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Check out You Tube for this 2 minute 40 second video: Lotus Racing – The Story So Far
29 th August 2010
Belgian GP - Race
The unpredictable weather continued for the race as is customary in Spa. The two Lotuses bogged down a bit at the start but after that Jarno drove a strong race. Unfortunately after the safety car in the final laps he had a high-speed spin but luckily didn’t hit anything! It did drop him back to last to begin with, but he still beat Yamamoto! Heikki’s race went the other way round. He pitted early on with a dmamaged front wing and made a tyre gamble that failed but managed to finish 16 th, almost swapping places with Jarno. The Lotuses weren’t the only bad starters… pole sitter Webber also bogged down at the start allowing Lucky Lewis to take the lead and basically stay there till the end. In his 300 th GP, Barrichello hit Alonso at the bus stop on the first lap (which was a good celebration), putting himself out of the race, although the Ferrari continued. Well, it did until Alonso crashed out himself in the rain on lap 38. Vettel had an eventful trace, from running third to finishing 15 th: trying to pass Button’s McLaren which had already suffered front wing damage on the first lap, Vettel lost control of his Red Bull and crashed into the side of Button’s car, putting the McLaren out of the race and earning the Red Bull driver a drive through penalty. Plus Vettel had to pit for a new front wing, and later got a puncture after Liuzzi’s Force India collided with the back of the Red Bull. Bit of a disastrous race really. The rain came down hard on lap 35 but after much changing of tyres with a few choosing full wets but most inters, everyone else finished the race intact. Apart from Senna who retired on lap 6, cause unknown. Top 10: Hamilton, Webber, Kubica, Massa, Sutil, Rosberg, Schumacher, Kobayashi, Petrov, Alguersuari.
Press Release - BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
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.”
28 th August 2010
Belgian GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Practice: Conditions were good when Webber set the fastest time, as a damp track dried out until the deluge of rain 15 minutes from the end. Vettel had a car problem when his car cut out stuck in gear at the end of the pitlane but his best time was good enough for third. Jarno was 19 th and Heikki 21 st. Top 6: Webber, Hamilton, Vettel, Button, Kubica, Alonso.
Qualifying: It just goes to show that you can be top of the times in practice but get nowhere near pole in qualifying. Alonso could only manage 10 th on the grid. Webber was fastest from Hamilton and Kubica. The session started dry but that didn’t stop Petrov dropping it at turn 9, spinning into the inside barrier. This caused a red flag, then it rained heavily on the next first flying lap. Jarno had a problem with Di Grassi (see news item below), who managed to spin and beach his Virgin. He and Petrov were out of it, then the two Saubers had incidents and also stopped. This caused a yellow flag at the end of Q1 preventing Jarno improving his time to progress to Q2 along with Heikki and Glock from the new teams. Kobayashi and the HRTs were also eliminated. Jarno was 18 th and Heikki finished 16 th, ahead of Glock. Also dropping out of Q2 were the two Mercedes, both Toro Rossos and Liuzzi. It rained again lightly at the end of the session but only after Webber had posted the best time ahead of his rivals. Afterwards Glock was given a 5 place penalty for blocking Yamamoto in qualifying, and along with Rosberg’s gearbox penalty and Schumacher’s 10 place drop from the last race, Jarno and Heikki will start 15 th and 14 th. Nice one. Top 10: Webber, Hamilton, Kubica, Vettel, Button, Massa, Barrichello, Sutil, Hulkenberg, Alonso.
Trulli angry after qualifying dramas
Press Release - SPA BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN LOTUS RACINGLotus 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….
28 th August 2010
Belgian GP – Friday Practice
Session 1: As is often the case in Spa, the weather took a hand in the practice session, although no one actually crashed in the rain, which was a miracle in itself. Alonso was quickest, setting a fast time shortly before the heavens opened, and then going quicker even on a very wet track after the rain had stopped. Hamilton was second quickest with Kubica third. Jarno was 21 st and Heikki 23 rd, behind the Virgins for a change. Top 6: Alonso, Hamilton, Kubica, Vettel, Sutil, Button.
Session 2: Apart from a shower at the start of the session when Liuzzi went off at Rivage and needed a new front wing, and Glock put his Virgin into the barriers at turn 9, the track slowly dried out as the session progressed. The session had to be stopped 15 minutes from the end while secutiry removed some spectators who decided to climb onto the track at turn 8, and then the red light at the end of the pitlane got stuck. Alonso was quickest again from Sutil. Jarno was 20 th and Heikki 19 th. Top 6: Alonso, Sutil, Hamilton, Kubica, Massa, Vettel.
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) FP1: 15 laps, best time 2.07.189, 21st / FP2: 21 laps, best time 1.53.639, 20 th: “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.”
1 st August 2010
Hungarian GP – Race
Yet again Seb Vettel failed to convert a pole into a race win! A strange elementary mistake too, so he has no one to blame but himself. His team mate Webber DID win again though, thankfully preventing an Alonso win. Don’t think we could stomach that again after last week. Massa was 4 th. Hamilton had to retire with a transmission problem on lap 25, and Button could only manage 8 th, so Red Bull go into the break leading both championships. The speed of the Red Bulls gives the team more strategy options and when the safety car came out on lap 15 to recover unidentified debris on track, the team left Webber out there, gambling he would recover from a later pit stop using his superior car. Vettel did pit and came out behind Webber. His downfall came when he wasn’t paying attention at the restart and allowed himself to drop more than 10 car lengths behind the leader, Webber, which sparked a drive through penalty. He did still finish third though. The safety car period was eventful in the pitlane. On lap 17, Rosberg’s Mercedes shed its right rear wheel on leaving the pitbox, which bounced through the neighbouring mechanics and ended up injuring a Williams mechanic. Immediately after this, Kubica’s Renault was released into the path of Sutil’s Force India as it was about to enter its own pit box. The resulting collision caused the Force India to retire immediately, once it had been extricated from the Renault. Surprised it hasn’t happened before, although this seems a genuine mistake rather than a risky manoeuvre. Kubica continued but received a stop/go penalty for the incident, and retired anyway on lap 25. The only other retiree was Alguersuari on lap 2, with smoke pouring from his engine. Jarno and Heikki both finished the race, as did all the new teams’ cars. Heikki (14 th) got switched with Jarno (15 th) in the pitstops. Michael Schumacher did his best to put Barrichello in the pitwall towards the end of the race as they fought over 10 th place. Old habits die hard but this time Schumacher is penalised 10 grid place in the next GP. Top 10: Webber, Alonso, Vettel, Massa, Petrov, Hulkenberg, De la Rosa, Button, Kobayashi, Barrichello.
Press Release - A DAY IN THE SUN AT THE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIXLotus Racing enjoyed an excellent day in the heat of the Hungarian Grand Prix with Heikki Kovalainen finishing 14th and Jarno Trulli just behind in 15th. A very exciting race, full of incidents throughout the grid, saw the Anglo / Malaysian squad firmly consolidate their position at the top of the new team chart, sending the team into the summer break full of confidence for the challenges that lay ahead when the Championship reconvenes in late August.
Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) 14th, fastest lap 1.27.457 - lap 64, 1 stop - lap 15:“A great day for the team, and a great job from everyone to get us home in 14th and 15th. I think that was the maximum we could have hoped for, so we’re all really pleased. Despite starting behind Timo we were confident we could overtake him, and that’s how it panned out. My own race was fairly straightforward. I dropped a few places at the start but when the safety car came in I was brought straight in to pit and it worked out well as I jumped a couple of guys ahead. From then I was controlling my pace to the end, and making sure I didn’t make any mistakes. We head into the break very satisfied with how we performed today, and that’s great for the whole team.”
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) 15th, fastest lap 1.27.429 – lap 58, 1 stop – lap 20:“It’s a great day for the team. All weekend I’ve been strong, and today’s two car finish shows how hard the team’s been working. I made a very good start and managed to gain three places, and once I got ahead of Timo it was pretty comfortable staying in front. I lost out to Heikki in the strategy call during the safety car period, but that was in the best interests of the team, and as we are again ahead of our nearest rivals, we’ve achieved what we set out to today.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:“An excellent two car finish and once again we’re the best of the new teams. Both drivers drove strong races and Jarno had a particularly good start. Once the safety car came out we made a strategy call to keep Jarno out as we knew it would be a short period behind the safety car and this was the right strategy for the team. Unfortunately this meant Jarno lost a place to his teammate, so apologies to him, but we got the call right for the team. Heikki drove a good strong race to the end. He was bottled up behind Di Grassi at the start, but once he’d got past he was very comfortable running to the flag. All in all a really good result, and a very good day for the team.”
Kamarudin Meranun, Deputy Team Principal: “It was a very exciting race and moments like this are the ones you want to cherish. We made a very good decision with Heikki when the safety car came out, and both he and Jarno drove really well to keep their positions to the end. It’s a great day for the team, and I’ve just given Tony a challenge – let’s see you beat that next time you’re on the pitwall!”
31 st July 2010
Hungarian GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Practice: It’s the Red Bulls again heading the pack in final practice. Di Grassi jumps Jarno and Heikki out of their usual positions, dropping them to 20 th (JT) and 21 st. Top 6: Webber, Vettel, Alonso, Kubica, Massa, Hamilton.
Qualifying: Vettel flew to an amazingly quick pole, with his team mate Webber second but 7 tenths away. The Ferraris came next. At the other end, Di Grassi was top of the new teams, with Heikki 20 th and Jarno 21 st. Kobayashi was the unlucky driver to get stuck in Q1 with them. Button was the high profiler to languish in Q2. Oh, and Schumacher if you can count him these days. The Force Indias, the Toro Rossos and Barrichello were the others left behind in Q2. Top 10: Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Massa, Hamilton, Rosberg, Petrov, Kubica, De la Rosa, Hulkenberg.
Press Release - HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYINGLotus Racing will start the Hungarian Grand Prix in 20th and 21st positions, with Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli qualifying within 1/10th of a second of each other at the Hungaroring in today’s official qualifying session.
Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) FP3: 22 laps, best time 1.24.623, 21st / QUALIFYING: 20th, 1.24.120, 9 laps: “I think we got as much out of the car as we could today. Considering the time I lost yesterday it felt like the maximum this afternoon. The car felt ok, and it’s a bit of a relief we got to where we are as I wasn’t sure about the balance today, bearing in mind I’d missed most of FP2. We’re still in a decent position for tomorrow and we’ll focus on the start and the strategy, and make sure we stay ahead of the other new teams in the race itself.”
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) FP3: 22 laps, best time 1.24.576, 20th / QUALIFYING: 21st, 1.24.199 9 laps: “It’s a bit disappointing today. I was going well on the first run but I was held by the traffic in the last sector and lost about 4/10ths, so we had to abort that lap – it’s a shame as that was looking like pretty good. On the second run the tyres didn’t work as well as we’d hoped and that cost me a lot of time. Despite that we’ll do our best tomorrow, and want to see both cars across the finish line.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:“Little bit of a disappointing qualifying session today. After the first run both drivers were relatively happy, but neither of them got a clean run on the second set of tyres – Jarno in particular said he had very little grip with the second set. However, we are where we are, and we’re looking for a strong two car finish tomorrow.”
Kamarudin Meranun, Deputy Team Principal: “After the issues we had on Friday with Heikki we’ve got to be relatively pleased with where we are. Jarno’s lap was obviously affected by traffic, and I think Heikki got as much out of his runs as he could with the time he lost yesterday, so we’re still hopeful about getting ahead of the Virgin tomorrow, and getting both cars home.”
30 th July 2010
Hungarian GP – Friday Practice
No dramas, little incident in the first session and the Red Bulls were quickest. Jarno was 19 th, Heikki 20 th. Top 6: Vettel, Webber, Kubica, Button, Barrichello, De la Rosa.
The Red Bulls were still at the top in session 2, sandwiching Alonso. Jarno was 19 th but Heikki was last after a mechanical problem kept him in the garage most of the time. Top 6: Vettel, Alonso, Webber, Massa, Petrov, Hamilton.
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) FP1: 22 laps, best time 1.25.032, 19th / FP2: 37 laps, 1.24.553, 19 th:“It was a good, trouble free Friday session, so I’m very happy with how it went. We did a lot of work on the setup so generally the car balance hasn’t been too bad. Obviously it’s a bumpy circuit which evolves all the time, so it’s important to follow up the evolution. We’ve also been able to evaluate the tyres, which is important for both qualifying tomorrow and for the race on Sunday.”
26 th July 2010
Hungarian GP – Jarno’s Preview
Jarno Trulli, Car No. 18:“It’ll be good to get back in the car straight away after a frustrating end to the German Grand Prix. After what had been a really strong weekend, it was obviously not the way we wanted the race to go, so hopefully Hungary will be better luck for us! The Hungaroring is a very twisty track, bumpy and hard to pass on, and not one you can get a great rhythm on. We’ll be running the full downforce package, and as it’s normally very tough – hot and very long, it’s a real physical challenge. But I’m feeling good, and we keep progressing, so I’m looking forward to the weekend.”
25 th July 2010
German GP – Race
Good ol’ Ferrari! They don’t learn, do they? Or is it they are so arrogant they don’t think the rules apply to them? Or are they so thick they can’t even see that what they did falls into the category of team orders? More likely they thought they could get away with getting Massa to let Alonso through to win the race and no one would have anything to say! Big mistake! Media furore, an uncomfortable long press conference for the Ferrari boys who were first and second, the wrong way round, in front of a bemused Seb Vettel in third place who wasn’t aware of the controversy at the time. No doubt Ferrari feel the $100,000 fine imposed on the team by the stewards who did NOT have the wool pulled over their eyes, is cheap for what it was worth, even though it still has to go to the WMSC. But aren’t Ferrari and Alonso well suited? Felipe Massa is far too nice for that team. He made such a fab getaway, that while Alonso and Vettel were fighting for position, he shot away in the lead. He should have finished there but the Alonso-centred team had other ideas. No doubt Alonso was moaning and carrying on in the cockpit until the team organised the switch. The prima donna act isn’t a requirement of being a champion…. look at Jenson. The McLarens were 4 th and 5 th, having been off the pace all weekend. Lotus had a bad day: Jarno’s gearbox lasted a couple of laps before he retired on lap 4, after the team had tried and failed to reset the box. Heikki had to retire on lap 58, after colliding with De la Rosa’s Sauber which was part of a convoy passing him under blue flags, Heikki got reprimanded for it afterwards but had already apologised. Buemi was the first retirement, on lap 2, after his team mate crashed into him at the hairpin. Oops. Other retirees were Yamamoto on lap 20 and di Grassi on lap 51. Force India had a terrible day: The drivers collided on the first lap, with Liuzzi’s returning to the pits for front wing repairs, with Sutil also turning up at the same time as they had decided to bring him in for a tyre change due to strategy if he had a bad start. Unfortunately the team mixed up the tyres and they both had to go back to rectify the situation. They eventually finished 16 th and 17 th. Top 10: Alonso, Massa, Vettel, Hamilton, Button, Webber, Kubica, Rosberg, Schumacher, Petrov.
Press Release - GERMAN GRAND PRIXRace day in Germany began with Lotus Racing Chief Mechanic Phil Spencer, Deputy Team Principal Kamarudin Meranun and Chief Executive Officer Riad Asmat paying their respects to Team Lotus legend Jim Clark at his Hockenheim memorial, but it was a disappointing Sunday for the team after both Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen recorded DNFs. Jarno Trulli had a strong start and was running 15th, but retired on lap four after a gearbox problem brought his race to an end. Heikki Kovalainen was running well in the race but was forced to retire on lap 60 after a coming together with de la Rosa’s Sauber.
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04):“I made a very good start and then suddenly I lost the gearbox and unfortunately that was it. We tried to reset it in the pit and I went out again but it didn’t work, so I think it was a mechanical issue with the box that brought the race to an early end. It’s very frustrating because I was having a very good weekend, probably the best of the whole season so far, and it’s like the luck just isn’t with me. We’ve got another chance next weekend so I hope the luck changes there.”
Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01):“A disappointing end but it was just one of those things that can happen when you’re having to let cars past. It was my mistake but I didn’t see the Sauber coming. I thought I was letting the Williams past, and didn’t see the Sauber so I closed the door and that was the end of the race. It’s a shame because I was running pretty well until then.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:“Ultimately a very disappointing day. Jarno lost second gear and had to retire and Heikki had to retire after contact with de la Rosa. Both cars made good starts – we started Jarno on the harder tyre and Heikki on the options to split the strategies, but Jarno’s race was over before he’d really started. Heikki drove a strong race and was comfortably leading the battle of the new teams before contact forced him to retire. Despite this it was still a strong showing from us, and now we move on to Hungary.”
Kamarudin Meranun, Deputy Team Principal: “It’s frustrating because we’d had a good weekend, in practice and qualifying. Very unfortunate for Jarno, and Heikki was doing well so it’s disappointing to see he couldn’t finish the race, not due to a mechanical issue, but because of an incident that was out of our control. So, even though it’s sad, we’ll pull through, and we’ll do a better job in Hungary.”
24 th July 2 010
German GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Vettel was quickest in final practice, with Alonso second. Again the sessionw as wet, drting out by halfway. Sutil ended with a broken driveshaft, enabling Heikki and Jarno to be 18 th and 19 th respectively. Top 6: Vettel, Alonso, Webber, Massa, Rosberg, Hamilton.
In qualifying, Vettel took pole, pushed all the way by Alonso. Force India had a bad time, first Sutil has a 5 place penalty for a gearbox change, then Liuzzi caused a red flag a couple of laps into Q1 when he spun out of the last corner and crashed into the pit wall. He’ll still be 22 nd though, ahead of HRT’s Yamamoto, in for Chandhok this weekend, and Di Grassi whose gearbox problems meant he didn’t go out at all. Jarno was quickest of the new teamers, being 18 th and Heikki just beat Glock to 19 th. Both Toro Rossos, both Saubers, Sutil, Petrov, Hulkenberg and Schumacher all failed to make it into Q3. Top 10: Vettel, Alonso, Massa, Webber, Button, Hamilton, Kubica, Barrichello, Rosberg, Hulkenberg.
Press Release - GERMAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING
Qualifying at the German Grand Prix saw Lotus Racing confirm the progress the Anglo / Malaysian team has been making all season, Jarno Trulli finishing 18th, less than a second behind Buemi’s Toro Rosso and closer to the established teams than in any race in the 2010 World Championship. Team mate Heikki Kovalainen was just behind in 19th after beating Glock’s Virgin into 20th place, keeping both Lotus Racing cars at the head of the new team pack and looking strong for tomorrow’s race.
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) FP3: 10 laps, best time 1.19.607, 19th / QUALIFYING: 18th, 12 laps, 1.17.583:“I’ve had a great weekend so far. I’ve had no troubles with the car and I’ve been able to work on getting the right balance, and being comfortable with how the car feels in all the sessions. You can see from the lap time today just how good it’s been, so I’m really happy, but obviously we always have work to do, and the satisfaction comes from putting in the work and seeing results like the lap today. Tomorrow it’s all about pushing the guys ahead and getting both cars home again, so that’s where the focus is now.”
Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) FP3: 11 laps, best time 1.19.193, 18th / QUALIFYING: 19th, 11 laps, 1.18.300:“It’s been quite a difficult weekend for me so far - it seems to be a bit harder than normal and I’m not sure why. The balance was ok today but the grip levels felt poor and I wasn’t able to get the best out of the tyres on either run. It felt like I was getting more out of them on the third lap each time, so we need to analyse that and see what’s behind it. Despite this we’re still in a good position. Jarno did a great lap and I got ahead of Glock pretty comfortably, so there’s everything to fight for tomorrow.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:“Mixed feelings today. A very good job from Jarno who was pretty happy with the balance of his car, but disappointing for Heikki who lost 3/10ths in a straight line to Jarno and we’ll have to look at the reasons for that. Overall he hasn’t been happy with the balance all weekend and I think the team didn’t do a good enough job on his car before qualifying. However, on the positive side we finished the best of the new teams, and we’re looking to take this form into the race tomorrow with a strong double finish.”
Kamarudin Meranun, Deputy Team Principal: “It’s very exciting to see us finish 18th and 19th, and we’ll be going up another position on the grid due to Sutil’s penalty. I’m sorry for Heikki, but very happy for Jarno and I’m sure Heikki will put in a very strong performance tomorrow – we’re firmly ahead of the new teams and closer than ever to those ahead, so it’s a good day!”
23 rd July 2010
German GP – Friday Practice
The first session was wet. 8 laps into the session, a puddle caught Hamilton out and he hit the wall at turn 3. Sutil was quickest in the wet and kept his position when the track began to dry by the end. There were many spins and errors, even though one of the culprits, Massa, finished second quickest. Jarno was an impressive 15 th, ahead of such greats as Alonso, Schumacher and Hamilton. Fairuz Fauzy in the other Lotus was 21 st. Top 6: Sutil, Massa, Button, Barrichello, Petrov, Rosberg.
The second session was mostly dry so it was a different picture, with Alonso fastest from Vettel, although Massa was still 3 rd. Hamilton sat out much of the session as the team fixed his broken car but banged in 10 laps at the end for P7. Top 6: Alonso, Vettel, Massa, Webber, Rosberg, Schumacher.
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) FP1:17 laps, best time 1.29.280, 15th / FP2: 34 laps, 1.20.008, 20 th:“It was a positive day today. We put in a lot of laps in both sessions and I think the car is behaving pretty well here. The track’s improved throughout the day and after getting a decent amount of running in I’m confident we can deliver a good result tomorrow.”
21 st July 2010
German GP – Jarno’s Preview
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04):“Hockenheim has some real history and in its old guise it demanded a lot from the drivers, in terms of setup, driving and in getting all the little details right. However, now it’s a more conventional circuit, and while I like it, I preferred the old layout. I was on the podium there a while back, and I won the German F3 Championship there many years ago, so it does hold a lot of good memories for me. It’s always hot when we go there, and the fans are very passionate, so I hope we can put on a good show for them, and show what Lotus Racing is all about.”Take a look at Jarno's YouTube preview of the German GP here: Jarno's Hockenheim Preview
11 th July 2010
British GP – Race
Well done Jarno, after his ‘disastrous’ weekend! The car gets to the end of the race and he finishes 16 th, ahead of Heikki in 17 th. Inevitably, a Red Bull wins the race, but it’s Webber, not pole-sitter Vettel, who ends up 7 th, following a puncture on the first lap, when he looks to have touched his rear wheel on Hamilton’s front wing end plate. Hamilton consequently runs in second for the rest of the race and finishes on the podium with Rosberg in third place. Alonso has a bad start and bangs wheels with Massa’s fellow Ferrari, giving him a puncture too. Alonso gets a penalty after cutting a corner and gaining a place from Kubica….. it has to be a drive through as the Renault has already retired with a differential problem. Alonso later gets another puncture when tussling with Liuzzi and is a bit angry when he finishes 14 th. Just one ahead of Massa. Now THAT’S poetic justice! Next car on the road is Jarno! Hooray! The safety car comes out after a clash between De La Rosa and Sutil leaves half the Sauber’s rear wing on the track. The Sauber soon retires on lap 30, joining Di Grassi who slips away on lap 10, Kubica’s Renault on lap 20 and Alguersuari on lap 45. At least the latter will be celebrating Spain’s World Cup win tonight! Maybe that’s cheered Alonso up too! Top 10: Webber, Hamilton, Rosberg, Button, Barrichello, Kobayashi, Vettel, Sutil, Schumacher, Hulkenberg.
Press release – British Grand Prix
VIP guest Hazel Chapman brought a touch of the luck that had been missing in recent races back to Lotus Racing as the team recorded a double car finish at today’s British Grand Prix. Jarno Trulli made a great start and then put in a strong race to finish 16th, Heikki crossing the line just behind him in 17th. The day began with Hazel officially opening the team’s new motorhome alongside Tony Fernandes, Kamarudin Meranun, Bette Hill and former World Champion Nigel Mansell, the official FIA Steward for the British Grand Prix.
Jarno Trulli - 16th:"I finished the Grand Prix and managed to fight with the other teams after a pretty difficult weekend, so I'm very happy. It's just great for the whole team as they worked really hard with some difficult problems, but the work paid off. My pace felt very good, especially when you consider that I didn't have a chance to work on any set up changes, and I had to get used to the new section of the track in qualifying and during the first part of the race, so I think we all did a pretty good job!"
Heikki Kovalainen - 17th:"I think my pace was good all the way through the race, but there was constant traffic in front of me. I lost my position on the first lap, which was frustrating, as I then got held up quite a bit. I don't mind being a lap down, but it's just a shame I couldn't really push. Overall I'm very pleased that we managed to finish where we did and it has been a good day for the team here at Silverstone."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:"Today's been good - a strong two car finish is a great return on the all the hard work that's been put in, so well done to the whole team for that, and once again we're best of the news teams. Apologies to Heikki as we had a problem in his pitstop which dropped him behind the Virgin, but he drove a great race in the second half and managed to regain his place. Jarno had a very solid race to make sure we had a two car finish and keep ourselves best of the new teams. The only negative was the safety car which came at the wrong time for us, because we'd just pitted and it meant we dropped a lap down. But other than that it was a good strong Sunday, so well done to everyone in the team."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I'm absolutely delighted. This has been a great day - a two car finish is just what I've been wanting for the last few races, so I'm very very happy! Obviously the pitstops didn't go to plan, but we recovered well and everything played out for us in the end. I think Heikki's pace was very good and he raced really well, despite the unfortunate pitstop, and we got two cars home which really was the main thing. It was also a real honour for Hazel Chapman to come today and she's brought us something very special - our motorhome is a very welcoming place for everyone in the team, and all our guests, so I'd like to thank her for coming along and instilling a bit of that old-school Team Lotus spirit in our home."
10 th July 2010
British GP – Saturday Practice
Pratice: It’s a Red Bull on top again as Vettel leads the way, from his team mate and Alonso. Vettel has a problem with the Abbey bump as it dislodges his front wing which drops dowm and scrapes along the ground. Jarno does a not so massive 11 laps, due to hydraulic problems, fi nishing 21 st. Heikki is 19 th. Glock only does 6 laps, suffering form throttle problems. Top 6: Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Rosberg, Massa, Kubica.
Qualifying:And now it’s a Red Bull front row! With Vettel on pole with his new front wing (of which the team have only one since the other one dropped off at Abbey yesterday. Webber has the hump. Alonso makes it to third. In the other world occupied by the new teams, Heikki is quickest in 19 th. Jarno is 21 st, not surprising given his lack of track time, but only a tenth off Glocky in the middle. Alguersuari is the fall guy who is eliminated from Q1 with them. A mixed bunch drop out in Q2: the other Toro Rosso, both Force Indias, Petrov, Kobayashi, Hulkenberg and more surprisingly, Jenson Button. Top 10: Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Hamilton, Rosberg, Kubica, Massa, Barrichello, De la Rosa, Schumacher.
Press Release - LOTUS RACING BRITISH GRAND PRIX QUALIFYINGLotus Racing outclassed the other new teams in Saturday’s qualifying session at the British Grand Prix, Heikki Kovalainen finishing 19th and Jarno Trulli 21st, after an exciting session which showed the team’s upgrade package has kept them at the front of the pack chasing the midfield teams. The team enjoyed a royal visit just before qualifying, HRH Prince Andrew The Duke of York stopping by the Lotus Racing garage and being shown around by Team Principal Tony Fernandes and Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne.
Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) Qualified 19th, 1.34.405, 9 laps:“I’m pleased because I’m in the position I targeted for qualifying, but even though we’re the fastest of the new teams, that wasn’t my best qualifying session this year. It was pretty tricky out there today – it was windier than in FP3 and I found the balance wasn’t quite where it had been this morning. Nevertheless, we’re in a good position and good shape for tomorrow. The car feels good on the heavier fuel load, so I think we’ll be ok. I also want to say that Jarno did a great job out there – to be within half a second after the bad luck he’s had all weekend is great, and I hope we can get both cars home tomorrow. That’s the main goal, so let’s see what happens.”
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) Qualified 21st, 1.34.864, 10 laps:“I’m pretty happy with my result to be honest – I managed to learn the circuit very quickly, almost having to do so during qualifying as the problems I had on Friday and Saturday meant I’ve had very little time on track! Qualifying was the first time I managed to really push the car, as a hydraulics problem had cut short FP3, so, overall, I’m happy and my position is better than I expected.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:“I have mixed feelings after qualifying. Again we had some mechanical problems with Jarno this morning, which meant that going into qualifying he had only completed 12 laps over the whole weekend on the new circuit layout, so he had a very difficult task in front of him and did a good job to be as close in time to his team mate as he was. Heikki had traffic on both his runs, which was a shame as he could have got a little more out of the car had he had a clear run, but he was ahead of the other new teams so that’s a positive. Overall it’s been quite a difficult weekend so far but we’re looking forward to the race tomorrow and are focusing on getting both cars to the finish.”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “We did as well as we could have expected with not a lot of running this weekend, but well done to Heikki who probably could have gone faster if he had not hit so much traffic. Jarno did exceptionally well, having only run a few laps all weekend, and that’s what his pace, experience and knowledge gives us. It was great to see the Lotus Racing flags in the crowd, and a lot of green and yellow shirts and caps. Tomorrow, hopefully, we can make them proud, bring two cars home and put on a show worthy of the efforts of the team.”
9 th July 2010
British GP – Friday Practice
Jarno did not have a great day…. first the test driver took his car, and then broke it. Then a gearbox problem meant Jarno could only complete 3 laps in the second session. In the first session, Heikki was 19 th and Fairuz Fauzy in Jarno’s car was 23 rd. But he was ahead of Sakon Yamamoto who mysteriously took over Bruno Senna’s HRT drive this weekend. Unfortunately Fairuz had to stop on track at the end of the session with a problem. He had had to wait for his debut while the mechanics changed the engine. The drivers were all learning the new Arena part of the Silverstone track, except for Jarno. Obviously. There’s a bump at Abbey that they are not liking. Vettel was quickest, from Hamilton and Kubica. Top 6: Vettel, Hamilton, Kubica, Webber, Sutil, Rosberg. In session 2 Webber took over at the top, pushed by Alonso and Vettel. Jarno could only do 3 laps suffering from a gearbox problem, so was at the bottom of the timesheets. Heikki was 19 th. Top 6: Webber, Alonso, Massa, Rosberg, Schumacher.
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) FP2: 3 laps, 1.42.901, 24 th:“I can’t say much about today really – we had a problem with the gearbox that the guys spent most of the session trying to fix, but then it was clear it couldn’t be done in time for today so we’ll just focus on tomorrow, and hope the luck changes.”
8 th July 2010
British GP – Jarno Q & A
Autosport Q&A
6 th July 2010
British GP – Jarno’s Preview
Jarno Trulli, Chassis T127–04:“Silverstone will definitely be another important weekend for us, the first time a Lotus has raced in F1™ in the UK for a long time, and our second home race. I think we’ll have a lot of support there, and I hope we’ll do well – the British fans are very knowledgeable and there’s always a lot of them, so it’ll be a great show, whatever happens. There’s a new layout, and it’ll be very interesting to see how quick that’s going to be – we’ll be looking at how it affects the tyres and what strategies and setups will be best for us, so all in all I’m looking forward to getting over there.”
27 th June 2010
European GP - Race
The most dramatic incident of the race was Webber launching his car over the rear of Heikki’s car, it taking off like a rocket, then rolling upside down before righting itself and slamming into the tyre barriers. And Webber walking away. This obviously ended both their races on lap 9. Why was Webber in that position? He had slipped back at the start and took an early pitstop, with a delay for a stubborn front wheel, coming out behind Heikki. Vettel had led away from the line, despite banging wheels with Hamilton who damaged his front wing. After the safety car was called after the accident, as Vettel was away in the distance, Hamilton managed to overtake the safety car and the medical car. Alonso complained bitterly but the stewards took so long to decide the drive through penalty that Lucky Lewis was able to rejoin the track still in second place. Other drivers had also breached safety car rules but were not dealt with till the end of the race. Then they were given a paltry 5 second penalty that was a waste of time except Alonso moved up one place to 8 th and Rosberg moved into 10 th place at the expense of De la Rosa. Those given the 5 seconds were Button (still 3 rd though), both Williams, both Force Indias, both Renaults, Buemi and De la Rosa. Pointless. Glock was also penalised 20 seconds for ignoring blue flags. Driver of the day was Kobayashi, who ran third after the SC and stayed out until the last knockings of the race, eventually finishing 7 th after passing Alonso with a lap to go and Buemi at the last corner. The only other retiree was Hulkenberg, with a delaminated tyre on lap 50. Jarno survived a first lap attack on his front wing, followed by damage from an assault on his rear wing, which led to a gearbox problem eventually solved in the pits. He resumed the race an extra 2 laps down and managed to finish. Vettel won the race followed by the 2 Mercedes. Top 10 (revised): Vettel, Hamilton, Button, Barrichello, Kubica, Sutil, Kobayashi, Alonso, Buemi, Rosberg.
Press Release - EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX
After a very promising build up to the European Grand Prix, Lotus Racing leave Valencia relieved that Heikki Kovalainen and Red Bull’s Mark Webber both came out of a potentially very dangerous crash on lap 10 unscathed, and encouraged by Jarno Trulli’s race pace after a very unfortunate start to his afternoon’s work saw him make an early stop for a new front wing, before going on to finish 21st.
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) Qualified 19th, finished 21 st: “I don’t know exactly what happened at the beginning as I managed to get away from the mess at the front but I was hit from the back and at the same time lost my front wing. It all happened during the first lap, so I thought it was the end of the race for me, but I managed to get back to the pits, and the mechanics did a great job to fix the car. I went out but had a gearbox problem, so more good work from the boys got me back out and I was then able to run to the end. I did the whole race with one set of tyres, and I felt that the pace throughout was very good. The handling was great, so I’m happy about the performance and when I pushed I was able to put in some really good lap times.”
Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) Qualified 20th, DNF: “First of all it’s good news that both of us are ok. Mark had a hardcore flight, and it could have ended up much worse, so it’s good we’re both fine. It’s such a shame the race ended that early – I was going really well, pulling away from the guys behind by about half a second a lap, and with Mark we were racing for position so I was always going to defend. I didn’t do anything wrong and he just ran into me. I think he missed his braking point and he ran into me at a very bad angle – his front tyre hit my right rear and he took off. I had to make a mandatory visit to the medical centre, and shook hands with Mark there, but I’m absolutely fine, and glad Mark is too.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:“Obviously it was a very disappointing end to our 500th race. Jarno got hit at the start, and we had to change the nose. He also took a hit at the back, and that caused a gearbox problem. We were able to fix that and send him out again, although he was three laps down. He was held up by some of the other slower cars, but at the end of the race he was able to push and really show the car’s pace. Heikki had an accident with Webber - he was defending his line and racing for position, and that’s what we will always do in that situation. It’s just a great shame, and we’re very glad that neither driver was hurt.”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “Heikki’s accident is part of racing. It’s a shame as both cars are coming on really well, but there is some good to take out of this. Despite being hit, Jarno managed to finish the race, and at the end it was great to hear him say ‘the car is bloody good!’ Overall it’s been a very positive weekend, with a good Qualifying session and lots of very positive meetings and good decisions made for next year. It’s also been a pleasure having the Chapman family here, and now we’re all looking forward to bringing Lotus Racing back to the UK and racing in front of the British fans.”
26 th June 2010
European GP - Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Practice: Vettel was fastest in final practice, ahead of Kubica and Webber. Heikki was 19 th and Jarno 20 th. Top 6: Vettel, Kubica, Webber, Sutil, Alonso, Barrichello.
Qualifying: It’s back to a Red Bull front row once again with Vettel taking pole this time from Webber. Jarno was 19 th ahead of Heikki in 20 th. Di Grassi outqualified Glock for the first time in the Virgin team. Out with all the newbies in Q1 was Kobayashi’s Sauber for the second race running. It was almost Michael Schumacher, who finally made 15 th and elimination from Q2 along with his team mate (12 th), the other Sauber, both Force Indias and both Toro Rossos. Top 10: Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Alonso, Massa, Kubica, Button, Hulkenberg, Barrichello, Petrov.
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) FP3: 20 laps, best time 1.41.428, 20th / Qualifying: 19th, 1.40.658, 11 laps: “I’m feeling quite a lot happier now - things have been getting better all weekend now I have the new chassis, and as I’ve not had any real problems I’ve been able to work on the setup, which obviously helped today. I do still have a bit of an issue with the brakes, but it feels like a new start from where I’ve been and I’m pleased with the performance today. We are another step ahead of the teams behind and I think we’ll be ok tomorrow.”
25 th June 2010
European GP - Friday Practice
Jarno took out the new Lotus chassis today and it’s fair to say he started slowly, finishing 22 nd while Heikki was 19 th. Rosberg was quickest, ahead of the two Mercedes. Two test drivers got a run out today, Klien for HRT and di Resta for Force India. There was a red flag when Senna’s mirror fell off and was crushed by Buemi’s Toro Rosso, leaving a million pieces on the track. The HRT team also had driveshaft and gearbox problems, so a bad morning for them. Top 6: Rosberg, Hamilton, Button, Kubica, Massa, Vettel.
Alonso was fastest in second practice, from the two Red Bulls. Jarno picked up the pace and was 20 th to Heikki’s 19 th. There was a red flag while Massa’s Ferrari was retrieved from the middle of the track after a spin and stall. Glock’s Virgin packed up after 14 laps at the side of the track. Top 6: Alonso, Vettel, Webber, Rosberg, Hamilton, Kubica.
Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) FP1: 18 laps, best time 1.47.285, 22nd / FP2: 30 laps, best time 1.42.993, 20 th:“It was a better day for me today after some of the luck I’ve been having. I had one or two gremlins, but it was a good day to shakedown the new chassis properly and make sure everything was working well. We got a good idea of where we want to be on the setup and the direction for Saturday and Sunday, so I think this was much better for me. On track there was good grip out there this afternoon, and the car felt good, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
25 th June 2010
Jarno Previews Lotus’ 500 th Race
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD9xZw0QhX0&dm_i=CJB,6U95,1MXSQL,GW75,1
24 th June 2010
Jarno on the Proposed Rear Wing Rules
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/84716
24 th June 2010
Jarno Hopes for Change of Luck
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/84707
22 nd June 2010
European GP - Jarno’s Preview
Jarno Trulli:“I’m really looking forward to Valencia. It’s a circuit I like, and I enjoy the race there - It’s always warm, and it’s a beautiful city. I’m in the new chassis (T127-04) from this race, and hopefully that will bring me some better luck over the race weekend – in Canada I was really flying until the retirement, so I hope I can carry that through to this weekend and see the chequered flag. That’s obviously important, but this weekend is also all about the 500th race for Lotus. It’ll be very special to help take that famous name to such a milestone, and I’m very honoured to be part of it. I met Hazel Chapman on Sunday at the Classic Team Lotus Festival, and that was very special for me, particularly as I had the chance to drive Elio De Angelis’ T91 in front of the crowds, and that felt great.”
20 th June 2010
Lotus Festival
Taking place at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk, not far from the Lotus Factory, the Lotus Festival was a big success. Once we’d got in to the circuit of course. Traffic management was a shambles and most people spent an hour or so in their cars negotiating the last two thirds of a mile! This meant that many of us missed the first few F1 driver appearances. Luckily these were replicated in the afternoon. Jarno, Heikki and Fairuz were kept busy throughout the day. As well as interviews and autograph sessions they enjoyed driving (and racing!) the Lotus Evoras on the track. As well as demo drives they also took out competition winners. And in between, Jarno tried to keep up with the Italy v New Zealand match at the World Cup! Fairuz also shook down the new T127 chassis that Jarno will drive at Valencia. In between times it was amazing to see all the historic Team Lotus F1 cars on display and on the track. And at the end, the Lotus truck set off on its long drive to Southern Spain.Jarno commented at the Valencia weekend:"It is great to be part of the heritage. Lotus made history in the past and we would like to make history in the future. It is good to achieve 500 grands prix but we have responsibility and tasks ahead of us that we need to meet.
"I remember Colin Chapman throwing his cap in the air every time they won a grand prix. I remember Elio de Angelis, I remember Ayrton Senna. I remember many parts of this – even though I was a young kid.
"I've worked in many teams, but when I walked into the classic Lotus factory it was very special. There were old cars, and some cars that are being rebuilt. I was like a kid visiting Disneyland – even for me after 14 years of F1.
"But if I am honest I don't really enjoy driving these cars. I feel they like they are a piece of art and you should have respect and leave them where they are. They were supposed to race at that time, and now they are supposed to be like a piece of art – like a jewel. You have to look after them, watch them – and if I owned one I would never run it!"
18 th June 2010
Jarno to get New Chassis
(http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/84569) Jarno to get New Chassis
13 th June 2010
Canadian GP – Race
Press Release - GOOD DAY'S WORK IN CANADA
The Canadian Grand Prix made good on its promise of providing the best race of the season so far, and Lotus Racing put in a great day’s work to see Heikki Kovalainen finish the race 16th, ahead of Petrov’s Renault, after a great battle on track in what proved to be punishing conditions for the tyres for the whole field. Jarno Trulli, who had been showing quick pace right from the start, pulled over on lap 42 after a vibration at the front end led to a problem with the braking system that put paid to his race.
Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus Cosworth T127-01) 16th, best lap 1.20.654: “It’s been a great weekend, and I’m really pleased for the whole team with the result today. We finished ahead of Petrov and lapped the other new guys, and although it was hard work managing the tyres, it’s still great to show what we can do. The race itself was tough, but it’s all about the result – I didn’t have any technical problems with the car, but the rear wasn’t working quite as I’d have liked, and I think that was down to the tyre wear.”
Jarno Trulli (Lotus Cosworth T127-03) DNF best lap 1.20.791:“It’s such a shame I had to pull over - I had a great start and then I was really flying during the race. We got the strategy right on the tyres, and my pace was good - I was keeping up with the boys in front, and I was overtaking our other rivals. But then I felt a vibration that caused a problem with the braking system and I had to pull over. Still - we have to move on. It’s another learning curve for the team and I think it’s great to see that in the race I could really push and was putting in some very good lap times.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:“I think overall we can be very happy with the race, and the whole weekend. The one disappointment was obviously Jarno’s problem - we will have to look at it in more detail, but it looks as though the vibration put paid to his race. Before he pulled over he was absolutely flying and the strategy would have really paid out for him, so that’s a plus. Heikki drove a fantastic race, fighting all the way with the guys in front, and kept it up right to the end to keep Petrov behind him. I think this weekend has been a massive step forward for the whole team. Rather than being just one of the new teams, we actually got stuck in and raced the teams ahead, which is what we wanted to do, so congratulations and thank you to the whole team for getting us to this position. In the end we lapped both of the other new teams, so it was a great effort, and again, well done!”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “I’m very happy with the result today, and the whole weekend’s work. We got 42 laps from Jarno and Heikki drove an absolute cracker - beating a Renault was great, and Heikki did really well to hold him off, but the main aim for us is to get both cars home, and we’ll keep working on that back at the factory and at the track. Now we go to Valencia where we’ll be celebrating the 500th F1™ race Lotus has competed in, and the ninth for Lotus Racing.”
12 th June 2010
Canadian GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Jarno Trulli (Lotus Cosworth T127-03) - FP3: 15 laps, 19th, 1.19.013 / Qualifying: 20th, 1.18.698, 11 laps: “It’s been tricky this weekend as I haven’t managed to complete that many laps and haven’t been able to find a setup I’m really comfortable with. We went with the primes to begin with today, and I could see that I was close to the guys in front, so I took the gamble and went for the options at the end, but unfortunately it didn’t work out. The aim tomorrow is to finish the race, and I’m optimistic we can do that, so let’s see what I can do.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:“It’s been a very strong qualifying for the team today. The big question was tyre choice; both drivers did their first run on the harder tyre, and Heikki decided to stay with that, while Jarno switched to the option. I think Heikki managed to get a lot out of it, and it’s a sign of how far we’ve come that we came very close to out-qualifying one of the Saubers - it would have been another great step forward for us to beat one of the established teams in a straight fight, and we’re nearly there. Jarno didn’t quite get the lap time out of the option tyre on his last run, and I think we as a team have to take responsibility for that – his lack of running yesterday really hurt his chances, especially on the options, so we have to say sorry to him for that. But overall it was a great performance from the whole team. Looking at tomorrow, this is always one of the unpredictable races, so you never know, but our aim will be to get the two cars to the finish”
11 th June 2010
Canadian GP – Friday Practice
Jarno Trulli (Lotus Cosworth T127-03 / FP1: 12 laps, 21st, 1.22.543 / FP2: 11 laps, 22nd,1.21.346):“It’s been a difficult day but I’ll move on from this and I still feel positive – after all, this is still our first season, and we’re only eight races in. I had a few laps, but not enough to get a setup I felt comfortable with. I could feel that both the hard and the soft tyres suffered bad degradation, but after today I want to thank the team for working very hard to fix the problems on my car, and we’ll see if the luck will change tomorrow.”
4 th June 2010
Canadian GP – Driver Preview
Jarno Trulli: “Canada’s a funny one for me - even though I love Canada - the track, the people and the city - the race itself has never loved me! It’s a great challenge, and I’ve always performed pretty well there, but I’ve never had much luck there, so maybe that will change this year. As it’s a temporary circuit it’s a major challenge the whole way round. There’s the constant threat of the walls and it’s critical not to make any mistakes. You have to have confidence in the car and a good setup gives you the chance to push, but you’ve got to be perfect the whole time, otherwise it will bite you. It’s also very quick, and hard on brakes, so the cooling and the stability under braking are both important, and I think we’re pretty good in both areas, so we should be ok. Our car has been performing better and better over the last few races, so we’ll see what happens when we get out there, but I think we’ll continue to move away from the other new guys, and towards those ahead.”
30 th May 2010
Turkish GP – Race
Sadly, Lotus had a double DNF. The dreaded hydraulics again. Jarno’s car stopped out on track. Heikki just made it back to the garage. Both HRTs also retired by the end but both Virgins managed to finish. In the other world of F1, the only other retiree was Vettel who took himself out tangling with Mark Webber, (yes, his team mate) on lap 41. It really did look like Vettel’s fault but both drivers blamed the other after the race. The incident enabled Hamilton and Button to drive past the Red Bull to be first and second, although Webber did continue after a new front wing to finish 3 rd. It looked like the 2 McLarens had also partaken of crazy juice when they had a close, and we mean literally close, battle for the lead soon after the Red Bull debacle. A light drizzle marred the race at times but it was so hot the drops of rain evaporated quickly and didn’t affect anything. Alonso had a tussle with Petrov which gave the Renault a puncture, and although it gave Alonso an extra place, Petrov fell out of the points. Top 10: Hamilton, Button, Webber, Schumacher, Rosberg, Kubica, Massa, Alonso, Sutil, Kobayashi.Press Release - TURKISH GRAND PRIX
Lotus Racing were having one of their best days of the season until a double hydraulics failure brought both Jarno and Heikki’s races to an end on laps 32 and 33 respectively, Jarno coming to a halt on track and Heikki retiring in the pit.
Jarno Trulli (Lotus Cosworth T127-03) Started 19th, DNF:“It was difficult at the beginning with the hard tyres, and the team were telling me Heikki was quicker on the options, and as he was on a different strategy he got past. Afterwards, I was pulling away from our competitors comfortably, but the failure put an end to the good race I was having. “
Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus Cosworth T127-01) Started 20th, DNF:“What a shame. I lost power steering in turn eight and it looks like it was a hydraulics failure. At first I thought I had a puncture as the steering suddenly felt really strange, but then I lost the gearbox, the clutch, and throttle. It’s so unfortunate as this was our strongest race so far. I was on the softer tyre and although I wasn’t sure how they would run at the beginning of the race, they did in fact hang on really well. I can’t help but feel disappointed, but as I’ve said before these things happen, and we will work through this, and come out stronger as a result. We’re only a few tenths off the other teams per kilometre, and we know the areas to work on to improve this car. I’m confident we can make a very big step for next year and for now, we’ll move on and put this behind us.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:“Obviously very disappointing to have two cars go out on the same lap when we were having such a strong race, our strongest performance all year. We started the cars with Jarno on the harder tyre, and Heikki on the soft – Heikki was slightly quicker on the option to start with, but towards the end of the stint Jarno was catching him. We were hanging on for the pitstops, monitoring the rain situation, but then had sudden hydraulic failures on both cars. Heikki’s was a leak from the power steering, and with Jarno we don’t know as yet what the specific issue was. Despite that we have to keep our chins up after what was a really strong weekend from the whole team, fix these problems and move on. ”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “This looked like it was going to be a great weekend for us so it’s obviously very disappointing to have it all brought to an end in such a fashion, after what was probably our best race so far. Jarno and Heikki should be very proud of the times they put in, and the whole team should be pleased with how far we’ve come. This is a low but to be champions we have to deal with the lows, learn from them and move on. It all reminds me of the early days of AirAsia, but we have just been awarded the title of world’s best low cost airline for the second year running, so I know we can repeat that with this team, and one day be victorious. Onwards and upwards, and now we’ll focus on Montreal.”
29 th May 2010
Turkish GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Practice: Vettel was fastest in morning practice, followed by Rosberg and Hamilton. There were some spectacular spins at Turn 8, notably from Webber and Hamilton, which didn’t do their tyres any good! Sutil did not set a time as his car had a hydraulic problem from the off. Jarno was 18 th and Heikki 19 th. Top 6: Vettel, Rosberg, Hamilton, Webber, Kubica, Alonso.
Qualifying: For the third race running, Webber is on pole, with Hamilton and Vettel behind him. Biggest loser was Alonso who couldn’t get out of Q2, qualifying 12 th behind Sutil’s Force India. Sutil’s team mate Liuzzi was the fall guy again, joining the new teams in elimination from Q1. Jarno was quickest of those, in 19 th place with Heikki 20 th. One Sauber, both Toro Rossos and both Williams also dropped out of Q2. Top 10: Webber, Hamilton, Vettel, Button, Schumacher, Rosberg, Kubica, Massa, Petrov, Kobayashi.
Press Release
Jarno Trulli (Lotus Cosworth T127-03) Qualified 19th, 13 laps, 1.30.237 / FP3 19 laps, best time 1.30.618:“I’m pretty pleased even though it was a bit of a difficult day. I had a minor problem this morning which meant I couldn’t really use all the time available to focus on setting up the car, so I just got in and got on with it. In quali I used both sets of hard tyres and it felt like the track was quite slippery, particularly in the braking zones, so I changed my driving style a bit and think I did quite a good job to be best of the new teams. I think we are catching up with the guys ahead, even though we are still a bit off. But we will have another big step when we go to Silverstone, and we’re also now working hard on next year’s car, so we’re definitely going in the right direction.”
Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus Cosworth T127-01) Qualified 20th, 11 laps, 1.30.519 / FP3 22 laps, best time 1.30.884:“It was good out there today. On our first run we went with the soft tyre which was probably the wrong choice as it wasn’t working quite as well as yesterday, but the second run on the primes was good. The car felt particularly stable around the high speed corners and the balance felt great so I’m happy. Jarno did a better time today, but I’m pushing hard - I’m always pushing to the limit and am looking forward to the race tomorrow. I feel confident, and hope we can close the gap again to the other guys ahead.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:“I’m pleased with our performance in qualifying this afternoon. There was a question mark from this morning whether to run the prime or option tyres - we felt the car was more stable on the primes and that decision paid dividends with us being only 3.2seconds away from the Red Bulls who used the same tyres in Q1- that shows just how much progress we’ve made as a team from the start of the season, and that’s very satisfying. So - a good solid performance today and we’ll look forward to the race tomorrow where we want to get both our cars to the finish line.”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “All in all today’s been another good day and it proves to me that our future is very bright. To be honest I was starting to dream about Q2, and while we may still be a little bit off that we’re clearly getting closer and closer, and thinking back to where we started, that’s incredible. We need to work on giving Jarno more confidence in the car, and perhaps today we could have got more from Heikki’s tyres, but I think there’s still more to come from the 2010 car – maybe even another 0.5 seconds. Tomorrow will be all about getting two cars home, and I know our team has the experience and strength to do that. Today we were just 3.2 seconds off the pace of the Red Bulls in Q1 and if you cast your mind back 10 short weeks to Bahrain you can see just how far we’ve come. There we were over five seconds away from the outright Q1 pace and anyone in the sport will tell you what an achievement it is to find nearly two seconds in just seven races. We were also just 2.4 seconds off Ferrari, celebrating their 800th race in Turkey, which is pretty spectacular for a team who are only seven races old – I think that shows to all those who expressed doubts about our participation that they were wrong. We’re also now in a position to turn our attention to the 2011 car, but we’re still here and fighting hard for this season – I want, in the nicest possible way, to take this fight to my mentors Frank Williams and Patrick Head and their team, from whom I’ve learnt an awful lot over the last few years, and compete with them and the likes of Toro Rosso and Sauber, and today’s yet another example of how we really can dream of doing just that. I’m now off to order a kebab for Jarno and Heikki. Well, maybe a kebab pizza for Jarno, and a reindeer kebab for Heikki, if anyone in Istanbul can find them one.....”
28 th May 2010
Turkish GP – Friday Practice
The McLarens were fastest in the first session, Hamilton on top, followed by the Mercedes. There were a lot of off track excursions, but thanks to the wide run off areas, the only crashee was Sutil at turn 8 right at the end of the session. The Lotuses have made progress, being closer to the nearest mid field team, Toro Rosso. Heikki was 19 th and Jarno 20 th. Sakon Yamamoto took Senna’s place in the HRT car. Top 6: Hamilton, Button, Schumacher, Rosberg, Vettel, Kubica.
Button kept McLaren on top but ominously, the Red Bulls came next. But their reliability is suspect, as Webber had to stop 5 minutes from the end with wisps of smoke coming from the engine, and Vettel reported water pressure problems. Jarno also had problems, with third gear (it’s always him) so finished 21 st, while Heikki was 19 th. Top 6: Button, Webber, Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso, Rosberg.
Jarno Trulli (Lotus Cosworth T127-03 / FP1: 23 laps, 20th, 1.32.990 / FP2: 11 laps, 21st, 133.081):“A bit more bad luck for me today as this afternoon’s session was cut short by losing third gear. We’d planned to do some setup work in the second session, and didn’t get the chance to do so, but against that you can look at the times and see that we have continued to move forward overall with the car. We are moving away from the other new teams, and closer to those in front – obviously we still have a lot of work to do, but it’s pleasing to see we are going in the right direction.”Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:“A fairly positive day, although it was a shame Jarno’s day was curtailed by a gearbox problem in P2. That meant he couldn’t run the soft tyres, or try a low fuel run, but I’m sure that if he’d done so he would have been up with Heikki. Heikki had another trouble free day, and overall we’ve taken another step forward to the midfield, so now it’s up to us to confirm that progress tomorrow.”
27 th May 2010
Turkish GP – Driver Preview
Jarno Trulli (Lotus Cosworth T127-03):‘The track in Turkey is good – turn eight is challenging but the rest of it is relatively simple, and definitely not as tricky as Monaco! I’m looking forward to getting out on track and having some better luck this weekend. My confidence in the car is growing all the time so I hope a bit of luck and the updates we’ve put on here will help me have a better race this weekend.’
Turkish GP – Press Conference
DRIVERS: Rubens BARRICHELLO (Williams), Karun CHANDHOK (HRT), Michael SCHUMACHER (Mercedes), Jarno TRULLI (Lotus), Mark WEBBER (Red Bull)
PRESS CONFERENCE (extracts)
Q. A question to you all about your Monaco experiences. Varying experiences for different people. Jarno, would you like to start?
Jarno TRULLI: My Monaco experience has not been very successful this year, probably the worst ever. I had a very bad weekend and I couldn't turn it around at all. Then in the race also I was very unlucky as I had a bad pit stop where the team was unlucky because one gun didn't work, so I found myself last after the pit stop. Then I was following Karun and for more than half the race trying to find a spot to pass him as I was quicker. A few laps to go I saw that he was struggling then I tried and obviously the move was not very successful. We collided and I was glad that no-one was injured. The accident was worse than I had expected as when you try to make a move you always try to calculate what might happen. In fact I could never have believed I would park my car on top of his car. But that was it. It was not a very successful move, but I tried. After spending more than half the race behind him I had to try. We know that in Monaco it can happen when you try to overtake someone else and that was it.
Q. (Miran Alisic – Korpmedia) For the four of you whose countries have qualified for the World Cup: before the next Grand Prix starts, the football World Cup will start in South Africa, so what do you think the prospects are for your countries and maybe you can include the prospects for the smallest country, which is my home country, Slovenia?
JT: I'm not really into football so much but yeah, I think we won the last World Championship in Germany and obviously we will want to be back again, to see what we can do. It's not going to be easy but I think it's important as everyone has said that the football World Championship is going to South Africa, it's good for the people there and I guess it's one of the most important sporting events in the World. We will all be watching and cheering them on and hope to see some very good days of sport. I want to see the players playing well, successfully and nicely. That's very important for the sport.
27 th May 2010
T127 AT CLASSIC TEAM LOTUS FESTIVAL
Hingham, 26th May 2010
Lotus Racing has confirmed that its 2010 challenger, the T127, will be running at the Classic Team Lotus Festival at Snetterton, June 20th 2010 with drivers Jarno Trulli, Heikki Kovalainen and Fairuz Fauzy all appearing and adding to an already packed bill that will see an example of every single car Lotus raced in F1™ from 1957 - 1994 on track together.
Tony Fernandes, Lotus Racing Team Principal is very proud the team he heads up has been asked to take part: “First I want to say what a fantastic job Clive Chapman and everyone at Classic Team Lotus have done, not just with the upcoming event but also to keep so many dreams alive on tracks around the world. The Festival is going to be a great event – very emotional for many of those attending, and a great way to celebrate the Lotus motorsport heritage. We are very honoured to have been invited and I know the whole team is looking forward to seeing the UK fans, and spending a bit of time with the cars and people that helped create the Lotus legend. We’re running one of our cars as well, so people can see how the story has come full circle - in the meantime I’d urge every Lotus fan, and anyone who loves motorsport, to make sure they’re at Snetterton on the 20th June.”
The Festival falls between the Canadian and Valencia races, and is especially well timed for Lotus Racing, as the team will be celebrating the 500th F1™ race Lotus has competed in at the Valencia Grand Prix. Heikki Kovalainen added to Tony’s comments, saying “I was very lucky when I joined Lotus Racing because Clive Chapman gave me a tour around the Classic Team Lotus workshops and the cars they had in there at the time. It’s impossible to go around there and not be very touched by the history and the stories, and now we’re doing our bit to keep that legend alive, so it’ll be a great privilege to see all the cars and the fans who’ve supported our predecessors since day one at the Festival, and a great way to warm up for Valencia.”Jarno Trulli is also excited about the opportunity to see so much history at one track, saying “anyone who loves motorsport would want to go to the Festival. There’s going to be so many famous cars there, legendary cars that shaped the way F1™ works now, and it’s very rare to have the chance to see so much history in one place. We’re obviously very focused on our first season, but this is exactly the sort of event we look forward to as it’s all about celebrating where Lotus Racing comes from – frankly it’s an honour to have been invited.”
16 th May 2010
Monaco GP – Race
Jarno tried an unconventional way of overtaking at the Monaco circuit today… by passing over the top of Karun Chandhok’s HRT car. He was behind the HRT because of a slow pitstop and in a passing attempt at Rascasse a touch of wheels propelled the Lotus over the top of the HRT, taking them both out and causing a 4 th safety car period which took us virtually to the end of the race which was won by Webber with Vettel second and Kubica third. The first safety car had to come out on the first lap when Hulkenberg’s Williams slammed into the wall in the tunnel. Alonso made a pitstop immediately putting him on optimum strategy to move him up through the field. The second safety car came out for the other Williams of Barrichello, who had mechanical failure on lap 28. Comedy moment of the race came when Barrichello temperamentally threw his steering wheel across the track where another car ran it over and probably still has it embedded underneath as we didn’t see it again, not even in crushed mode! Let’s hope Williams make Rubens pay for it and they don’t come cheap! By then several cars had already retired with various mechanical issues: Button on lap 1, with overheating issues possibly caused by a team mistake, both Saubers and both Virgins. Senna’s car failed on lap 59 and Heikki’s car came out in sympathy about the same time. Jarno was classified 15 th. The third SC was about a possible broken drain cover and didn’t last long. On the last lap, as the SC went in, Schumacher passed Alonso for 6 th place, the legality of which is still being debated. Top 10: Webber, Vettel, Kubica, Massa, Hamilton, Schumacher, Alonso, Rosberg, Sutil, Liuzzi. Post race, Schumacher is given a 20 second penalty for the pass on Alonso deemed to be under the safety car, which drops him out of the points so Buemi gets one and everyone else shoves up one place.
Press Release - STRONG RACE COMES TO AN EARLY ENDLotus Racing leave Monaco with mixed emotions after a very impressive display during the race came to an early end for both cars with only a few laps remaining. Despite this, the team demonstrated impressive pace throughout the race, making good on the promise shown in practice and qualifying, and will see the race as another step forward in experience and performance.
Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus Cosworth T127-01, retired lap 59): “It was a fantastic race right from the beginning. I had a bit of a struggle at the restarts to get the tyres up to temperature, but once I got everything working I was able to almost keep up with the Renault. I was pushing very hard, and the car felt fantastic – the balance was really good. Just before I retired I could feel the steering alignment was a bit uneven – on the right hand corners I had to use maximum lock, even in the tunnel, and it got the point where it didn’t feel safe anymore. In Monaco you can’t take a risk with it so I came in. It was a mechanical issue, but despite that I’m really pleased with today. We again showed we’re firmly the best of the new teams and we are nearly there with the next group, so I think we just need to keep attacking, and that’s how we’ll achieve results.”
Jarno Trulli (Lotus Cosworth T127-03: Classified 15th):“This wasn’t a great weekend for me. After we had a problem with the wheelgun in the pitstop I was stuck behind the HRTs and trying to find room to overtake – in the last lap Karun seemed slow through the second and third sector, and I’d seen he was leaving room at Rascasse, so I tried to get through but we touched and that was that – the end of the race. It was one of those things – a racing incident, but I still feel like we’re going in the right direction as a team, and I want to put the bad luck behind me when we get back on track in Turkey.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:“This was our strongest performance yet compared to the midfield, so obviously mixed emotions for where we finished. Heikki had a very strong race and in the middle his performance was particularly good compared to the midfield group. It’s a shame we had a problem on his car - the steering joint failed, something we’ve not seen before - but overall it was a very positive weekend for him. For Jarno, he had a much more difficult weekend, clearly struggling with the balance of the car and I think as a team we have to take a look at everything to be able to do a better job for him. Obviously he was compromised by the slow pitstop, which dropped him down the field and affected his whole race. He was capable of going much faster and when he made the move he unfortunately fell victim to the nature of the Monaco circuit. So I leave feeling pleased we showed such good pace, and we move on to Turkey.”
Tony Fernandes: “I take a lot of positives from the race today and it was another one where we had at least one car classified. Most importantly Heikki made a great step forward and it was fantastic watching him race with Petrov. He and the whole team felt it was the best race of the season for him and that boosts confidence further for the season ahead. We’ve got some more new parts coming which will continue to take us forward, and hopefully Jarno’s luck will turn, but even with that we’re all pleased. It’s also great to see so many of our fans out around the track - hopefully we gave them some good racing today, and in years to come we’ll give them some good results as well.”
15 th May 2010
Monaco GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Practice: Now that’s more like Monaco!! Among the minor incidents were Schumacher and Petrov making good use of the Mirabeau escape road and Sutil needing a new rear wing after an altercation with the Casino Square barriers. The major one was Alonso losing control into Massenet and taking off both right side wheels, which cracked the chassis. Glock missed most of the hour after stopping in the chicane escape road with a mechanical problem. Kubica was fastest from Massa, who himself almost crashed a couple of times. Jarno was 20 th to Heikki’s 19 th. Top 6: Kubica, Massa, Webber, Hamilton, Vettel, Schumacher.
Qualifying: Ferrari were not able to repair Alonso’s wrecked car in time so he didn’t take part in qualifying and will start the race from the pitlane. It looked like Heikki and Jarno had a fleeting chance of squeezing into Q2 but it was not to be and Heikki is 18 th and Jarno 19 th on the grid. The other new teams joined the grid behind them. The Saubers, Toro Rossos, Petrov (who hits the barriers at Ste Devote), Sutil and Hulkenberg were eliminated from Q2. Webber took pole from Kubica with Vettel third. Top 10: Webber, Kubica, Vettel, Massa, Hamilton, Rosberg, Schumacher, Button, Barrichello, Liuzzi.
Jarno Trulli - 19th:"It was a bit difficult out there today as I'd lost quite a lot of track time yesterday, which meant my last setup change was right before qualifying. Despite that, I did my best out there and we are much closer than a lot of people expected to the cars ahead. We have also shown a good improvement from where we started the season, so I'm reasonably happy with where we are."
13 th May 2010
Monaco GP – Thursday Practice
Alonso was quickest round the streets of Monaco , narrowly beati ng Seb Vettel. Jarno was 21 st and Heikki 20 th. There were only 2 crashes: Chandhook at Massenet and Kobayashi at the entrance to the Swimming Pool. Top 6: Alonso, Vettel, Kubica, Webber, Massa, Schumacher,
Jarbo lost time in the second session while Lotus sorted out his engine, leaving him in P21, with Heikki in P19. Alonso was quickest again, from Rosberg this time, with Vettel P3. Top 6: Alonso, Rosberg, vettel, massa, Schumacher, Kubica.
Jarno Trulli (Lotus Cosworth T127-03:30 laps, 21st, 1.19.902 / FP2: 13 laps, 21st, 1.18.667): “It was a bit frustrating today as I lost time in the garage this afternoon, and didn’t really get the chance to push as I’d have liked on track. The times were coming down but unfortunately in Monaco every single minute you lose being on track is going to cost you a little bit throughout the weekend. Obviously I'm experienced, so on the driver's side it won't affect me but with the car we still need to find the right setup and the right balance. Despite this it's good to be here and to see Lotus Racing on track, as I know how much that means to a lot of the fans, and also to see that we continue to improve the car every time we get out on track.”
12 th May 2010
Monaco GP – Jarno’s Preview
Jarno Trulli: “It’s something very special in Monaco. Whether you’re driving or just walking around, you can almost breathe in how exciting it is. Every driver in the world wants to win here, and I was lucky enough to do so in ’04, but the whole experience can be tough – it’s important for us to concentrate on the race, and here you’re under so much pressure it can be difficult to get the time to think, and concentrate on the actual race, but that’s how it is, so we deal with it.“Getting in a good lap is also a challenge, but if you can manage the traffic it’s very satisfying. One of the most important parts of the circuit is through the swimming pool – you change direction at high speed, then brake for the next chicane, which is slow but you still need to get through it quickly. You jump over the kerbs there, not too much or you launch yourself into the wall, but just enough to carry the speed through. That’s why concentration levels are important – get that right every time and you’re ok – if not, you’re out.”
7 th May 2010
Spanish GP – Friday Practice
McLaren topped the times in first practice with Hamilton in P1. Jarno was 19 th quickest, with Heikki one place higher. Paul di Resta took the place of Adrian Sutil in the first session for Force India, and newly appointed Christian Klien for Hispania replaced Chandhok for this session. Hulkenberg had an apparent engine failure 10 minutes from the end. De la Rosa only managed 3 installation laps before a gearbox problem ruined his session. Jarno was 19 th and Heikki 20 th. Top 6: Hamilton, Button, Schumacher, Webber, Vettel, Rosberg.
In the second session, Red Bull rose to the top, with Vettel just faster than Webber. Hulkenberg crashed his Williams early on, and Alguersuari’s car stopped on track with only a few minutes to go. Top 6: Vettel, Webber, Schumacher, Alonso, Hamilton, Kubica.
Jarno Trulli (Lotus Cosworth T127-03: 20 laps, 19th, 1.26.244 / FP2: 26 laps, 19th, 1.24.209)
“First day back in the car in Europe and I’m really happy with how we have progressed with the car. Obviously it’s still too early to assess it properly, but as soon as I got out on track I could feel that we had taken a major step forward. We have solved a number of the issues we had and we’re definitely in the right direction, so I’m really pleased for everyone in the team as they’ve put in a great effort to get us here.
“This afternoon we continued with the program and everything went really smoothly, on both the hard and the soft tyres. I must admit that I’ve been really pleased with the speed gain we’ve seen in the car and, again, that’s down to the work the team have put in with the car - all I need now is a little bit of luck, and a trouble free weekend!”
7 th May 2010
Drivers want qualifying split for Monaco
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/83341
7 th May 2010
Trulli says season starts now for Lotus
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/833421 st May 2010
Spanish GP – Jarno’s Preview
Jarno Trulli is excited about returning to Spain, and Monaco, the circuit where he wrote himself into the history books by winning in 2004. “I made it back home from China with a number of the other drivers, but we got back safely and I’ve been home with my family since then. I’ve managed to fit in a number of good training sessions, and am looking forward to getting back in the car. I think I’ve had a fair bit of bad luck so far, but I’m looking to put that behind me and see how much further forward we can go with the updates. I’ve kept in close touch with the team about the tests they’ve put the car through, and am encouraged by the results they’ve had. I think we’ll take a good step forward in Spain.“I like Barcelona - we all know every bit of it very well as we test there a lot, and have raced there for years. Monaco is obviously a very special place for me – a lot of my fans will be out in force, and I love going back to where I’ve won, so that’ll be a busy, but good week.”
ABRUZZO IN THE HEART Following the Italian earthquake in L’Aquila on 6th April 2009, Jarno has set up a charity to help those affected. If you would like to help with a donation to Abruzzo nel Cuore, Jarno has now set up a website http://www.abruzzonelcuore.org/ You can donate directly through Paypal, or the bank details are on the site for a bank to bank transfer. Thank you. |
Jarno Forum and Fan Page Remember the Jarno Forum? Well, there is a now a website to go with it! Visit at http://www.frozen-dreams.sk/jarno/ There is also a link to the original forum from the site or go straight to http://s15.invisionfree.com/trulli/ to talk about our driver. Registration is required but is quick and easy. Happy talking! Now also on http://s15.zetaboards.com/trulli/index/ |
Jarno’s Wine Jarno’s wine from his Alanno vineyard, Podere Castorani, is available in the UK. For info on the wine itself, visit http://www.poderecastorani.it/. The UK importer is now HallgartenDruitt, who are importing nine of the different vintages from Podere Castorani and it is being sold to the public through http://www.wineman.co.uk/ (Kevin O’Rourke Wines) with a delivery price of £11.50 for one or two bottles or any size order. Visit their website, call them on 01908 337975 or Kevin on 07738 195225. You can also buy one, two or more bottles from http://www.averys.com/ for just £6.99 delivery charge on any order. (If the wines are not showing right now, Averys are in the process of restocking and the wines should show within the next week.) American fans should now contact U.S. importer Marco Vivona at marcovivona@marcoandsonwine.com or call 813 621 5304. The Wine Tasting Club also has Jarno’s wine in stock in the US: call 863 605 0804 or email finevineclub@gmail.com |
Boxer Welfare Scotland Jarno supports Boxer Welfare Scotland!!! This is a charity that rescues and rehomes unwanted Boxer dogs and is desperate for funds. Jarno’s family keeps Boxers and Jarno loves them, so has given a statement of support, which you can see here,or going through the link under Celebrity Auctions. They do have an online shop for original gifts or would welcome any donation however small. |
YourRacingCar.com Motorsport fan? Want to be involved in a racing team? Your Racing Car was s a new idea to run a team in the Ginetta Cup, support race to the British Touring Cars. Now Fulvio Mussi drives in the Renault Clio Cup, sponsored by fans. You can visit the team at the race tracks! And have your name on the car! For just £25!! Visit http://www.yourracingcar.com/ for more info. If you want to be part of history in the making of the fan-funded car go to http://www.joinyrc.com/ |
Jarno on You Tube Have you looked for Jarno on You Tube? There are a couple of nice snapshot video on there at the moment. Search for “Audemars Piguet – Jarno Trulli”, a sponsor commercial, and “Jarno Trulli through the years”, a Toyota video. www.youtube.com
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