[F1] Lotus F1 Racing

“That was not quite how I thought my race would end!” the Finn laughed after the race. “Until the fire, I was having a really strong run and the car had felt good throughout.

“We were looking good for 15th but then I had a coming together with Buemi towards the end of the race. I spun the car to get back on to the track, which I think cracked the fuel tank pressure release valve and it looks like that caused an air box fire.

“I didn’t want to come into the pits as it definitely wasn’t safe enough to do so and pulled over on the main straight. A couple of guys from Williams gave me an extinguisher, so I put the fire out on my own – I told Tony (Fernandes) and Mike (Gascoyne) that they maybe need to pay me more as I’m now a fireman as well…”

SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
Singapore - 26th September 2010

A fantastic Singapore Grand Prix ended in spectacular style for Lotus Racing’s Heikki Kovalainen after he pulled over on the start / finish straight and put out a fire in his car by himself that brought to an end a battling drive under the Singapore lights. Jarno Trulli had suffered a hydraulics failure on lap 26, which ended his race after both he and Heikki had made very good starts and had been fighting in the midfield in 15th and 16th in the early laps. A double pitstop under the first safety car period on lap three gave them both strong track positions which they both held until Jarno’s retirement, and Heikki’s eventual race-ending fire.

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “The race tonight marks a major step forward for us. On the pitwall we were talking about beating Michael and Buemi in a straight fight on track, and we told Heikki to take the fight to them - not to take the conservative approach. If we’d taken the safer option maybe Heikki wouldn’t have hit Buemi, but we’re here to race, and that’s what I mean about a big step forward. This is all part of our learning curve, but coming here and racing the Toro Rossos and Mercedes at the end of a pretty hardcore race is a sign of how far we’ve come. We’ll take all these lessons into next year, and it can only help us be an even more potent force in 2011.”

Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) 16th, fastest lap 1.53.051 - lap 53, 2 stops – laps 3, 34: “That was not quite how I thought my race would end! Until the fire, I was having a really strong run and the car had felt good throughout. We were looking good for 15th, but then I had a coming together with Buemi towards the end of the race. I spun the car to get back onto the track which I think cracked the fuel tank pressure release valve and it looks like that caused an airbox fire. I didn’t want to come into the pits as it definitely wasn’t safe enough to do so, and pulled over on the main straight. A couple of guys from Williams gave me an extinguisher, so I put the fire out on my own – I told Tony and Mike that they maybe need to pay me more as I’m now a fireman as well…”

Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) DNF, fastest lap 1.56.386 - lap 20, 3 stops – laps 3, 6, 25: “I had a very good start and was running well with Heikki but then the problems started. I had a puncture just after the first safety car which brought me back in early, and then the hydraulic problems that have affected me quite a few times this season struck again. It’s been a difficult weekend to be honest, but now we go to Suzuka which is a track I really look forward to, so hopefully I’ll have some better luck there.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “It was a very eventful race and a real shame at the end to see Heikki’s race brought to an end with the fire. Both cars made a great start and got themselves in front of the Virgins which is obviously what we wanted to do. We stopped them both during the first safety car lap, which seemed to be the right call, and the pitcrew did a great job to get them both turned around as quickly as they did. Unfortunately Jarno then picked up a puncture from some debris on track and then a hydraulics problem brought his race to an end. We tried to get him back out, but after having done so the problems started again straight away so he had to come back in.

“Heikki clearly had a pretty dramatic race. When the fire started he made the decision not to come into the pitlane for safety reasons, and did very well to put the fire out himself. Until that point he was having a fantastic race and we were looking forward to fighting with Michael and Buemi right to the end, but unfortunately the fire put paid to that. The main thing really is to say thanks to him for being brave enough to put it out, and be thankful that he’s fine after what was a pretty spectacular end to his race. After such a good race performance from him and the whole team, we will take some real positives from this weekend, and look forward to the last four races.”

Adoum a écrit:
Oulà, c'est pas bon ça...

Moi qui était plus que sceptique de revoir Lotus sur les grilles car justement je me disais que ça allait être un projet bancal, je suis au final positivement surpris par cette équipe.

J'espère que Hunt est réellement le détenteur des droits et qu'ils s'appelleront bien Team Lotus l'an prochain.
ça perdrait tout son charme, si ça devait s'appeler Malaysia F1.

Narm a écrit:
Ce qui est abusé, c'est que le groupe Proton accuse Tony Fernandes d'avoir détérioré l'image de Lotus
Il s'attendait à quoi ce groupe, que l'équipe truste les podiums dès la première année ?

Crouzz a écrit:

Narm a écrit:
Ce qui est abusé, c'est que le groupe Proton accuse Tony Fernandes d'avoir détérioré l'image de Lotus
Il s'attendait à quoi ce groupe, que l'équipe truste les podiums dès la première année ?

ça n'a rien à voir avec les performances du team, mais avec l'affaire d'espionnage des maquettes de soufflerie de Force India.

Narm a écrit:

Crouzz a écrit:ça n'a rien à voir avec les performances du team, mais avec l'affaire d'espionnage des maquettes de soufflerie de Force India.

Bien vu je n'y pensais plus ; mais l'écurie n'avait pas été disculpée ?

SUZUKA GRAND PRIX VIEW
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 1st October 2010

Next stop Japan and the world famous Suzuka circuit. Loved by drivers, fans and racing gamers around the world, Suzuka is one of the classic Grand Prix venues. Over the years the track has played host to some of the most famous races in Formula One™ history, and is home to the legendary Spoon Curve and 130R, two of the most challenging corners in the race calendar today. Lotus Racing heads to Japan looking to consolidate its position as the best of the new teams at a track that rewards experience, endeavour and guts – three attributes that team drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli have demonstrated all season.

Heikki Kovalainen, who will be in Chassis T127-03 after T127-01 went back to the UK to be checked and cleaned up: “First I want to thank the boys at Williams for their help with the little incident that brought my Singapore GP to an end. I’ve had an amazing response to putting out the fire, and while it was clearly the best way to stop what would have been a very dangerous situation, if I’d come into the pits, it was a pretty spectacular end to a great race. We were racing Michael and Sebastien for position, and made the right call to fight them as hard as we could. It didn’t pay off this time, but not taking the easy option of just getting the car home shows what we’re made of, and that’s a very good feeling.

“After the race the whole team flew into Kuala Lumpur in a team-branded AirAsia plane. That was pretty cool – getting on board an aircraft with my race number at the back, and all the seats in green and yellow - it shows just how dedicated AirAsia are to our team, and it was an awesome feeling taking off and landing back at the team’s other home in KL. I had a couple of days staying with our Chief Exec and managed to get some golf in, and then went for a few days of relaxation before making the trip to Japan. I love Japan – it’s a bit mad, but in a really good way. The fans are pretty hardcore – they know more about the drivers than we do, and the track itself is obviously great to race on. I think we’ll do pretty well there. It’s quick, and you need a good rhythm to get the best lap times, but experience and concentration play a big part, and I can’t wait to get back in the car.”

Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04): “After what had been a very busy Singapore race I joined the team for the flight to KL before heading back to Europe. Seeing how everyone responded to ‘our’ plane was really cool. It’s the sort of thing that makes the guys in the team very proud and seeing how excited all the AirAsia staff were about seeing us on board was very special.
“Coming back to Japan is something I’m looking forward to. I really like the track and last year was on the podium in second place. I know we won’t be repeating that this year, but I think we’ll be ok. Everyone in the team is pumped up for the final few races, and we want to focus on beating our nearest rivals. We’re in a good fight, and the fans are being given some great action to keep an eye on further down the grid, so we’ll do our best to reward them.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “Suzuka is a classic race venue, one that really brings out the best in the car and the drivers. The team have had a bit of time off to recharge their batteries since Singapore, and I think they’ll get to Japan ready to get straight back to work and help us secure tenth place. As most of the efforts back at the factory have now been focused on the 2011 car for several months, we won’t be bringing any new updates to Japan, but it’s obviously good to see that even though our direct rivals are continuing to update their cars, we can still take the fight to them. Singapore was a great battle, and had Heikki not had to do his fireman act, we would have finished comfortably ahead of Virgin. We want to continue that next weekend and we’re aiming to put on as strong a performance at Suzuka as we did in Singapore.”

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “I’m just about over the excitement of the Singapore race! Seeing Heikki stay so cool under pressure really drove it home to me just how tough the drivers are – first making the decision to fight Michael and Buemi, and not let them pass just to bring the car home, lifted the spirits of everyone in the team after what had been a very long, hot weekend. Then having the clarity of thought to pull over in the right place, get out and sort out the problem - I think that gained him a whole new level of respect and it’s that fighting spirit that we love. Maybe less of the fire fighting in future, but not one bit less of the aggression.

"This has already been an incredible season, and it is a credit to everyone in our team that there is so much interest around the world in our future. We have achieved so much in one year, and, while nothing in life worth having is easy, when we savour victory the taste will be that much sweeter. For every single person who has given us support, praise and encouragement we thank you. We will leave no stone unturned to be the best."

Ends

Lotus et Cosworth signent leur accord de rupture
Divorce consommé, place à Renault
vendredi 1er octobre 2010 - 18h25, par Franck Drui

Cosworth et Lotus ont aujourd’hui signé les termes de leur accord de rupture de contrat anticipé, annoncé après le Grand Prix d’Italie le 12 septembre dernier. Lotus devra payer un dédit financier pour ne pas avoir respecté son contrat de 3 ans, d’une valeur globale initiale de 18 millions d’euros.

La somme versée par Lotus à Cosworth restera confidentielle mais est estimée aux alentours de 10 millions d’euros. Le contrat entre les deux parties prendra fin officiellement le 30 novembre à minuit.

Lotus et Cosworth précisent dans leur communiqué que la rupture ne se fait pas à cause d’un manque de fiabilité ou de performance du moteur. Lotus ne va en effet plus tarder à annoncer un accord global avec Renault lui permettant de disposer du moteur français mais aussi de la boite de vitesse. La boite, fournie par X-trac, est un élément qui a occasionné de nombreuses pannes chez Lotus cette année.

Selon nos informations, l’accord avec Renault engloberait aussi le KERS, ce que ne peut fournir Cosworth : en achetant l’intégralité de la chaine de propulsion à Renault, Lotus sera donc assurée de disposer des mêmes armes que Renault F1 de ce côté.