevin Weeda and Christophe Bouchut completed 42 laps. In total, the team added a total of 155 laps to its tally and collected a lot of valuable data about the new car in preparation for the next races. The new Lotus Praga T128 LMP2 has shown a good race performance and the team is looking forward to the next races. Christophe Bouchut, Race Driver #31: “It was great to be racing the new Lotus Praga T128 LMP2 here at Silverstone. Unfortunately, we had to stop the car due to problems with the stearing. We wanted to drive until the end of the race however, it was not possible today. I want to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to race here and also for their support and hard work throughout the weekend.” Dominik Kraihamer, Race Driver #32: “I am very happy that I was driving the new Lotus Praga T128 LMP2 today. We completed 113 laps and we learned a lot about the car. I want to thank the whole team for working hard and making this possible. I am looking forward to the next race at Spa and I hope we will show a good performance.”
  11. #31 Kevin Weeda (USA) – Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) – Christophe Bouchut (FRA) #32 Thomas Holzer (GER) – Dominik Kraihamer (AUT) – Jan Charouz (CZE) Free Practice 3 #31 Position 9 (LMP2) Lap time 1:59.423 (Liuzzi) #32 Position 10 (LMP2) Lap time 2:13.884 (Kraihamer) Qualifying #32 Position 5 (LMP2) Average Lap time 2:01.55 (Bouchut, Liuzzi) #31 Position 6 (LMP2) Average Lap time 2:02.144 (Kraihamer, Charouz) The first qualifying of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship was underway today at Silverstone Circuit. Lotus Praga LMP2 showed a good performance and qualified both cars in fifth position and sixth in LMP2 class for cars #32 and #31 respectively. It was the debut for the new qualifying format, where two drivers of each car have to do at least two timed laps. The average of the four lap times serves as the reference time for the grid. There was a long wait for the official qualifying result because of problems with the timing system. In the end, it was confirmed that cars #32 and #31 will start from fifth and sixth position respectively. It is a good result for Lotus at the first qualifying of the season with the new Lotus Praga T128 LMP2. The 6 Hours of Silverstone will start on Sunday, 14th April at 12:00 hours local time. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Race Driver #31: “We had a good qualifying under difficult weather conditions. We started on slicks with Christophe Bouchut and changed for intermediate tyres because the track was very wet and slippery. For my stint, we changed back to slicks as the track dried up again. Starting from sixth position into the race with the new car is very good and we are quite pleased about this result. We keep on working hard to improve the car and we hope to have a good race tomorrow.” Jan Charouz, Race Driver #32: “It was a crazy qualifying session today with rain just in the beginning of the session. My team mate Dominik Kraihamer was doing his laps at first and I was out afterwards when the track dried up again. We are fifth in LMP2 class which is a good result for us and we are very pleased about it. The car was better compared to the morning session and it was a step in the right direction. Now we are getting ready for tomorrow’s race and I am looking forward to racing the Lotus Praga T128 for the first time.”
  12. #31 Kevin Weeda (USA) – Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) – Christophe Bouchut (FRA) #32 Thomas Holzer (GER) – Dominik Kraihamer (AUT) – Jan Charouz (CZE) Free Practice 1 #31 Position 9 (LMP2) Lap time 2:13.413 (Bouchut) #32 Position 10 (LMP2) Lap time 2:18.283 (Holzer) Free Practice 2 #31 Position 9 (LMP2) Lap time 1:59.423 (Liuzzi) #32 Position 10 (LMP2) Lap time 2:23.886 (Charouz) The new season of the FIA World Endurance Championship started off today with two practice sessions and Lotus Praga LMP2 was underway with its two Lotus Praga T128 LMP2. The changing weather conditions made it impossible to do reasonable lap times. After numerous rain showers, the sun came out for some minutes and the track dried up until there was rain again. Nevertheless, Lotus took the opportunity to learn about the car under different conditions. The team hopes that the weather will be better for tomorrow’s qualifying. The qualifying format has been changed for this season. Two drivers from each car must set at least two timed laps during qualifying. The average of the four best lap times (the best two lap times of each driver) will serve as the reference time for establishing the grid. The debut of this new format is going to be interesting and will ensure that there will be a lot of track action. The qualifying to the 6 Hours of Silverstone will start on Saturday, 13th April at 12:10 hours local time. Christophe Bouchut, Race Driver #31: “It was an interesting first day at Silverstone and I was happy to drive the new Lotus T128 today. There is still some work to do, but we learned a lot about the car, which will help us to find the right setup for the next days. The team is doing an incredible job and I am very happy to race with Lotus.” Thomas Holzer, Race Driver #32: “It was an amazing feeling to drive the Lotus T128 for the first time. There is a lot of potential and we are working hard to get the best out of the car. In the first practice session, we had some overheating problems due to the long pit lane and running in the pit limiter for a long time. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to tomorrow, when hopefully the weather conditions will be better than today.”
  13. Lotus Praga LMP2 is looking forward to the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship that kicks off with the 6 Hours of Silverstone this week. The team will contest the opening event of the 2013 season with two new Lotus Praga T128 LMP2. The 5,900 kilometer long Silverstone Circuit will be the first venue where the new Lotus T128 will have its first appearance under race conditions. After some test days, the new sports car, which was built in accordance with the latest 2014 regulations, has impressed with its streamlined design and competitive lap times. Kevin Weeda and Vitantonio Liuzzi will be at the wheel of the Lotus Praga T128 #31. As Lotus Praga LMP2 regular James Rossiter will be on duty racing in Japan at the same weekend, he will be replaced by Frenchman Christophe Bouchut. With 19 participations at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, Bouchut has gained a lot of experience in different sports cars and counts among the endurance specialists. The Lotus Praga T128 #32 will be run by Thomas Holzer, Dominik Kraihamer and Jan Charouz throughout the season. The 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship starts with the 6 Hours race at Silverstone on Sunday, 14th April at 12:00 hours local time. Christophe Bouchut, Race Driver #31: “After working four years in the ALMS championship and having won the last two titles, this is another great opportunity for me to work with Lotus this year. Participating in the first race of the Lotus T128 and the opening event of the FIA WEC at Silverstone is simply fantastic. This championship is the reference of the endurance races and since 2012, my goal was to participate. Everyone at Lotus is extremely professional and there is a friendly atmosphere, what I really appreciate. I am very lucky to share the wheel with such good team mates as Tonio Liuzzi and Kevin Weeda with whom we will do a very good job, I am sure. I can’t wait to be at Silverstone driving the Lotus T128.” Dominik Kraihamer, Race Driver #32: “I am looking forward to my first race with Lotus. After a long winter, it is great to be back at the race track and to get the maximum of motivation and determination out of somebody. It will be a challenge to develop and work on the set up of the new car, but this is really interesting for me. I get on well with everybody in the team and also with the other race drivers of the team, which is an important factor for a successful collaboration throughout the season. I am very proud to get the chance to work with them. I am looking forward to racing at Silverstone and doing my first laps with the new Lotus T128.”
  14. Holland's Nigel Melker scored a podium finish on his Lotus debut at Silverstone at the weekend during Round 6 of the World Series by Renault championship. The first qualifying session was run in wet conditions, and season-long Lotus racer Marco Sorensen lined up for the Race 1 grid in ninth place with Melker down in 14th. Come the race, though, it was clear that the qualifying times were not representative of the Czech team's speed despite the changeable weather conditions. On Lap 2, though, bad luck struck Sorensen and he crashed out at Luffield along with several other cars due to gambling on slicks on a wet track. Melker also went off there but was able to rejoin, and when the red flags came out due to the number of stricken cars and the flooding, he was up to fifth. Come the re-start, the conditions remained wet and Melker kept his head down to finish a brilliant third on his Renault 3.5 debut. In Saturday afternoon's second qualifying, Sorensen saw a return to form and secured second, while Melker was down in 18th. Race 2 wasn't affected by rain. At the start, Marco immediately seized the lead and built a gap over Sam Bird while polesitter Jules Bianchi fell back. The Dane looked set for a commanding win, but on the penultimate lap he suffered a puncture and was forced to retire. Nigel also experienced the blues, retiring after eight laps due to a technical problem. Lotus remains fourth in the team standings with 102 points, 72 behind leaders Tech 1 Racing, while Sorensen drops to fifth in the drivers’. Robin Frijns leads with 131 points. Marco Sorensen: "I can't believe this happened, we were so close to another victory. The team did a great job and I am really happy that we had so much control of the race. There is no doubt that we have the speed, now we just need the last bit of luck." Nigel Melker: "My first race in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series and I’ve got my first podium finish. I can be happy with that, but it was a difficult race. I struggled in qualifying and I was a bit lucky during the race, I must admit. But there was absolutely no room for mistakes. I’ll be in Hungary and perhaps [at another meeting] after that. I’ll need to speak about it with Lotus.”
  15. - 4th place overall at the 2012 6 Hours of Silverstone - Both of the team’s Lola-Toyota cars finished the race - 1st and 3rd in FIA WEC LMP1 Team Trophy - Team extends its lead in the FIA WEC LMP1 Team Trophy classification After a good start from 5th position on the grid, Neel Jani took the lead of the LMP1 privateer field from the first corner, driving his Lola-Toyota #12 to fourth position overall. After a trouble free triple stint, the Swiss driver handed over the wheel to Nicolas Prost who extended their lead on the other competitors. Unfortunately, just after the end of his first stint, the car spun after a contact with the GT #57 which had previously been involved in a contact with the Audi #1 during the third hour of the race. The #12 Lola-Toyota was forced to pit to change tyres and later for a second time after a decision from the stewards for a stop & go penalty. The stop & go was made one lap before the scheduled driver change but the #12 car lost again precious time replacing damaged bodywork at the rear-end a consequence of the earlier contact. Neel Jani took again the wheel from seventh position. Pushing hard to recover, Neel over took the #22 HPD-Honda. The #12 Lola-Toyota of Neel Jani and Nicolas Prost ended the race sixth overall and third in the LMP1 Privateer field. The Lola-Toyota #13 started the race with Andrea Belicchi at the wheel from sixth position. After a strong double stint, Andrea Belicchi gave the wheel to Harold Primat. Fifteen minutes later, the Swiss driver of the #13 overtook the #21 HPD-Honda of Nick Leventis, taking fith position overall. Benefiting from the bad luck of the sister #12 car, the two drivers of #13 Lola-Toyota produced fast stints in defence of their fourth position. Andrea Belicchi had a one-to-one battle with Dany Watts aboard #21 HPD-Honda. Delivering a good balance between performance and consumption, the #13 Lola-Toyota of Andrea Belicchi and Harold Primat secured the best result possible, fourth overall and first of the LMP1 Privateer field. Neel Jani – Lola-Toyota #12 : « I made a good start and put in a strong triple stint. At the mid race, we were, with Nico, fourth overall, one minute ahead of the petrol cars. The penalty and the unscheduled stops ended our race because we lost more than 2 minutes doing this. And as all the cars were driving more or less at the same speed, it has been impossible to catch back up. It's a pity but we have taken the points we could take. We are now 4th in the driver classification and are still aiming for the 3rd place. And we are leading the FIA WEC Trophy of Best Privateer Team.» Nicolas Prost – Lola-Toyota #12 : « Everything was under control until the Ferrari hit me. After that, all went wrong. The damage on the rear of the car forced us to change it. Of course we are sad not to finish first Privateer LMP1 car. I'm disappointed for Neel that have done a very strong race. Nevertheless, we scored good points for the drivers’ classification. We are now in fourth position. » Andrea Belicchi – Lola-Toyota #13 : « All the team have done a fantastic job. I gave my best to stay ahead and it was hard. We had no problem during all the race and we finished with less than seven tenths in front of the Strakka HPD-Honda after a very big fight. After my victory last year here in LMS, this 6 Hours of Silverstone is again a good year ! » Harold Primat – Lola-Toyota # 13 : « This is the conclusion of a very nice week-end. We had very profitable practice sessions that allowed us to secure a good qualifying session, with lap times very tight to the best petrol car laptimes. And our third best laptime during the warm-up session just behind the diesel confirmed our competitivness. We have had a trouble free race. In a way, we have taken benefit of the troubles of our sister car #12. But it is good to see that when one car of the team can't succeed, the other one can. It shows that we are a strong team and I'm happy with that. Personally, I feel more competitive and we'll have to be more and more efficient to stay ahead.» Bart Hayden REBELLION Racing Team manager : «The whole team should be proud of the job they’ve done this weekend. We are now closer than ever to our second main objective of the season with the FIA WEC LMP1 Team Trophy. I am proud of the guys and the drivers. Once again our partners at Toyota Motorsport and Michelin have helped us to achieve this great result. Now we have a lot of work to do to rebuild and prepare the cars for the four overseas races to come.»
  16. Neel Jani achieved the fifth fastest time in the qualifying session for the 6 Hours of Silverstone and in so doing placed the B12/60 Lola-Rebellion # 12 as the second of the petrol prototypes and FIA WEC LMP1 privateer entrant with a lap time of 1'46''160. Andrea Belicchi with the # 13 B12/60 Lola-Toyota set the third fastest time of the petrol field with a laptime of 1'46''234, after being impeded by the trafic during his last fast lap. Even if the fight between LMP1 petrol cars will be tough the team is confident in targeting a podium finishing in tomorrow’s race. Neel Jani – Lola-Toyota #12 : « This qualifying session was not an easy one because we started on a wet track witch dryed after a few laps but not everywhere. I have secured the 5th position on the grid, this is not the result we were aiming, we are only four hundreds behind the #21 Honda. But it doesn't really matter. We are aiming a fourth place finishing overall and perharps a podium in case of problems on the cars ahead... » Nicolas Prost – Lola-Toyota #12 : « We have made a good job during the practice sessions to have a fast car on this demanding track of Silverstone. At the begining, the set-up of the car were clearly not what we were expected and we did not found the right choice of tyres in a first time. After the third free session, we made a leap forward in terms of efficiency. I would have likedone the quali but the track was wet and Neel has driven more laps than me with the car on rainy condition. That's why he did it. We have a strong and consistant car for the race. So we have some assets to play for this race. Toyota car doesn't seem to be as fast as expected.» Andrea Belicchi – Lola-Toyota #13 : « I'm really satisfied with the car we have. We have done a good job to find the right balance. I had some trafic during my fast lap so I couldn't secure a better lap time. But I really like the set up of the car and it makes me feel confident for the race. The paces of all the petrol car are very close each others. That promises good fights during the race ! » Harold Primat – Lola-Toyota # 13 : « The car has been very good from the beginning of the first free session. That means that the team have found good initial set-up. As we had no issue during the two first practices sessions, it has allowed us to try different set-up options. We found good and bad things. For the third session, we made the synthesis and kept only the best set-up. It seems to work not so bad ! The car is good. We are in a good way to make our race. »
  17. #31 Thomas Holzer (GER) – Mirco Schultis (GER) – Christijan Albers (NLD) #32 Kevin Weeda (USA) – James Rossiter (GBR) – Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) Race #31 Position 12 (LMP2) #32 stopped Bad luck for Lotus at the 6 Hours of Silverstone. The Lotus LMP2 car number 32 with start driver James Rossiter had to start from the pit lane and with one lap down into the race. Reason for this penalty was an engine change on Friday after the engine failed. Rossiter made up many positions, but had to bring the car to garage after the exhaust broke. His crew fixed the car again, but just a few laps later, Kevin Weeda had to stop the car after another engine failure. Car number 31 finished the race in 12th position of the LMP2 class. Due to an unplanned service in the last lap it was not possible to have a better result. Thomas Holzer, Race driver #31: “Today, we got a lot of track experience and learnt a lot about the car. We had the race speed and we could do constant lap times. We are improving race by race and this is important for us. I am looking forward to the round in Sao Paulo and I hope that we can make another step into the right direction.” James Rossiter, Race driver #32: “It is a shame that we couldn’t finish the race after we experienced another engine failure. After we had to start from the pit lane, I was able to overtake a lot of cars and make up many positions. Suddenly, the exhaust broke and the engine wiring loom caught fire. There was a lot of smoke in the cockpit and I was not able to see anything. The mechanics could fix the car again and the engine failed again. It is just a weekend to forget.”
  18. #31 Thomas Holzer (GER) – Mirco Schultis (GER) – Christijan Albers (NLD) #32 Kevin Weeda (USA) – James Rossiter (GBR) – Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) Free Practice 3 #32 Position 13 (LMP2) Lap time 1:52.745 (Liuzzi) #31 Position 15 (LMP2) Lap time 1:54.850 (Albers) Qualifying #32 Position 7 (LMP2) Lap time 1:50.688 (Rossiter) #31 Position 14 (LMP2) Lap time 1:53.349 (Holzer) Lotus had a day without trouble today at the 6 Hours of Silverstone. In the morning practice session, the team was able to fulfill the entire program in preparation for tomorrow’s race. Under difficult conditions, James Rossiter, who is celebrating his birthday today, and Thomas Holzer qualified the Lotus LMP2 cars in 7th and 14th position in LMP2 class respectively. The race start will be tomorrow at 12:00 hours local time. Thomas Holzer, Race driver #31: “It was difficult for me today under these conditions. The setup of the car was okay, but I have never driven in the wet. But I learnt a lot today and there is a lot of potential to have a good result tomorrow.” James Rossiter, Race driver #32: “I am happy with today’s qualifying result. The gap to the cars in front is not so big considering we lost 90 minutes track time yesterday. The track dried up during the qualifying session which made it also difficult to drive. I am confident that we can have a good race because the car feels good. I am looking forward to start my home race tomorrow.”
  19. #31 Thomas Holzer (GER) – Mirco Schultis (GER) – Christijan Albers (NLD) #32 Kevin Weeda (USA) – James Rossiter (GBR) – Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) Free Practice 1 #32 Position 11 (LMP2) Lap time 1:54.342 (Rossiter) #31 Position 14 (LMP2) Lap time 1:57.467 (Holzer) Free Practice 2 #31 Position 13 (LMP2) Lap time 1:54.161 (Holzer) #32 Position 15 (LMP2) Lap time 2:04.243 (Weeda) Lotus was back on track today for the first and second practice session of the 6 Hours of Silverstone. Luca Moro will miss the Silverstone weekend due to personal reasons. Dutchman and former Formula 1 driver Christijan Albers will replace him in car 31. At the first day of the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the target was to collect as many information about the tyre wear as possible in preparation for Sunday’s race. The team is now analyzing the data and working on the setup for the next sessions. Christijan Albers, Race driver #31: “I was very happy when the team asked me if I want to join them for Silverstone. I didn’t have to think about it, for me it was clear to take this opportunity. It was great to be back in a race car and in the Lotus LMP2. I haven’t done any races the last two years but I felt comfortable in the car immediately. I hope that we will have a good weekend and I will support the team as much as I can.” James Rossiter, Race driver #32: “It was great to drive the Lotus LMP2 in front of my home crowd. It is going to be an exciting weekend because there is always a chance of rain. You never know what is going to happen. The first practice was okay for us. But it is a shame that we had to stop the car in the second practice session due to an engine failure. So we lost valuable track time that would have helped us to improve the car. But we are working hard to have a good result here in Silverstone.” Vitantonio Liuzzi, Race driver #32: “I enjoyed driving the Lotus LMP2 around the track today. Lap by lap, I got more used to the car. We had a good pace and we were improving. Due to the engine failure I couldn’t run in the afternoon session. But I hope that I can get more track time tomorrow and I am looking forward to the next days.”
  20. Lotus is looking forward to its home race, the 6 Hours of Silverstone. After a two-month break, the cars will be back in action for the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The race being held at the 5,901 kilometers long Silverstone Circuit, that is also known as the home of British motorsport, marks the final European round of the inaugural season of the FIA WEC before the teams will head to South America and Asia. Lotus is going to field two of its LMP2 cars again and Vitantonio Liuzzi will be at the wheel of car 32 for the first time. The Italian will drive alongside American Kevin Weeda and Briton James Rossiter, who is looking forward to driving in front of his home crowd. The race starts at 12:00 o’clock on Sunday, 26th August 2012. Mirco Schultis, Race Driver #31: “I have good memories of racing at the 6 Hours of Silverstone because last year, I was able to win the drivers’ championship in Formula Le Mans class. It will be nice to come here again and to compete with Lotus in LMP2 class. We have worked hard in the last weeks and we hope that, after the misfortune at Le Mans, we can show a good performance.” James Rossiter, Race Driver #32: “For me it is a real home race as I live close to Silverstone and I am very looking forward to driving in front of my home crowd. It makes me proud to represent the black and gold Lotus colours here and I am very excited about that. I hope that we can repeat the great qualifying result in Spa and that we will finish the race in a good position.” Vitantonio Liuzzi, Race Driver #32: “I am very happy to get the chance to drive at the 6 Hours of Silverstone. I know the track quite well from Formula 1 races in the past. But driving here in the Lotus LMP2 car will be different, for sure. I already got experienced with the car during some test days earlier this season and I can’t wait for my first race in the FIA World Endurance Championship. I want to thank Lotus for this great opportunity and I hope to have a good result in Silverstone.”
  21. Lotus GP added another two podium finishes to their 2012 GP3 Championship tally with a third place finish in race one and a second place in race two at the famous Silverstone circuit in Britain, putting them into the lead of the teams’ championship. Round four got underway in typical British style with rain making its presence felt from the start. Under very poor conditions where visibility was at a minimum, the teams’ three drivers managed to keep their contenders on the wet and slippery track in free practice to finish 5th, 6th and 13th fastest. Thankfully qualifying was held in cool but dry conditions with Aaro Vainio secured a front row start by placing his Lotus in second place with teammates Conor Daly and Daniel Abt finishing fifth and sixth fastest overall respectively. After a delayed start due to rain, fans were treated to a cracker of a race, however, Aaro Vainio struggled to get off the grid and lost his second place to Felix Da Costa, eventually crossing the finish line in third. Meanwhile, teammate Daniel Abt fought gallantly to make up two places to cross the line close behind in fourth. For Conor Daly, who was hit with a grid penalty from Valencia and started from 14th on the grid, a brilliant charge through the field to finish right behind his teammates in fifth. Race two was excitement from start to finish with the rain sprinkling just as drivers prepared to leave the grid. Aaro and Daniel opted for wet rubber, Conor for drys, and the track dried out little by little with the expected rain failing to appear. The Lotus GP drivers put up a good fight however, but Aaro and Daniel had to pit to switch to slicks tyres. Daniel ended in the gravel trap just moments before being joined by another driver, who hit his Lotus before he had the chance to climb to safety. Thankfully, he was uninjured in the incident. Soon afterward Aaro Vainio collided with the rear of Matias lane sending him into the air and out of the race. This incident will also cost him a ten place grid demotion in the next round. Conor Daly was left to fly the team flag and he did so quite well by crossing the line in a strong second place. Aaro Vainio is now second in the drivers’ championship with 89 points, Daniel Abt is fourth on 54 and Conor Daly is 6th on 45 points. Meanwhile, LotusGP is first in the team standings. Teams now head to Germany for the fifth round in the 2012 GP3 Championship season. Daniel Abt: “This weekend was definitely not good. With P4 in race 1, I was at least able to score some important points but I was not quick enough. Race 2 was a gamble which I failed to play right because slicks were a better choice. In the end we have to forget this weekend and look forward to my home race in Hockenheim. I will try to put it all together so I can to secure my first GP3 win there.” Aaro Vainio: “I was a bit disappointed in not getting pole because I had to abort my second attempt due to yellows. I reacted well at the start of the race, but I got too much wheelspin right after I took off and Antonio da Costa got past me. I managed to keep Laine and Abt at bay and started to push, However, I made a few little mistakes here and there which prevented me to close the gap to the two leaders. Sunday was a bit of a gamble, it worked fine at the beginning but it did not last long as the track dried out and we were on rain tyres. We lost a lot of positions and time when we had to pit for slicks tyres. I had nothing to lose and pushed as hard as I could to get a few points but hit Laine when I slid on a patch of water. I’m sorry for him and for the team, this is a disappointing end to the weekend but I know the pace is there.” Conor Daly: “It was a great weekend for me overall. We were able to overcome the grid penalty on Saturday and get a strong 5th place finish which gave us a good grid position for race two. The team did an incredible job all weekend and really showed they're professionalism today making the call to go with dry tyres before the start of the race. I really wanted to go with the wet tyres but I'm glad I didn't make the choice! I just had to make it through the first few laps and then the track came to us. The car was extremely fast but just didn't have enough time to get the win. Overall, a fantastic points weekend for me and the team and I can't wait for Germany!” Frederic Vasseur: “The level of performance from Lotus GP and its three drivers is excellent, moving us into first place in the Team Championship. The second race did not turn out to Aaro and Daniel’s advantage, who up until then, had a remarkable weekend. Conor was also remarkable, driving flawlessly in perilous conditions. But we also have to learn from our mistakes that are expensive at the time and have an unfortunate impact on the sequence of events.”
  22. Lotus GP driver Esteban Gutiérrez chalked up another victory for the team’s 2012 GP2 Championship campaign with a first place finish and fastest race lap in nothing short of changeable conditions at the Silverstone circuit in Britain this weekend. This was the team’s third win of the season and cemented their place at the top of the leaderboard. With rain playing a major role in a chaotic free practice session, the circuit was wet and the rain never too far away for the all-important qualifying session a few hours later. Slotting in fifth, Esteban Gutierrez and sixth, James Calado, race one was always going to be a challenge. However, true to form, Esteban delivered a fine performance to secure his second feature victory of 2012, despite the rain sodden track throwing up every possible challenge in his path. The race started behind the safety car and the Mexican driver was the first to change tyres on lap 15, teammate James Calado following suit. However, while Estaban raced onto victory aided by the fact that the leader failed to take his mandatory pit stop, James stopped on track shortly after his stop with a technical failure. The action packed race two almost resulted in another podium for the Mexican driver however, the final push at the end of the race saw a minor incident when Johnny Cecotto forced him wide and off track while Esteban was putting a brilliant overtaking manoeuvre on him. The two collided and Esteban was left to cross the line in fourth place. Teammate James Calado was forced to start from the back of the grid due to his failure in race one, however despite a strong run and lots of positive overtaking manoeuvres, he finished twentieth overall after losing positions at the end. Both Esteban and James were penalized following this round, due to contact with other drivers, and will each lose ten places on the grid in the next event at Hockenheim in two weeks’ time. Esteban Gutiérrez now sits third in the drivers’ championship on 122 points, while James Calado is equal fourth on 95. Lotus GP have stretched their lead in the teams championship to 217, 12 ahead of their nearest challenger. Esteban Gutierrez: “This second win, a fortnight after Valencia, was very special because of the conditions. To start behind the safety car and to clean the line a bit was a good thing because there was lots of aquaplaning in the beginning. Step by step, I got to grips with the track and pushed harder and harder. We pitted early and that was the key because I gained several positions and when the safety car came back we knew the leader, Fabio Leimer, had not pitted. From then on, I made sure that I didn’t make any mistakes but I pushed a bit to clock the fastest lap of the race and get the points that come with it. We came close to climbing on the podium on Sunday, I fought tooth and nail but it did not work our way. I tried to overtake Johnny Cecotto on the outside of Stowe on the final lap but he did not give me enough room and I went over the kerb. Coming back on track, my tyres were dirty and I lost a bit the control of the car and hit Cecotto. P4 is a great reward for the team and I’m happy to leave Silverstone third in the championship.” James Calado: “The car was good, so was I and we could fight for pole. I was third before the session was red flagged and after that I could not better my lap time. But 6th was not so bad, especially with tricky conditions where qualifying does not count as much as on another track. I was comfortable in fifth place, fighting with Esteban who later won the race which gives an idea of what we could have achieved. I had a technical failure that caused the gearbox to fail itself. The outcome of the first race was hard to take after the missed opportunity in Valencia where the win was on the cards. I’m pretty sure I would have been on the podium without the technical glitches. Sunday’s race was always going to be a tough fight starting from the last row and I enjoyed myself a lot, I overtook a lot of cars and came close to securing a point.” Frederic Vasseur: “It is our third victory of the season, the second in a row in a feature race and it is a huge satisfaction. Unfortunately it was marred by technical problem for James that probably deprived him of a fifth podium, something that would have been a remarkable achievement for a beginner. Esteban and James were very fast and performed very highly in what can only be called stressful conditions. We must accept the penalties and the lessons for the future.”
  23. Lotus finish British Grand Prix fifth and sixth Lotus showed strong pace once again during the team’s home race at Silverstone, but difficulties on Saturday ultimately kept them off the podium. While the sun came out on Sunday, Friday and Saturday’s running was wet and slippery. During qualifying, Romain Grosjean set the fifth fastest Q2 time but then beached his Lotus E20 in the gravel, meaning he was unable to compete in Q3. He started the grand prix ninth, benefiting from Nico Hulkenberg’s five place gearbox-change penalty. Kimi was able to run in Q3 despite having no KERS for the entire qualifying session. He finished up P6, which was impressive given the advantage a horsepower boost has around the very fast Northamptonshire track. At the start Kimi made an aggressive move down the outside of Sebastian Vettel at Turn 4 but launched himself across the inside kerb in order to avoid Felipe Massa’s Ferrari. Romain was forced to make an early pitstop on Lap 2 after he hit Paul di Resta’s Force India at the start and suffered a broken front wing. The damage and the subsequent nose-change sunk him to 20th place, from where he fought through the field. Kimi came in on Lap 13 and emerged one place ahead of Grosjean in P7. With the soft tyres out of the way, both Lotus drivers did their second and third stints on the superior hard compound. The pair then set about dispatching the cars in front of them, Kimi passing Michael Schumacher and Romain pulling off some thrilling moves on Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. In the final laps, Kimi was pushing Felipe Massa for fourth but was unable to improve, while Romain followed in sixth seven seconds behind his team-mate. Lotus remains third in the Constructors Championship with 144 points. Ferrari improves and is now second to Red Bull with 152 points, while McLaren slips to fourth two points behind Lotus. Kimi moves up to fifth place in the Drivers’ Championship with 83, while Romain retains seventh on 61 points. Kimi Raikkonen: “"I had a pretty okay first few corners but I had to avoid the cars in front and drove over the kerb on the inside of the turn, then I lost a place and was pushed wide. If I had stayed in front of Mark [Webber] at the start it would have been pretty good seeing where he finished, but after that Lewis [Hamilton] also got past me. I fought back and our car was strong, especially on the harder tyres. If I’d had a better start I could have finished much better; but that’s racing and sometimes you pay a bigger price than you expect from the first lap.” Romain Grosjean: “There was a little bit of confusion at Turns 3 and 4, and I was on the outside at Turn 3. The Force India came from the inside and just touched my front wing with his rear wheel. It was a shame but there's nothing you can really do in these situations. I think the best thing is to qualify on pole or second place and then it's easier in the first corners. The result itself is not fantastic, but the way the race went, from 22nd to sixth is very good. To come in the points after a change of nose is quite unbelievable, but the team did a great job to give me a car, which was fantastic. The strategy with only one stop in the middle was quite risky, but it worked well, and there were some good battles on track with Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. It was very enjoyable.”
  24. Once again, Lotus GP put a car on the podium of the GP3 Series. Conor Daly climbed on the second step of the podium of race 2 in Silverstone. The race took place on a drying track and the slicks tyres were the best possible choice. Daniel Abt and Aaro Vainio, who started the race in rain tyres, had to come to the pits to change to slicks tyres but then both retire after going out of the track.
  25. Esteban Gutierrez scored the points of the 4th place today in the second race of the GP2 Series in Silverstone. His teammate, James Calado, drove a strong race but ultimately finished out of the track while fighting with another driver. The track was dry during the whole race. Next races will be in Hockenheim in two weeks.
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