[F1] Lotus F1 Racing

BELGIAN GRAND PRIX FRIDAY PRACTICE
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium 27th August 2010

Lotus Racing took up where they left off at the last race in Hungary, with Friday’s Belgian Grand Prix practice sessions ending up with Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli topping the new team’s time sheets in very mixed conditions on track.

Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) FP1: 15 laps, best time 2.07.189, 21st / FP2: 21 laps, best time 1.53.639, 20th “It feels good to be back. It’s always nice to be back on track, especially in Spa as it’s such a good track. Practice today went very well for me and I’m pleased with where we ended up. Unfortunately on the last run this afternoon I was blocked by another car which prevented me from going quicker with the same set of tyres as everyone else, but before that I was looking pretty good, so I feel confident for tomorrow.”

Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) FP1: 15 laps, best time 2.07.955, 23rd / FP2: 15 laps, best time 1.53.480, 19th “It wasn’t too bad today considering the weather, but at least everyone was in the same position. There were no big problems - the car seemed to work well in all the conditions, but it’s always hard to draw a conclusion when the weather keeps changing and teams keep running different tyres. So you can’t read too much into the times today. The track itself feels fine – it’s a great track, and in the dry it will be really good. Fingers crossed for blue skies tomorrow!”

Dieter Gass, Sporting Director: “It was a difficult day today with the mixed and changing conditions. This morning’s run was pretty much meaningless, because of the weather, but at least it was better in the afternoon. We got a bit of dry running in in FP2 which gave us a chance to look at the tyres, but with the continuously changing conditions it was difficult to work on the set up. We’ll look at the data now and make a call on the set ups, downforce levels and ratios that we are going to run tomorrow, so I think we’ve got quite a bit of work to do this evening. Whatever happens, I’m confident we can maintain our position ahead of the new teams if the conditions stay stable. In the mixed conditions anything can happen, and you need a bit of luck to keep up the momentum, so let’s see what happens.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “Obviously the weather today made it an interesting first day for everyone. The first session was very wet and we just ran on the full wets. In the second session we switched to the inters and then managed to run both sets of dry tyres, but the changing conditions make any meaningful work or comparisons very difficult. But I’m reasonably happy with where we are and look forward to some dry weather over the weekend.”

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Belgian GP - Conference 2 _ 27/08/2010
TEAM PRINCIPALS: John BOOTH (Virgin), Ross BRAWN (Mercedes), Mike GASCOYNE (Lotus), Martin WHITMARSH (McLaren)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: A question to you all. This time of the year some people tend to wind down on the development of the current car, perhaps work more on the 2011 car. Some people less so as they are still in the championship. Can I just hear what your team’s concentration is on for the rest of the season?
Mike GASCOYNE: For us it is very clear that we are fully focused on next year’s car and have been for several months now. I think while it is still important for us to try and maintain 10th place in the championship I think the most important thing as one of the new teams is that we make that step and close the gap to the established teams and we are able to race them properly. I think just being on the grid for us was a huge achievement but you are only a new team once and we are not a new team next year, we are a Formula One team and we have to make sure that we are performing as one, so we very much switched our focus onto next year’s car. It is quite an auspicious day for us. Today was the day a year ago that we actually first walked around our factory and there were three of us. Now there are 220 of us. We hope that we can do a better job for next year, so that is clearly where our focus is.

Q: Mike, looking at the performance so far have you been happy with that? Has it come above or below expectation?
MG: I think it is pretty much where we expected it to be. As I said earlier we didn’t have an entry this time a year ago and we didn’t know we were actually going to be in the sport, so we missed several months of development. If we had had that I think we would have done a much better job. But our aim coming into this year was always to try and be the best of the new teams, try to close the gap to the established teams and do a thorough, professional job. We had some big updates which moved us forward but in reality we were never going to challenge for ninth place or any of the established teams, so I think we have pretty much delivered exactly what we wanted to do. We would prefer to be a bit closer but time just hasn’t allowed that for us. I think we would have been much happier being more reliable. That has been a disappointment to us. Some of that has been out of our control through outside suppliers and we have got to make sure we put that right for next year. But I think we have pretty much delivered what we expected to deliver and on budget as well as my boss keeps reminding me to be.

Q: Particularly in Germany recently you seemed to have major gearbox problems. Has that been the major problem so far this year?
MG: Gearbox and hydraulics have been a particularly weak area. We haven’t had the resources to put all the fixes in place and I think we have been let down by some suppliers who have not done as good a job as they should have done. But you cannot make excuses. You have got to put things right. I think we are now very much on top of it. We want to have solid two car finishes for the rest of the year as I think if we do that we have got the performance and the drivers to secure 10th place. But it is something that has been a disappointment for us as a team.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Mike Doodson) This is apropos of what Ross just said, actually, because I’ve got a philosophical question about the future of Formula One. We already have an engine freeze and now we seem to be getting into a pattern of clever engineers introducing technology which they are only allowed to exploit for one year until it gets banned at the end of the year. For example, McLaren gave us the F-duct and I’m absolutely sure your engineers are working hard on the G-spot for next year, but does this mean that Formula One is developing into a stage where technology will be restricted and we’re going to have a spec formula?
MG: One of the things you’ve always got to bear in mind is… OK, if you ban something like the F-duct, its advantage has gone away over a few months anyway because everyone’s copied it and implemented it themselves. I think history just shows, over the years, that people are still coming up with those ideas. The rule book now for the technical regulations is probably four or five times as thick as it was when I started in Formula One, but it hasn’t stopped people coming up with these ideas. Twin chassis cars being banned before they ever raced and all that sort of thing, it’s always been this and it just means that you have to think in different areas but you’ve got to do that anyway to maintain a competitive advantage because people will always be implementing any idea you’ve put on, so you’ve got to keep ahead of the game.

Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) To the new team representatives, are there any plans to change your engines and how difficult do you think it will be to do that?
MG: We’re using Cosworth engines, we’ve been very happy with their performance this year, their first year back in Formula One. I think as teams we always evaluate every option that’s out there but at the moment we’re very, very happy with Cosworth and the job they’ve been doing.

SPA BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN LOTUS RACING
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium 28th August 2010

Lotus Racing CEO Riad Asmat and the Malaysian flag brought a touch of luck to the team today at the Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying session as Heikki Kovalainen made it through to his second appearance of the season in Q2, and finished the session 16th. Jarno Trulli just missed out on Q2 after yellow flags at the end of an action packed Q1 forced him to back off, robbing him of the chance of joining his team-mate in the afternoon’s second session. With the Mercedes cars of both Schumacher and Rosberg having to take grid penalties, and Timo Glock’s Virgin being dropped five places after the session, the Lotus Racing cars will provisionally line up 14th and 15th, and with the T127s carrying the Malaysian flag on the engine covers at Spa to celebrate Malaysian Independence Day on 31st August, the team are looking forward to putting in a performance tomorrow to give all their fans in Malaysia and around the world something to cheer for in the unpredictable Belgian conditions.

Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) FP3: 14 laps, best time 1.51.384, 21st / QUALIFYING: 16th, 1.50.980, 12 laps “It was a great qualifying for us today, the second time we made it into Q2 like we did in Malaysia. It’s a shame Jarno didn’t make it through as well, and I was just ahead of him, but the team did a great job today and they should all be very pleased. We made the right calls on tyres in both sessions and in the second session it was really about fighting with Timo, and we nailed him so we achieved what we set out to do today. I think we should be in pretty good shape tomorrow against our direct competitors, and those just ahead, as it looks like the lower downforce circuits suit us, so I hope we have mixed conditions tomorrow and can give it our best shot.”

Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) FP3: 14 laps, best time 1.50.600, 19th / QUALIFYING: 18th, 2.01.491, 9 laps “I’m obviously disappointed that I didn’t make it into Q2, but congratulations to Heikki and the team for putting in such a good performance. It was a pretty crazy session, and it started badly for me when di Grassi lost his car - I was quicker than him, and I couldn’t avoid going over him. If he had let me by in the first place when I was much quicker, then it wouldn’t have happened. It’s difficult in changeable conditions, everyone gets surprised, but we’re still in a pretty good position tomorrow, so we’ll do our best to reward the fans.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “In the end it was a very good session for us today. It’s disappointing we didn’t get Jarno into Q2 as well, but the yellow flags at the end of his final run held him up, otherwise I’m sure he’d have joined Heikki in Q2. Heikki did a great job in spite of the conditions, and he managed to get the best out the car. We’ll be in our best starting positions tomorrow and we’re all looking forward to a good strong race. We’re clearly the quickest of the new boys, and tomorrow will be all about getting Jarno up with Heikki, getting both cars across the finish line, and making good on the performance we’ve put in today.”

Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: “I’m absolutely delighted, for the whole team, and for everyone who supports us around the world. We managed to get into Q2 for the second time in our first season which is pretty fantastic by any measure. It’s a shame Jarno didn’t get in as well, but that’s what happens in racing, and this is a really good start after the summer break. It’s important to remember that we’re a small team, with limited resources, and I think that what we have achieved today, and will continue to achieve, is the stuff dreams are made of.

“I’m lucky enough that Tony deputised me for this weekend in place of him who unfortunately can’t be here, but I think Tony, Din and Nasa, our Deputy Team Principals, all wish they were here - that’s for sure! They’ve all sent a load of messages, and they’re delighted with how we performed today. Tony’s passed on his congratulations to everyone and has said that the guys have done a great job today. He, Din and Nasa are here in spirit without a doubt – and we wouldn’t be here in Spa without them.

“To top it all, it’s the Malaysian Independence day on the 31st, so it’s just perfect. For everyone in Malaysia Hari Merdeka is a really important day, and I’m just really proud to see our cars carry the flag today, and to have done so well.”

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “This is a very special day for me. It’s funny how things pan out. By me not being there Riad deputised for me and what a story! Riad has gone from a very special assistant for many years to a CEO, and now he’s on the pitwall commanding and directing. That is Lotus Racing. We make the unbelievable believable, and we show that you have to keep dreaming. Whatever happens tomorrow, it doesn't really matter. What matters today is Riad, Mike, Heikki, Jarno and the whole team who pulled out an amazing performance. Well done to all.”

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BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium 29th August 2010

The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa lived up to all expectations and produced an incident packed race that saw Lotus Racing again finish ahead of their nearest rivals. Heikki Kovalainen recovered from a slow start to finish 16th, and Jarno Trulli crossed the line in 19th, a spin late on dropping him back a few places after he had put in a very strong performance in the constantly changing weather conditions.

Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) 16th, fastest lap 1.55.797 - lap 23, 3 stops – laps 1, 3, 33: “I had a bit of a problem at the start when the engine bogged down, and I activated the anti-stall, but I was already being passed by the time I could get up to speed. The rain had started and unfortunately I damaged my front wing in the last turn so I had to pit. We took a gamble with the inters but the rain stopped, so I had to come back in and I lost out to the group ahead of me. After that it was a question of doing the best job I could, and keeping us in with a chance of taking advantage of the rain at the end, and as it turned out we managed to pick up a few places at the end and finish 16th.”

Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) 19th, fastest lap 1.55.103 – lap 24, 1 stop – lap 33: “It was pretty exciting out there, an eventful race where lots of things happened, but that’s normal for Spa! At the start I went wide to avoid Heikki and unfortunately was overtaken by a couple of other cars. After that I was struggling a bit in the early stages with my rear tyres overheating – fortunately they came back so I could started pushing and managed to pull away from the guys behind, so that was a good stint until the rain came. I had quite a big margin over my nearest competitor so I was looking pretty good, but then the safety car came out. At the restart I was following the other cars but obviously the visibility was very poor and I made a bit of an error on a high speed corner, touched the white line with the rear end of the car and it just slipped away from me, which meant I lost places. I continued, but then the race was over from there. I’m glad we got both cars home, and it’s good to see we’ve still got an advantage over our nearest rivals, so bring on Monza!”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “An exciting race and a typically eventful one here in Spa. Neither driver had a great start which meant we lost a few places, and Heikki had a problem when the rain started. We changed him onto intermediates, but were then a little slow in changing him back, but he drove a great race, and was quick at the end in the wet conditions, and he again brought us home best of the new teams. Jarno drove a strong race. He struggled initially with the tyres, but in the middle part of the race his pace was very strong, and it’s just a shame that he had a spin in the difficult wet conditions as it would have been nice to have had both cars finish ahead of the other new guys. But despite that, both cars finished and overall this has been a good weekend for the whole team.”

Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: “I feel great. I think we achieved what we wanted to do – we got both cars home and we’re still ahead of the other new teams. It’s a bit unfortunate that Jarno spun out, but it’s all part of racing. He recovered well and I think we’ll all move on from this point and feel confident we can put in a good performance in Monza, and the remaining races. I think the team did great today and there was maximum effort involved, so well done to everyone. The rain of course threw everything out of sync, but we survived it today and we’re really happy.”

Ends

Zelkin a écrit:Course encourageante avec un bémol, le rythme en course est similaire aux Virgin et pire, aux HRT...

Zelkin a écrit:J'espere que ce n'est pas qu'un coup de pub, que le gamin est vraiment bon

NABIL JEFFRI BECOMES YOUNGEST EVER F1™ TEST DRIVER
Duxford, UK 1st September 2010

The Imperial War Museum runway at Duxford played host to the youngest ever test driver in Formula One™ history today, with 16 year old Nabil Jeffri seeing his F1™ dream come true as he conducted a day of aero testing for Lotus Racing on the museum’s Cambridgeshire runway. Fairuz Fauzy and Heikki Kovalainen were both on hand to lend their advice to the young Malaysian and Nabil, a key member of the AirAsia ASEAN Driver Development programme, completed the day’s testing, and gave the team valuable pitstop practice throughout a busy day on track for the Anglo – Malaysian squad.

Stepping out of the car at the end of the day, Nabil was understandably excited about his day behind the wheel of the T127, saying “I have had an incredible day, one of the best days of my life, and I want to thank Lotus Racing, Tony Fernandes and Mike Gascoyne for giving me the chance to drive their car. I have to admit that the first time I went out it was pretty scary – everyone told me the acceleration would be unbelievable, and the braking would be so much greater than anything I’ve ever experienced, and it took a while to get used to that, but Heikki and Fairuz gave me some advice on how to settle in to it, and after a while I was more comfortable, and was able to get through the day’s plan. It’s such an honour to have had this opportunity, and it’ll be a long time before the excitement wears off, but I’ll keep on working hard to one day join Heikki, Fairuz, Jarno and the rest of the F1™ grid, and with the support of people like Tony and Lotus Racing, I’ve got a great chance of doing so.”

Also at the test was Lotus Racing driver Heikki Kovalainen, who joined the test to give Nabil some invaluable advice: “It’s a great experience for Nabil and it’s really good to see how well he did. He’s obviously very young, and he’ll remember this experience for the rest of his life. When you feel the power of a Formula One™ car for the first time it’s an incredible feeling and I told him to enjoy it, and not get stressed about trying to impress everyone too much. He did a great job today - he quickly picked up the correct procedures, and was working well with the whole team, which is pretty awesome when you think we’ve got the proper race team here today which could have been a bit daunting. It’s also great to see Lotus Racing investing in young talent, and we’re showing that the ladder to success in F1™ is there for anyone, wherever they are in the world, which is pretty cool, however you look at it.”

On hand to oversee the test was Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne, who said “I’m delighted that Nabil has done such a good job and I’d like to thank him for the work he put in today. Aero testing is an important part of the ongoing development of the car, and it’s great that we can give an opportunity to someone as young as Nabil to help us take another step forward. He completed the planned programme, gave clear and precise feedback, and we couldn’t ask any more of him than that. I’m sure this experience will help him take another step forward in his career, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on him to see if what he’s learnt today can help him take that next step up, in performance terms, in the Asian Formula BMW Championship.”

Team Principal Tony Fernandes was keeping a close eye on the day’s proceedings from his office in Malaysia, and said “When I first offered Nabil the chance to drive our car he couldn’t tell if I was joking or not, but I was very serious about giving a young Malaysian the chance to step up to the big time. He’s repaid my faith in him and has performed incredibly well, and that’s a source of real pride for me as he proves what I’ve always believed – keep dreaming, work hard to achieve what other people tell you is impossible, and your dreams will come true. I suspect Nabil will head back to Malaysia with his head spinning from everything that’s happened to him today, but now he can say he’s driven an F1™ car, and that will set his sights at the very top for the rest of his life. Congratulations Nabil – you’re a superstar!”

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Petronas, de Mercedes GP à Lotus ?
Le pétrolier malaisien étudie cette option

jeudi 2 septembre 2010 - 09h31, par Franck Drui

Petronas a annoncé aujourd’hui avoir signé un nouvel accord pour sponsoriser son Grand Prix national, celui de Malaisie, pour cinq nouvelles années. C’est un partenariat qui dure depuis 1999, année de la première édition de cette course à Sepang, près de Kuala Lumpur.

Petronas indique aussi dans son communiqué qu’elle continuera son investissement en Formule 1 sur le long terme, tout en soutenant la Malaisie. Les rumeurs sont d’ailleurs de plus en plus fortes que Petronas quitte l’équipe Mercedes GP à la fin de cette année pour devenir le sponsor principal de Lotus à partir de 2011.

Lotus est en effet la propriété de Proton, constructeur malaisien, et l’équipe est en discussions avec le pétrolier, pas très satisfait de son association avec Mercedes GP, selon une source d’un membre du marketing chez Mercedes. "Le sponsor n’est pas ravi des performances de la W01 ni même des retombées générées actuellement par son engagement en F1," déclarait-il fin juillet en Hongrie, dans le magazine Sport Auto.