Lotus F1 Racing

Is it a Lotus?
Whatever your position is on "is it a Lotus, is it not", I think it is a fantastic acheivement to get an F1 car onto the track in this very limited time frame. I can remember GLTL in its heyday and then the JPS era so I have seen Lotus at their peak, I also saw them trailing around at the back of the grid when Johnny Herbert and Mikka Hakkinen were driving for them in the overweight V12 Lambo engined Lotus 102bs. Tail end charlies for sure, but even then I still had a sense of pride that I had a Lotus and Lotus were in F1. I think peoples expectations are realistic and no one is expecting them to perform a la Honda, sorry Brawn of last year. This is a brand new car, not something that a major manufacturer has spent squillions on over several years and suddenly walked away from. The stated target is to be first of the new teams, at the moment that means just Virgin anything else will be a bonus. Good luck to Virgin to, another fine effort on the day that sees the USF1 team fall apart without even completing a car. (not too much luck to Virgin, finishing behind Lotus would be enough) Whats happening with Campos?

Is any new Lotus a Lotus?
Toyota spent millions, ditto Honda and BMW without very much to show for it. They pulled out for financial reasons not that their relatively poor performances had hit road car sales. Lets just hope as plucky underdogs they make a good fist of it, at this stage its all you can hope for. You could argue that any Lotus designed after Chapman died or when Lotus cars had been sold off is not a Lotus. So, if you drive a current generation car, Elise, Evora, Exige should they really be called a Proton? What they do have is the ethos and spirit of Lotus running through them, a kind of DNA but who owns the company, who pays the bills? Does Lotus F1 have the spirit of Team Lotus in them, I think they do. I believe that given the budget that it now takes to compete in F1 it is quite likely that Chapman would have sold a stake in the team to a major manufacturuer, just like McLaren et al to contuinue racing. Perhaps he should of done this before he died and because he didn't, we now have this reconstitued team.

The answer is simple, If it all goes badly then it will of course be very little to do with Lotus, if it goes well then .......................

(For more of my thoughts on Lotus DNA see the next Chicane.....)

Not such a succesful day today, but nonetheless things are still looking pretty good overall...

08:06	Heikki Kovalainen is at the wheel of the Lotus today. The team has solved its power steering issues and the Finn will be able to use it today
08:13	Heikki is using a new helmet design now that he's at Lotus: @H_Kovalainen: Sneak preview of my new crash helmet... http://tweetphoto.com/11744522
09:03	Heikki is still in the pits after just three laps. He is yet to set a time
10:25	Heikki's Lotus made smoke in the garage earlier this morning. He is yet to set a time
10:41	Heikki has taken to the track with the Lotus
10:45	1:31.9 for Vettel, 1:33.5 for Glock, 1:36.7 for Heikki
10:47	Heikki goes back to his garage
10:49	Lap count so far today: Barrichello 28, Hamilton 27, Glock 25, Rosberg 24, di Resta 20, Buemi 20, Vettel 17, Massa 14, de la Rosa 8, Heikki 7, Petrov 1
10:59	Heikki back on track. He joins Vettel, Barrichello, di Resta and Buemi
11:09	Five cars on track - Vettel, Heikki, Glock, Buemi and Rosberg. Vettel is quickest by some margin
11:34	Heikki takes the Lotus out of the pits
11:36	Petrov is still slowest, but now the Russian is just four tenths off Heikki's best
11:39	Petrov dives into the pits and leaves Heikki alone on track, with Barrichello now heading out
11:43	Heikki is currently on a seven-lap stint, with the last three laps in the 1:34s
11:50	Heikki has caused the third red flag of the day after going off at Turn 3
11:52	Heikki was enjoying a trouble-free eight-lap run when he lost control of his Lotus and got stuck in the gravel
11:55	The front wing is missing from the Lotus. The question is whether they have a spare one ?
12:16	Lotus reports that it is evaluating the damage to Heikki's car, as work continues to retrieve the T127. It appears the front wing has been badly damaged.
12:50	An apologetic Heikki confirms that Lotus is out of action for the rest of the day, @H_Kovalainen: "Had a crash and damaged front wing, session over for us. S..t! My mistake, tomorrow we go again..."
13:01	More Lotus news from @MikeGascoyne: "Slight off for Heikki. Knocked off the front wing. Spare on its way but will not be here until 2am in the morning so no more running today"
13:10	With his car sidelined for the rest of the day, @MikeGascoyne takes time to update the Lotus fans: "Made some progress on the hydraulic issues we have been having. Guess we will have time to test that progress this afternoon!!!"
14:32	A Lotus repair update from @MikeGascoyne: "Starting to put the car back together. If we had a spare front wing would be out again today but have to wait until tomorrow"
14:56	Lotus boss Tony Fernandes is still delighted with progress despite Heikki's accident curtailing the team's day, @tonyfernandes: "Good day despite heikki going off. Using time to fix hydraulics. Morale great. Such a can do attitude. Got good 30 laps in."

Heikki is due out in the car again tomorrow. Let's hope the replacement wing arrives OK.

Thanks for the update Mike

Another point which is worth mentioning on the subject of Lotus returning to F1 through the hands of Proton is that both Proton and 1Malaysia are Government Partnerships, and with Proton being the major stakeholder in Lotus, has the power to do a great many things and the funding to do so. I wouldn't worry about them running out of cash that's for sure! Proton has not only been behind the Malaysian A1 GP Team for the last several years but also in 2009 launched a Proton S2000 WR2 Rally car.

Ok chaps, here's today's activities from Jerez courtesy of Autosport Live. They've had some troubles today but, in the dry, are running only 4 secs behind the top times of the day. Not bad for a car which has had so little track time and was drawn less than a few months ago. The Cosworth seems to be holding up well (as they have to this season of course).

08:11	Heikki Kovalainen took the Lotus out for the first time time since his off yesterday. Everyone has just done an installation lap and headed back to the pits
08:27	Lotus is one of many teams waiting for a fully dry track to finally get some meaningful running done. @mikegascoyne: Circuit open on time and clear sky overhead so circuit will be drying up. We plan to do some starts and then wait for dry conditions
08:37	Heikki stops out on the circuit
08:41	It looks like it's a mechanical problem for the Lotus this morning. The car has stopped on the approach to Turn 9
08:47	There's no confirmation of what caused the Lotus to stop, but there are rumours that someone saw smoke coming from it
09:05	Lotus explains Heikki's problem. Looks like he should be back out shortly @mikegascoyne: Car stopped with a clutch sensor failure. Replacing sensor and updating front wing while waiting for circuit to dry
09:14	Lotus sounds like it's finally enjoying a bit of Spanish sun @mylotusracing: Sun is finally shining at Jerez and we've got Robbie Williams & The Pouges on our playlist here, brilliant way to start the morning!
09:25	Of the teams not to post times yet, Williams and Force India have done installation laps and the Lotus broke down before setting a time, only Sauber hasn't been on out track yet
10:09	Lotus is aiming to be back after midday
11:18	@h_Heikki: Bit of a troubled morning, clutch problem taken time to fix. I've taken early lunch, hopefully non stop afternoon ahead!
11:59	Timed Laps after four hours: Alguersuari, 64; Hulkenberg, 55; Alonso, 54; Webber, 46; Kubica, 45; Button, 40; Sutil, 35; Schumacher, 23; di Grassi, 21; Kobayashi, 6; Heikki, 0
12:05	The Lotus finally makes it onto the timing screen
12:06	Heikki starts his run with a 28.5
12:10	Heikki takes the Lotus into the 27s
12:13	1m27.285s for Heikki on his next lap as he tries to make up for lost time
12:19	More progress from Heikki, down into the 1m26s.
12:21	That 1m26.5s ended Heikki's 10-lap outing, which saw him averaging in the 1m27s.
12:25	Heikki's first run of the day went down well with Lotus boss @tonyfernandes: "Good 7 laps from heikki. Not really pushing it and he's doing great times. Sun still out."
12:28	Heikki resumes running.
12:35	Heikki is creeping closer to the rest of the field, 1m26.2s now for the Lotus.
12:51	Heikki pitted after nine laps, mostly in the 1m27s region.
12:57	Heikki returns to the track again.
13:02	Just one flying lap and back in for Heikki that time.
13:12	Out comes Heikki.
13:16	Heikki has improved, the Lotus now on 1m26.033s.
13:21	Alguersuari pits, so it's now Button, Webber, Schumacher and Heikki circulating.
13:22	Heikki's stint has ranged from 1m26.0s to 1m28.0s so far.
13:29	Heikki continues in the 1m26s.
13:34	Heikki returns to the pits.
13:35	Heikki's stint was 11 laps, averaging 1m26.7s.
13:41	Immediate improvement from Virgin - di Grassi's 1m25.328s takes him ahead of Kobayashi and Heikki.
13:50	Seems Lotus had to curtail that last stint: @MikeGascoyne - "Stopped long run with a cracked exhaust. Back out soon"
14:15	Di Grassi gets straight up to speed - his 1m23.504s is his best of the day yet, and puts Virgin just over half a second behind Toro Rosso, and 2.5s ahead of Lotus.
14:39	Heikki heads out.
14:41	Just an installation lap for Heikki following the exhaust repairs by the look of things, the Lotus pits again.
15:02	Excitement for Heikki/Lotus fans as the Lotus returns to the track and immediately improves to 1m24.924s.
15:04	Sutil and Alguersuari, Alonso, Button, Schumacher and Heikki on the circuit.
15:08	Heikki pits after a three lap run in 24.0, 25.0 and 24.9.
15:22	Heikki is on track again now
15:26	Heikki improves to 1m24.238s.
15:26	More gains from Lotus - Heikki down to 1m23.7s. Di Grassi is now just 0.2s ahead in the battle of the newcomers.
15:28	Heikki returns to the pits after setting that time. Three laps with an average of 1m24.1s.
15:33	Heikki sets out again - can he get Lotus back ahead of Virgin in the remaining minutes?
15:34	Lotus is winning the mileage battle today - 56 laps and counting for Heikki, 34 for di Grassi.
15:36	Heikki improves to 1m23.521s, 0.017s splits the new teams.
15:49	Heikki is in the 1m25s.
16:04	Di Grassi put Virgin in front in the battle to be the best newcomer, but Heikki was only 0.017s behind for Lotus - and both teams were only just over 4s slower than Webber.

Clearly there is still a long way to go but a first race finish doesn't look so difficult now as it did a week ago...

Jarno is in the car tomorrow, the last day of this test wek.

Go for it chaps! (BTW you can follow the twitter links in these posts to some great 'on the day' photos)

Here's today's report on Lotus activity at Jerez. Jarno was in the car today and put in 140 laps. Still not quite on the pace but let's not forget that this is their first opportunity to run the only car built so far. It would seem that all has gone pretty well and the reliability will have enabled the team to get soem good data.

08:02 Jarno Trulli is the first man out. The Italian is making his debut at the wheel of the Lotus T127 today

08:03 The breakfast of kings for Lotus's Mike Gascoyne..@MikeGascoyne: http://twitpic.com/149zpm - m&ms and a diet coke...breakfast for kings, album this morning : sterephonics - decade in the sun

08:08 @MyLotusRacing: 9am and Jarno's just completed his installation lap with no problems. Time to crank up The Jam in Mike Gascoyne's office.

08:33 Jarno completes his first timed lap as a Lotus driver

08:40 Jarno starts picking up speed, getting down to 1m28.980s - still 8s off the pace at this stage, though.

08:51 @tonyfernandes: "Good to get jarno in. Good times considering this is his first time in the car. People forget we are last team to test. All others have had 2 tests minimum one."

08:53 An 0.8s improvement for Jarno, who stays ninth.

08:57 And now down to 1m27.486s for Jarno as he continues to settle in.

08:59 The Lotus keeps chipping away at its times, Jarno now on 1m27.324s.

09:08 Another milestone for Lotus with Jarno having completed his first 19 laps in the T127 now - @tonyfernandes: "First mission complete. All drivers now tried car. Now we build. Great to see our IT man Scott helping on the flaps. That's lotus racing"

09:09 @MikeGascoyne promises a few tweaks for Jarno: "Jarno getting into it slowly. New heel rest for the next run should improve driver comfort."

09:22 An update on the lap count so far: Kubica - 19, Liuzzi - 16, Rosberg - 12, Alonso - 25, Kobayashi - 15, Alguersuari - 24, Webber - 28, Hulkenberg - 32, Glock - 8, Button - 7, Jarno - 19

09:26 Three cars on track now: Kubica, Hulkenberg and also just heading out is Jarno

09:29 Jarno knocks 2s off his previous best. The new heel rest clearly helped.But not as much as his increasing familiarity with the T127, obviously.

09:30 Down to 1m24.7s for Jarno on the next lap. That puts the Lotus ahead of world champion Button, (although the McLaren has only done seven laps so far today).

09:32 Now down to 24.686 for Jarno.

09:35 @tonyfernandes: "Go Jarno go jarno go jarno. 1.24 .686. Very happy Team principal. Ahead of world champion button. Hahaha. Well we can dream."

09:42 Jarno was out for eight laps, averaging 1m25.2s.

09:50 @MikeGascoyne: "Jarno getting more comfortable in the car and picking up pace. Starting to work on the setup now"

09:56 Jarno has rejoined to continue his acclimatisation.

10:00 Jarno has now done 35 laps.

10:14 Jarno is back in the pits after an eight lap run with an average of 1m28.8s, as Lotus concentrates on heavy fuel testing and set-up work.

10:44 Jarno leaves the pits again, the Lotus has already done 40 laps today.

10:58 Jarno comes in after six laps

11:00 Jarno resumes running.

11:04 A slight improvement from Jarno, 0.045s quicker than his earlier best.

11:06 The times as they stand with just over three hours gone, laps in brackets: 1 Button 1m18.871s (21), 2 Kubica 1m19.114s (54), 3 Liuzzi 1m19.650s (29), 4 Rosberg 1m20.150s (37), 5 Alonso 1m20.436s (43), 6 Kobayashi 1m20.751s (30), 7 Alguersuari 1m21.053s (53), 8 Webber 1m21.194s (43), 9 Hulkenberg 1m21.919s (63), 10 Glock 1m22.856s (, 11 Jarno 1m24.641s (51)

11:06 Another faster time from Jarno, down to 1m24.2s.

11:17 Jarno has pitted after taking his day's tally up to 57 laps. That last seven lap run saw him average 1m25.9s.

11:23 @MikeGascoyne: "57 laps done. Reliability looking good. Changing brakes as Jarno not happy with brake bite. Otherwise good progress"

11:56 Jarno sets off again.

12:04 A half-time times and laps update with four hours to go at Jerez: 1 Button 1m18.871s (26); 2 Kubica 1m19.114s (54); 3 Liuzzi 1m19.650s (43); 4 Rosberg 1m20.150s (60); 5 Alonso 1m20.436s (61); 6 Kobayashi 1m20.751s (45); 7 Alguersuari 1m21.053s (64); 8 Webber 1m21.194s (43); 9 Hulkenberg 1m21.919s (91); 10 Glock 1m22.856s (14); 11 Jarno 1m24.281s (63)

12:04 On track now: Rosberg, Alguersuari, Hulkenberg and

12:26 Jarno back out.

12:35 Jarno remains on the circuit.

12:41 Jarno has done eight laps this time, initially in the 1m26s and 1m27s, but now down to 1m25.9s.

12:43 Jarno pits - 78 laps so far today.

12:58 Jarno sets off from the Lotus pit.

13:00 A times and laps recap with three hours to go: 1 Button 1m18.871s (46); 2 Kubica 1m19.114s (54); 3 Kobayashi 1m19.514s (71); 4 Liuzzi 1m19.650s (43); 5 Rosberg 1m20.150s (79); 6 Alonso 1m20.436s (61); 7 Alguersuari 1m21.053s (71); 8 Webber 1m21.194s (43); 9 Hulkenberg 1m21.919s (111); 10 Glock 1m22.856s (18); 11 Jarno 1m24.281s (79)

13:02 A new personal best from Jarno to start his run: 1m23.647s.

13:04 Just two flying laps for Jarno that time: a 23.6 and a 23.8.

13:14 Jarno comes out again.

13:15 Improvement immediately from Jarno, down to 1m23.4s, but still not quite able to get off the foot of the times.

13:18 Jarno pits after that lap.

13:27 Jarno sets out again too.

13:33 Jarno back in.

13:49 Jarno is back out

13:51 Jarno is now on 95 laps for the day - vital mileage for Lotus.

14:00 Two hours to go, here is the list of top times and laps so far: 1 Button 1m18.871s (64); 2 Kubica 1m19.114s (66); 3 Kobayashi 1m19.188s (92); 4 Liuzzi 1m19.650s (57); 5 Rosberg 1m20.150s (84); 6 Alonso 1m20.436s (75); 7 Alguersuari 1m21.053s (92); 8 Webber 1m21.194s (44); 9 Hulkenberg 1m21.919s (122); 10 Glock 1m22.856s (18); 11 Jarno 1m23.470s (102).

14:03 Jarno's 12 lap run has come down from 1m26s to 1m25s.

14:10 Jarno continues to circulate in the 1m27s bracket in his Lotus. His pace has been dropping off quite a bit during this run.

14:20 More from @MikeGascoyne on the plan at Lotus: "111 laps completed for Jarno with no problems. Sticking with long runs to get mileage on the car. Full program is 140 laps"

14:21 Jarno recently completed a 20 lap run, with the average time just under 1m27s.

14:26 @MikeGascoyne explains the times set recently by Jarno: "First long run pace was good but Jarno reported big rear drop off over last 5 laps. Need to protect the rear tyres more" Jarno was initially lapping in the 1m25s region, but dropped off into the 1m27s as the stint wore on.

14:32 Jarno joins in for some more running.

14:34 Jarno is heading back to the Lotus garage after a single tour.

15:08 In to the final hour, here is the list of top times and laps: 1 Button 1m18.871s (82); 2 Kubica 1m19.114s (96); 3 Kobayashi 1m19.188s (113); 4 Liuzzi 1m19.650s (71); 5 Rosberg 1m20.150s (107); 6 Alonso 1m20.436s (98); 7 Alguersuari 1m21.053s (120); 8 Webber 1m21.194s (70); 9 Hulkenberg 1m21.919s (137); 10 Glock 1m22.856s (18); 11 Jarno 1m23.470s (120).

15:22 Jarno is back on track in the Lotus. @MikeGascoyne reports a 25-lap long run is the plan to wrap up the first test for the T127.

15:28 Jarno is on the promised long run, with his latest times improving in to the low 1m26s region, following a series of 1m27s laps early in the run.

15:36 Jarno has now taken over the lead in the 'most laps today' stakes, with 140 for the Lotus.

BTW, The factory tell me Lotus Racing Regalia will be available soon. Get your green and yellow underpants ready!

This is the text of the most recent Lotus Racing Press release about the visit of the Duke of York to Hingham today. The highlights are mine. I wonder which national anthem will be played at the first victory

"Just one day after Lotus Racing’s Hingham factory was officially opened by former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir, the team played host to HRH The Duke of York. Team Principal Tony Fernandes and Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne gave the Duke an official tour of the team’s facility and presented him with a commemorative set of his own Lotus Racing overalls.

The Duke’s visit was a landmark occasion for Lotus Racing. It gave the team a chance to thank him personally for the pivotal role he played in the formation of the latest British team to join the Formula 1 grid, and provided His Royal Highness with an opportunity to see progress at the factory since the team's formation in September 2009.

During his tour The Duke was introduced to a number of the team’s staff, including drivers Heikki Kovalainen, Jarno Trulli and Fairuz Fauzy, together with members of the technical and mechanical departments who were honoured that their workplace was visited by such an esteemed guest.

Speaking about a momentous week for Lotus Racing, Tony Fernandes said “I have been privileged to work with His Royal Highness over a number of years in his role as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment. As is well known without HRH’s efforts Air Asia X’s partnership with Rolls Royce would not have become a reality. What is perhaps less well recognised is that the Duke was one of the primary catalysts behind our substantial capital investment here in Norfolk. Indeed it was thanks to the Duke’s advice in June of 2009 that we began another extraordinary partnership between Malaysia and the United Kingdom that has culminated in the successful entry and creation of the Lotus Racing T127 grand prix car. I am delighted that His Royal Highness was able to join us at Lotus Racing today.”

All good stuff...Royal approval as well- great!
Not sure how long we will have to wait to see which National Anthem will be played, they have a long way to go yet, but if they actually do score a victory then we can wait for 'God Save The Queen' .

Trigger wrote:

What's that girl doing with her hairdryer?

I think she is styling and blow drying the front wing...it will give them a real advantage over Ferrari as they only have Liverpool lads in their pit crew

Tim.

( I assume you are the 83Mans boy...James?)

TimS wrote:I think she is styling and blow drying the front wing...it will give them a real advantage over Ferrari as they only have Liverpool lads in their pit crew

Tim.

( I assume you are the 83Mans boy...James?)

My Money's on Mike having reached that Phase of Life!
Must run now the transformer on the Scalectrix track is starting to smoke.

John

TimS wrote:I think she is styling and blow drying the front wing...it will give them a real advantage over Ferrari as they only have Liverpool lads in their pit crew

Tim.

( I assume you are the 83Mans boy...James?)

Yes it's James.

I'm now pondering the potential of a thermoplastic front wing assembly that can be reconfigured using a hairdyer. Could make for some interesting configuratoins in Friday test sessions.

the83boy wrote:Yes it's James.
I'm now pondering the potential of a thermoplastic front wing assembly that can be reconfigured using a hairdyer. Could make for some interesting configuratoins in Friday test sessions.

Welcome along James. Didn't expect it to take long before a comment was mentioned about the girl and her hair dryer. If that front wing isn't anything but perfect for it's first race then I will know who to blame!

Trigger wrote:
Didn't expect it to take long before a comment was mentioned about the girl and her hair dryer. If that front wing isn't anything but perfect for it's first race then I will know who to blame!

are we being just a little sexist here......?

tashuka wrote:

Trigger wrote:Didn't expect it to take long before a comment was mentioned about the girl and her hair dryer. If that front wing isn't anything but perfect for it's first race then I will know who to blame!

are we being just a little sexist here......?

Not at all, not much ... and I didn't bring up the subject

Uh Oh! In trouble on my 2nd post.

Best start behaving before dad finds out.

the83boy wrote:Uh Oh! In trouble on my 2nd post.
Best start behaving before dad finds out.

... and this is his favourite topic

The girl is called 'Tony'. Go figure....

tony our composite lady on track

the83man wrote:Tony our composite lady on track

COOL

76 more laps for Fairuz Fauzy on the first day of the Barcelona test marks another satisfactory day for Lotus Racing. In dry, sunny conditions the team completed all its objectives for the day and are now looking forward to seeing Jarno Trulli take over driving duties tomorrow and Saturday.

Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne gave his thoughts on the day’s on track action, saying “It was a very productive day - 76 laps with no mechanical worries on the car. In the morning we conducted some engine LAMDA running which we completed successfully. We ran through a series of system set up checks, completed our first starts and evaluated a number of other control systems on the car, as well as monitoring temperatures and pressures throughout the car.

“All in all this was a successful day both on the track and we ticked off a lot of behind the scenes tasks ahead of the first race. Fairuz did a very good job today, with no mistakes, and we were able to complete our whole program.”
Jarno Trulli takes over tomorrow with more dry running ahead of the Lotus Racing team.

It looks like the Lotus is still a bit short on pace, but it has been slowly narrowing the gap to the other new team Virgin. Tomorrow sees one of the race drivers take over and hopefully the times might get even closer between the two teams.

On a promising note the new points system scores down to 10th place this season and this places a premium on finishing, especially in the first few races. The Lotus reliability looks to be reasonably good so far and many of the cars testing have stopped out on track, even the top teams. Virgin has probably been worst effected.

Starting late was always going to be a problem but lets just hope the team can make improvements to the car as the season developes which will puts them higher up the time sheets.