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Jarno Trulli for Japan Donation Jarno has set up a bank account and web page for donations to help and support the people of Japan affected by the earthquake and tsunami earlier this year. Jarno has always had a lot of support from Japanese fans and meets with his Japanese Fan Club every year at the time of the Japanese GP. Here he hopes to demonstate his affection for the people of Japan and to give something back. Please visit: There is also a Twitter account to follow @trulli4japan
Photo (left) by Darren Price DP7 Photos |
10 th February 2012
T01 Jerez - Day Four, Friday 10th February 2012
Driver: Jarno Trulli
Chassis: CT01-#2
Total laps: 117
Best lap: 1.22.198
Jarno Trulli: "My first impression of the car was that it is good - a definite progression from 2011 and a good basis for us to work on for the season ahead. Its reliability has been demonstrated all week here in Jerez and we have generated a lot of data, particularly on KERS and the 2012 tyres which will help us improve set-ups for the next couple of tests.
We know there's a lot more to come in pure pace - perhaps we were the only team to run without dropping the fuel, but we wanted to focus on running through the development program and making sure we completed the plan each day. For me there are a couple of real positives from today. I hadn't used KERS before and, despite the extra buttons it means on the wheel, it's pretty simple to get used to it quickly. I think we'll see the benefits of that more and more as we keep learning how to get the most out of it. Also, for me the car felt balanced pretty much straight away. The power steering is good - we can keep fine tuning it, but I think it's basically a good package with a lot of potential for us to work on. A good way to start the season."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "I think we can be very pleased with how the first test has gone. Apart from an issue on day one with the starter, the car ran absolutely faultlessly throughout the whole test which is a real tribute to the work put in by the whole team. We completed the whole test program, working with KERS for the first time, and for me this has probably been the best first test I have ever been involved in throughout my career. We have been running the car rather conservatively in Jerez but for the next test we will be bringing aero updates and looking to run the final race one specification at the third test. Overall, we are in a much better position going into the season than we have ever been before, so that is the first goal achieved."
Riad Asmat, Caterham Group CEO: "The first test of the season has been a good one for us. Jarno ran another very impressive number of laps today and when you look at the total mileage we have accumulated here we have clearly started the season with a good, reliable car. We know there is pace to come but we also know we have a lot of work ahead of us to make sure we arrive in Australia in the strongest possible position. This week we have had the best start to a season yet in our three short years so we will move on to Barcelona in good spirits, with more new parts to come and in good shape to keep unlocking this car's potential."
27 th November 2011
Brazilian GP – Race
Finally the season is over! And it’s nearly Christmas! That’s not right surely? Bernie must have someone else to do his Christmas shopping! But he’s probably NOT doing the 3 for 2 offers or using every available voucher, which all takes time. Anyway, a Red Bull won the race but it wasn’t Vettel! This time and for the one and only time this season it was Webber! Vettel was second though despite fighting a damaged gearbox for most of the race. Button was a decent third. Hamilton was forced to retire, also with gearbox problems, on lap 37. Glock had already retired on lap 22 when a wheel fell off in the pitlane after a stop. Only 2 other retirements: Maldonado for Williams on lap 27 and Liuzzi on lap 62. Jarno was 18 th, and Heikki 16 th, with Renault’s Senna in between, who clashed with Michael Schumacher, ironically at the Senna S, giving the Mercedes a puncture and the Renault a drive through penalty. Top 10: Webber, Vettel, Button, Alonso, Massa, Sutil, Rosberg, Di Resta, Kobayashi, Petrov. Happy Christmas everyone!Heikki Kovalainen - 16th: "Thank you to everyone for another excellent weekend for the team where I don't think we could have got anything more from the whole package. All afternoon the car felt great and we managed to make the most of the performance we put in yesterday in qualifying. I had another great start today, they've really been excellent for some time now, and from there I got straight into a good rhythm right throughout the whole race. I had a few issues with the blue flags towards the end, with so many cars coming around it kind of messes with your own race, but that's just something you have to deal with. All year we've kept on progressing and we've finished on a real high with that tenth place so we're set us up perfectly for next year where we can take another step forward in the development of this team."
Jarno Trulli - 18th: "For me it was a pretty standard race. I didn't have a great start but was easily ahead of the cars we needed to beat today and it was really just about getting the car home in one piece so we could seal our place in the championship. I want to thank the whole team for the work they've done this weekend and all year. We keep on progressing and it's great to be part of something that shows real signs of where it can go."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 support leader: "That was a good race for us. Both drivers were able to maintain their positions which was not such an easy task because of the amount of activity on track, but they finished where we aimed for and that was what was all important. What I do want to talk about is the relationship between Team Lotus and Renault Sport F1. We have had a very good year in terms of how our partnership has developed. The whole team were very easy to work with right from day one and we have put ourselves in a very good position to keep moving forward next year."
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer: "I think that is a great way to end the season and secure tenth place. It was a tense afternoon for us with all the possible weather changes, but the conditions held off and we had the sort of race we have been putting in for much of this year. Both drivers were pushing all afternoon - with Jarno we put him on a two stop race which meant he had to look after his tyres. That might have ended up costing him some time, but with Heikki we ran a three stop race and he brought his car home where we thought he could. Really though today is about doing the job for our shareholders and our partners, in particular Renault Sport F1 and Red Bull Technology who have played such a key role in today's success. Congratulations to our shareholders for the rewards we have now gained from finishing tenth for two seasons running. They deserve this success for the incredible support they give us every day and we will keep working hard to make them proud."
Tony Fernandes, team principal: "Almost tears for me today! I am absolutely overjoyed. Two years of hard work have paid off today and it was great to see both cars home safely, helping us win tenth place. The icing on the cake was beating a Renault - that meant a lot to me as I have always said the good guys do win. We have a fantastic little team here, and some incredible partners in GE, Dell, Intel, APC and CNN and I know how much it means to each and every person associated with us to have finished this season where we wanted to. Now we look forward to our new life as Caterham F1 Team and we say goodbye to Team Lotus. Colin - we hope we did you proud and we hope you keep an eye over us as Caterham F1 Team. We know we will do you proud there as well."
26 th November 2011
Brazilian GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Fittingly the WDC topped final practice of the season, beating Button and Webber. Jarno was 18 th and Heikki 19 th. Buemi failed to set a time due to an hydraulic leak. Top 6: Vettel, Button, Webber, Hamilton, Alonso, Sutil.
Qualifying was almost a carbon copy down to 5 th place. Even more fittingly, Vettel took his record-breaking 15 th pole of the season with Webber next and Button third. Both HRTs outqualified both Virgins, with poor old Glocky last on the grid. Jarno was 20 th and Heikki 19 th, still not made it out of Q2 by speed alone. Never mind. Top 10: Vettel, Webber, Button, Hamilton, Alonso, Rosberg, Massa, Sutil, Senna, Schumacher.
Heikki Kovalainen - 19th: "That is a great way to end qualifying for the season, one of the really good laps. I've had a lot of good sessions this year but that really stands out as one of the best. Jarno has been strong here all weekend and I was just behind him after the first runs so I had to really pull out everything to beat him. We made a couple of adjustments to the tyres and it paid off with that final lap with seconds left on the clock. We've also finished here closer to the opposition than we have all season, and even though it's a shorter lap here it's still a very good sign that we've found quite a bit of time with the new rear wing and I think that will help us again tomorrow. The forecast looks like rain and that always makes it interesting around here, so I think whatever happens it'll be a good Sunday, and hopefully a great way to end the season."
Jarno Trulli - 20th: "I'm reasonably pleased with how it went today. The second set of tyres weren't as good as the first and even though I improved my time I still couldn't really push - I've had a pretty good weekend so far but still haven't found a balance I'm really happy with, but the main thing is we've increased the gap to the cars behind us and moved closer to the teams directly ahead."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "The challenge for us here has been to help maximise the potential of the new rear wing and DRS system on the cars. The update is a big step forward for the team and it means we have had to work on the ratios and find the right balance between the settings we use for qualifying and the race. That is what the top teams ahead have had to do all year and for us that is the first time we really had to work in that area this season, so it has been a good challenge, and a sign of how far the team has come. It looks like it has worked out because the feedback from the drivers has been positive and the result today is what we were hoping for, so this goes down as a good result for the whole team."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a strong end to qualifying for this season. This morning we were having some issues getting the pace out of the soft tyres but this afternoon we turned that around and Heikki in particular got everything he could out of the car. Jarno was a little less happy with the balance but for me this is a good way to finish qualifying this year. Throughout the second half of the season we have moved closer to the group in front and that was particularly evident today, so the aim for tomorrow is clear – have a strong race and give ourselves a successful last race of 2011."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "What a great way to end the last qualifying session for Team Lotus. We were within a second of cars right up to 11th place, and just over 0.4 off Williams, so to bring to an end our qualifying for 2011, having made up that amount of time, is a real achievement. People forget that we do not have KERS this year. If we had KERS, as we do next season, would clearly be fighting in the midfield, so I am very happy with how far we have come in such a short amount of time. Our next qualifying session will be as Caterham F1 Team and that is a whole new chapter for us, something we are all very excited about and if we can maintain the progress we have shown in our first two years we will be right on course to achieve our long-term goals."
25 th November 2011
Brazilian GP – Friday Practice
The last Friday practice of the season, and Mark Webber took the honours in the first session followed by Jenson Button. Luiz Razia took Jarno’s car for this session and was 20 th behind Heikki who was 19 th. Jan Charouz was a new name for HRT, taking Liuzzi’s seat for the morning. Romain Grosjean sat in for Petrov at Renault and Jean-Eric Vergne replaced Buemi at Toro Rosso. Top 6: Webber, Button, Hamilton, Vettel, Massa, Alonso.
In session 2, Hamilton was quickest from Vettel. Jarno was 19 th, Heikki 20 th . No dramas except for a gearbox failure for Perez. Top 6: Hamilton, Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Schumacher, Massa.
Luiz Razia - 20th: "I'm really pleased with how my session went today. It was a very proud moment for me to be back on track in Interlagos, this time in an F1 car, a real dream come true, so I want to thank the whole team for the chance to drive here today. I'd had a good run in the car last week in Abu Dhabi so I felt comfortable pretty quickly, and I think my lap times showed that. We worked through a busy programme, including comparisons with the new rear wing the team's brought here against the previous spec we used in Abu Dhabi - I could feel immediately what a good step forward that is and I'm pleased I could play my part today in helping the team keep progressing, right up to the last race here in my home country."
Heikki Kovalainen – 20th: "I had a good day today. The new rear wing is another step forward and it's encouraging to see that sort of update coming right at the end of the season. I got through a very good number of laps today and every change we made helped us find a bit more time on both tyre compounds, so with a bit more hard work tonight I think tomorrow and Sunday could be pretty good for us."
Jarno Trulli – 19th: "I'm pretty pleased with my run this afternoon. We need to do a bit of work on fine tuning the balance, and I think there's more to come from the new rear wing, but the update is working and hopefully we can show in qualifying the sort of pace we've had recently in the races – that's the aim for tomorrow, and then to carry that over to Sunday."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "From the engine perspective I think we can be pleased with how today has gone. We have completed very decent mileage on both cars and have amassed enough data to help us progress more tomorrow around what is a pretty unique track. We have to find the right balance between strong driveability and top end power and give the drivers good responsiveness to maximise the lap times around Interlagos, and from where we finished today it looks like we are heading in the right direction."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "An excellent Friday for the team. In the first session we ran Luiz Razia and he did a really good job, completing his whole programme and apart from one small mistake on his quickest lap, which probably cost him half a second at the last corner, he can be very satisfied with his day's work. With the two race drivers we were evaluating a new rear wing which maximises the effect of the DRS system. That worked exactly as we had predicted and gave us a significant improvement in lap time which has helped us move another step closer to the cars immediately ahead so I think we can look forward to a good final weekend of 2011."
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "That was a good last Friday of the season for us. This time last year we were racing a car that we had stopped development on in the middle of the season, and this year we have come to the last race with a new rear wing that has immediately paid dividends. That is a good sign of the continuing progression of our team and it bodes well for next year that the investments we have made in critical areas are giving us good returns right up to the end of the season. We have had a strong latter part of 2011 and I think we can push even more over this weekend, so we will aim to keep up this momentum tomorrow and see what we can do in qualifying."
21 st November 2011
Brazilian GP - Preview
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “This has been a long, hard season and it will be good to bring it to an end in Brazil, but for me this has been one of the best seasons I have had in motor racing. As the team keeps growing and keeps developing I’ve just had to make sure I am driving as hard as I can, and every time I get out of the car I’ve been satisfied that I couldn’t get any more out of it, so I can’t really do any more than that. There is a great spirit in this team – we are definitely going in the right direction, so we will all look back on this year as another step forward, and then make sure we keep that momentum up as soon as we hit the track in 2012. For Brazil there’s no reason why we can’t have another very strong weekend. We have a new rear wing that should give us a bit more quali and race pace, and we have the same medium and soft tyre compounds we used in Abu Dhabi, so we should be able to put in the same kind of performances we showed there and in several races before.”Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: “Brazil is a track I always look forward to but one I’ve never been too lucky at. It’s one of the old style tracks, not the stop / start long straight / tight turn we see at a lot of the modern circuits – it’s the sort of place you can build up a good rhythm as it’s a mix of high speed turns merging into slower corners and from inside the cockpit that feels good. I want to try and finish the season as well as I can – the car has felt good in the races and with the update we have to the rear wing I think we can finish the season with a step forward in qualifying, so let’s see what happens.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “We head to Brazil in good spirits after a long year but we have enjoyed a strong latter part of the season. We have been pushing ahead since Singapore, and there will not be one person in the team taking their foot off the gas until we see both cars cross the line on Sunday ahead of the teams behind us. Our progress on track has been clear to see and another sign of our ongoing development this year is the fact we are bringing a new rear wing to Brazil. Our race pace has been good all season, but we have not been able to match that in qualifying, and the update to the rear wing is designed to help us do that by improving the efficiency of our DRS system. In simple terms, because DRS can be used anywhere on track in qualifying our performances in Q1 have not matched our race performances where DRS usage is limited, and bringing a new wing that gives us more downforce and improves the efficiency of the system should see us being able to close the gap in qualifying to the cars ahead compared to the previous races. Last year we had stopped development on the T127 halfway through the season and this year we have new parts right up to the final race and that is how we will be operating next year and for many seasons to come.”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “The Brazilian Grand Prix is a very important race for us for a number of reasons. On track we still have a fight ahead of us to secure our primary goal of the season, and we will also be saying goodbye to Team Lotus.
Our stewardship of Team Lotus will come to an end in mid-December. In our short time as custodians of the brand we have had highs and lows but the fundamental point is that we brought Lotus back into Formula One and we did it in the right style. We have built up our Formula One team and all our associated businesses from a starting point of an empty factory in Norfolk in just two years, and now we have secured our future and are in control of our own destiny, and therefore we have achieved our first goal. After this race we will say goodbye to Team Lotus with very fond memories and then we will look forward to next year when the Caterham F1 Team will signal the start of the next chapter of our very exciting story.”
13 th November 2011
Abu Dhabi GP – Race
For the first time this season there was no Red Bull driver on the podium. It all went wrong for Vettel in the first couple of corners, when an unexplained puncture damaged his car and finshed his race. How’s that for fate? It meant Hamilton went on to win the race, with Alonso second and Button third, despite KERS issues. Jarno had clutch issues at the start and ended up 18 th with Heikki 17 th. Top 10: Hamilton, Alonso, Button, Webber,Massa, Rosberg, Schumacher, Sutil, Di Resta, Kobayashi.
Heikki Kovalainen - 17th: "Another pretty good start and from there the whole race was straightforward. I didn't have any issues for the whole race, the pitstops were good and the strategy worked out exactly was we'd planned, so across the whole weekend this has been another strong event for us. What seems to be happening is that in the first couple of stints, as the race sort of settles down, we are able to keep up with the cars ahead, and that's obviously a sign of how we have progressed, and that's again what happened here. When we went onto the primes for the last stint the pace obviously dropped a bit but we had another strong push to the end, with Senna losing time on his final set of tyres, and that points to us being able to fight much more closely next year. For now we have one race left, so we'll shift the focus now to Brazil and make sure we finish the season as strongly as we have been doing since Singapore."
Jarno Trulli - 18th: "I lost a few places at the start with clutch slip, but within a few laps I had got past the cars we needed to fight and then focused on making sure I got the car to the end of the race. The second stint was pretty strong, but then on the last stint on the hard tyres I was struggling to get them up to temperature so I couldn't really push any more. This has been a bit of a tough weekend. I came here with a bit of a fever and then losing time in P3 obviously set me back as well, but now I want to make sure I have as good a race as possible in Brazil and help the team secure 10th place."
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer: "A solid race for us and good to see both cars across the finish line with no problems all afternoon. We opted for the same strategy on both cars, running the first two stints on the soft tyres and switching to the mediums at the end and it worked out how we had planned it would. Jarno lost some time at the start but he pulled some of that back with a strong middle stint. But he was then hit by the number of blue flags that he had to slow down for. At the end of the race Heikki was once again chasing down the Renault but just was not able to get past him with the laps he had left. Now we move on to the last race of the season in Brazil where we will be focusing on the season's number on goal - securing 10th place and giving ourselves the platform we need to keep building for the future."
Riad Asmat, group CEO: "We leave Abu Dhabi feeling pretty good about the way the weekend went for the whole team, particularly seeing Heikki having another storming race and mixing it in the midfield for a good part of the afternoon. We keep edging closer to 10th place, and while that is not a step forward for us in championship terms, compared to last year, it is vital for our long-term growth, and when we can carry over the step-up we have made this year in the pitstops, in the factory and in our race pace, we are putting ourselves in the right place for next season and beyond. One more race to go and we will make sure we keep up this level or performance in Brazil before the race team takes a well-earned break."
12 th November 2011
Abu Dhabi GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Hamilton was quickest again in final practice, from Vettel. Heikki was 18 th but Jarno couldn’t get out of the garage with a gear box problem. Top 6:Hamilton, Vettel, Webber, Button, Alonso, Rosberg.
But no matter how fast McLaren were they couldn’t beat Vettel when it mattered. He took his 14 th pole of the season equalling a record held by Nigel Mansell. Hamilton and Button came next. Heikki was 18 th, Jarno 19 th, comfortably ahead of Virgin and HRT. Top 10: Vettel, Hamilton. Button, Webber, Alonso, Massa, Rosberg, Schumacher, Sutil, Di Resta.
Heikki Kovalainen - 18th: "I am really pleased with that performance today. We definitely got as much performance as we could out of the car and to break into the 1.42s is very satisfying. I pretty much nailed the quick lap and I think we know that where we are on race pace gives us another chance of a strong finish tomorrow. I'm also looking forward to Brazil where we have an update to the rear wing coming - that should give us a better chance of using the DRS more effectively around the whole lap in qualifying, helping us get much closer to our race pace on Saturday afternoons, so another quick lap like that in Brazil with the update would be a great way to finish the qualifying sessions this season."
Jarno Trulli - 19th: "It's obviously been a tricky Saturday for me, having had to sit out FP3 when we found an issue with the gearbox that couldn't be fixed in time for me to run in that session. Despite that, the team worked well to fix the problem and gave me the chance to get out in qualifying without incurring any penalties, so putting together a lap that comfortably keeps me ahead of the guys behind is, in the circumstances, pretty good."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We saw from Heikki's fastest time that the work everyone put in last night and today gave us the performance we were looking for. With the change in track temperatures we do have to give the drivers different engine maps to suit the ambient temperatures, as well as maximising performance for the specific characteristics of this track, and the times we put in on both cars, especially considering the lack of running Jarno had earlier, puts this down as a good qualifying session for the team."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A reasonably satisfying qualifying session for us. Obviously Jarno had some ground to make up after losing this morning's session with a gearbox issue that we were able to fix in time for qualifying. Heikki put in another very good Q1 and extracted as much performance as he could out of the car, so they both did well today. We put both cars on two runs in the session, first on the medium compounds and then on the softs, and we finised the session closer to the pack ahead than we have all season, so that points towards another strong Sunday for us. The key now is to maintain the pace we have shown since Singapore and make sure we bring both cars to the chequered flag without any problems."
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "I think we can be reasonably pleased with today's performance. Heikki put in another incredible lap, getting it just right in all three sectors to finish as close as he did to Michael ahead, and Jarno had to perform in a car that he had barely had track time in today and managed to put in a good lap, pretty close to his team mate. Two more races to go, one tomorrow and then the final race in Brazil in two weeks, and two more races for us to secure that all important tenth place. If the drivers and the team can keep up the level of performance we have seen today and for a good part of the whole season, I think we will be ok."
11 th November 2011
Abu Dhabi GP – Friday Practice
In the first session Button was quickest from Webber. Jarno was 19 th and Heikki 18 th. Barrichello experienced serious technical failure, having to park his car at turn 13. Apart from that the only dramas were spins for the Ferraris and Heikki. Top 6: Button, Webber, Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Massa.
In the second session it was the other McLaren that was fastest, with Button second. The Lotuses took up the same positions as earlier. It was well into the session when Vettel crashed into the barriers at turn 1, but didn’t do much damage and got out again later. Alonso also crashed at the same place but did more car damage. Top 6: Hamilton, Button, Alonso, Massa, Webber, Vettel.
Heikki Kovalainen - 18th: "Not too bad at all. Both sessions were pretty straightforward and we kept making improvements all day. The car felt good on both sets of tyres - the track here has really good grip levels and the degradation on the softs was pretty low, certainly manageable, so that looks good for Sunday. The main thing is that our Fridays are now all solid, giving us the chance to really dial the cars in and that means we can work on maximising our pace on Saturday and Sundays, and you can see the evidence of that from our recent races."
Jarno Trulli - 19th: "That was a good Friday for us. The car felt pretty balanced all day and we kept improving on each run, so I think we're looking ok for the rest of the weekend. Both tyre compounds behaved pretty well here – the softs weren't going off too quickly at all so I think that gives us good options for the race, and there's a bit of performance difference between the softs and the mediums so we might be able to do something with that in qualifying – let's see."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A good day for us here in Abu Dhabi - we completed the planned program on both cars with no issues all day, keeping up the much improved reliability record we have had in the latter part of the season. This morning the two drivers ran on the development tyres and Heikki was working on brake comparisons, so we have some useful data to look at from those. In the afternoon we worked on race evaluations on both compounds and I think we look pretty good on both the low and heavy fuel loads on both. All in all a good Friday, setting us up well for the rest of the weekend."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We completed a very good number of laps today which is always key for Fridays. We now have a lot of data to work on which we will use tonight to fine tune the engine performance for the drivers tomorrow and on Sunday. This track puts the emphasis on the responsiveness of the engines - driveability it not so important here as there are a number of relatively low-speed second and third gear corners and I think we are looking ok in those areas, as well as in top speed which is obviously key for the long straights."
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "Another solid Friday for us and we look like we have maintained the same sort of pace we have been showing in the last few races. One of the key areas we have been working on is making sure we run reliably all weekend, so to complete another Friday where we have run without any issues all day is good. Now the goal is to carry that through the rest of the weekend and make sure we keep up this level of performance to the end of the season."
8 th November 2011
Abu Dhabi GP – Preview
Heikki Kovalainen: "Two races left and we are going to two of the better circuits on the calendar. Abu Dhabi's not a hugely challenging circuit to race on, but the timing of the sessions and the fact we are running as the light's fading on Sunday makes it pretty cool for the fans and on TV. The first sector is reasonably quick - if you see the cars turn in to T1 after the start finish straight you can get an idea of just how fast an F1 car can change direction, and from there you pick up pace through turns two and three, pushing the aero performance of the cars. After that it's a bit stop/start until the long straight down to T8 where there is the first clear overtaking opportunity. T11 is the next place you can pass people, and then it all gets a bit fiddly as you go around the hotel – I'm sure it's pretty spectacular for people watching the cars while they're having lunch, but it's several low speed corners that push the car on traction, but aren't too challenging from inside the cockpit."
Jarno Trulli: "I'm looking forward to Abu Dhabi – I've had a run of bad luck in the last few races and I hope I can turn that around in Yas Marina and help the team make sure we get that tenth place this year. The circuit's not the biggest challenge of the year, but the facilities are great, the track surface is grippy and if you get a good balance you can really push, in the high speed sector from T1 to T7, and around the twisty bits back up to the start line. We saw last year that it's very hard to overtake around the Abu Dhabi track but DRS and the way the Pirellis have performed all year will definitely change that – the run down to T8 where the DRS zone will be activated will definitely see a lot of passing and I want to make sure I'm up there with the teams we've been fighting with in the last few Grands Prix and racing all weekend."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "We left India feeling very good about how we attacked the first race at the Buddh International Circuit, and having had such a warm welcome in India. We are obviously having a very strong end to the season and it's good for the whole team to see us being able to fight the likes of Williams, Sauber and Renault when the lights go out on Sunday. All season we have seen that when we get the tyres up to temperature we are in a position to push the cars ahead, and while we have not yet been able to do that in qualifying, we have given the race drivers a package that they can use on Sunday afternoons and give the fans something to get excited about. One fact that came to light after the race last weekend was that we set our quickest ever pitstop time in India, 3.3 seconds, which is light years from where we were back at the start of the season. That sort of attention to detail is what separates the quick from the really quick and it is down to hard work, practice and attention to detail from the pitcrew that they can now make such crucial contributions to our race performances. The goal now to is keep that up in Abu Dhabi which is similar to a number of the other circuits we have been quick at this season, so I see no reason why we can't have another strong weekend in Yas Marina before we head to the final race in Brazil."
Tony Fernandes: "This has been a long, hard season, but I am pleased that we are heading towards the end on a good note on and off track. Our race performances in Korea, Japan and India have been very encouraging, both in the cockpit and in the garages, and they are a pointer to where we can build on for next season when we have to take another step forward. Off track all the pieces are falling into place and we have now taken full control of our own destiny - I am absolutely certain that what we are putting in place gives us the very best platform to guarantee future success, both in our motor racing and broader automotive interests, and when you consider what we have already achieved, against the background of so many uncertainties, I think we can guarantee that we have a very bright future. We will be making full announcements about all the developments we are working on in due course, but for now the focus is on Abu Dhabi and Brazil and keeping up the momentum we have built up all season."
30 th October 2011
Indian GP – Race
Vettel won again and again the closest driver was Jenson Button, followed by Alonso. Hanilton had another coming together with Massa, which looked 50-50 but the stewards gave Massa a drive through penalty for it. Massa failed to finish anyway, retiring with broken suspension on lap 33. Hamilton finished 7 th.The first lap proved difficult for the back of the field. An HRT drove into the back of Jarno, effectively ruining his race, although he got back out after a puncture and finished the race in 19 th place. Heikki was 14 th. Going back to the first lap, a brush between the 2 Williams sent Kobayashi across the track and he rejoined in front of Glock, sending himself into retirement. The Virgin was gone 2 laps later with gearbox issues. Maldonado ground to a halt on lap 13, and Buemi disappeared in a cloud of engine smoke on lap 25. Top 10: Vettel, Button, Alonso, Webber, Schumacher, Rosberg, Hamilton, Alguersuari, Sutil, Perez.
Heikki Kovalainen - 14th: "I had another good start, maybe not quite up there with the last two races, but avoided the problems in turn 1 and 3 and from there I had a really strong race. At one point I was running 10th and the car felt great all afternoon. I was still in it after the first stops and as the fuel level dropped I was able to keep pace with Senna ahead, and keep a gap to the cars behind, but when I went onto the hards it was much harder to keep up the pace. I was also seriously held up by the HRTs when they had blue flags shown to them. I think they held up Lewis as well and they definitely cost me quite a lot of time. I probably wouldn't have finished any higher, even without them holding me up, but when we're pushing as hard as we are, and fighting with midfield cars, it's a good feeling, for me and the whole team."
Jarno Trulli - 19th: "The bad luck struck again. I had a pretty good start but then one of the HRT's hit me from behind as we came out of turn three and that was basically the end of my race. I had a puncture and had to do almost a full lap to get me back to the pit, so from that position there wasn't anything I could do. I think the car suffered some damage to the floor when I was hit as the balance had completely gone for the rest of the race and I just couldn't put any decent times in. Despite that this has been another good weekend for the team. Our reliabilifty has been strong, Heikki's pace in the race was good so I just hope I have better luck in the last two races and help make sure we secure tenth in this year's championship."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "For us that was another strong performance from the whole team on a track that pushed the engines pretty hard. Obviously it was a shame that Jarno's race was compromised so early on but with Heikki he was able to race as high as tenth up to the halfway point which is very encouraging. It looks like we found balance we were working on, with good top speed for the first half of the lap and maximising the driveability and responsiveness of the engines for the second part of the lap, so we leave India feeling pretty satisfied with the job we have done on this new track."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A mixed result today for us. Unfortunately Jarno's race was effectively ended on the first lap when an HRT crashed into the back of him, causing a rear puncture and causing damage to the rear floor, so all he could do today was make sure he brought the car home. Heikki drove a very strong race on a two stop strategy, running the soft tyre for the first two stints and then going on to the hard to the end of the race. He was fighting with the midfield all the way through and brought the car home to record another strong finish. Yet again we showed the progress the team has made throughout the season and we are continuing our strong end to 2011. Now we have two more races to look forward to - two more chances for us possibly to score our first point, but, more importantly, to finish tenth."
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "First I want to say on behalf of the whole team what a great job the Jaypee Group and everyone here has done to put on a truly spectacular first Indian Grand Prix. From our perspective we leave here reasonably pleased with how the race went – Heikki had another fantastic drive today and made the most of the opportunity to race with the cars around him. Jarno was unlucky to be hit by the HRT after he had made a good start, but the main thing for us this weekend is that we have crossed off another race and are a step closer to finishing tenth. That is the primary goal for us this season and we are nearly there."
29 th October 2011
Indian GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Vettel was fastest from Button in final practice. Jarno was 19 th, Heikki 20 th. Top 6: Vettel, Button, Webber, Hamilton, Alonso, Massa.
Vettel kept it going to secure Red Bull’s 16 th pole of the season, beating off Hamilton and his team mate, Webber. Jarno was 20 th and Heikki 19 th but they will all move up once the various penalties are played out. Not sure how Ricciardo’s 5 place gear box penalty only drops him one place though. Massa stayed 6 th despite smashing his front wheel off in a clash with a kerb in Q3. Revised top 10: Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Button, Hamilton, Massa, Rosberg, Sutil, Buemi, Alguersuari. Jarno 19 th, Heikki 18 th.
Heikki Kovalainen - 19th: "I think I got as much out of the car as I could in quali and it's good to put in a lap like that right towards the end of the run. Honestly, I've been struggling all weekend to find a balance and put heat into the tyres, so to come out on Saturday and hook up a lap within 0.7 of Kamui feels pretty good. As the weekend's continuing the track's getting better and better and I have to say I'm really enjoying myself out there, so tomorrow will be fun, particularly as we've shown recently that we can fight with the cars in front throughout the race."
Jarno Trulli - 20th: "I was a bit unlucky with traffic on my quick laps and I think there were a couple of tenths to find but we were pretty close to pushing as hard as we could today in quali. We've taken a step forward since yesterday as the times show, but we know our qualifying pace doesn't reflect what we can do in the race so I want to make sure I can get back to the great race starts I'd been making a couple of races back and see where we end up tomorrow afternoon."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We worked a lot last night on improving the balance of the car through the medium and high speed corners and on maximising our straight line speed so both cars have the best shot of competing with the teams ahead tomorrow. I think we will be ok - this is a similar layout to the last race in Korea and we were strong there so I think we can look forward to another good performance on Sunday."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "I think we can be reasonably pleased with our qualifying performance here. Our drivers were close to the maximum on their quickest laps and even though they had a couple of issues with traffic and struggled to generate heat in both compounds of tyres, we finished Q1 close to the group ahead. We know we can fight with a number of cars in the race so the aim for Sunday has to be a repeat of our races in Japan and Korea and maintain the strong end to the season we have been enjoying over the last few races."
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "We did ok here. Both drivers have struggled a little with the tyres here but I think our qualifying performance today shows some of the hard work put in last night and this morning has brought us back to where we know we should be. Now we want to maintain the very good reliability we have seen all weekend and make sure both cars finish well tomorrow. I think the race itself is going to be a momentous occasion for everyone involved in the Indian Grand Prix and I hope the fans have something to cheer for, no matter what team they are following."
28 th October 2011
Indian GP – Friday Practice
First practice on a new circuit. First car to set a time was Lotus’s Karun Chandhok in Heikki’s car. In the end he was 19 th quickest with Jarno 18 th. Fastest was Hamilton who picked up a grid penalty of 3 places for failing to observe yellow flags after Maldonado ground to a halt in an ailing Williams. Alonso managed only 4 laps before stopping with mechanical problems. A sreay dog had caused a red flag almost as soon as Sutil, in a Force India, naturally, and Chandhok hit the track. Another Indian, Karthekeyan, was driving for HRT. There were a lot of off track moments on the dusty track but worst was Alguersuari’s testing of the barrier at turn 10. Top 6: Hamilton, Vettel, Webber, Button, Schumacher, Rosberg.
Massa was fastest in session 2, from Vettel. Jarno was 17 th and Heikki 18 th. The biggest incident among a lot of minor ones was D’Ambrosio smacking the back of his Virgin against the turn 11 barriers. Maldonado had to be rescued from the gravel early on but was recovered and able to take part in the last part of the session. Massa, Vettel, Alonso, Hamilton, Webber, Button.
Heikki Kovalainen - 18th: "I'm reasonably pleased with how it went this afternoon but think I suffered a bit from not running this morning. Still, you have to deal with what you have in front of you so we worked hard in the afternoon session to get used to the track and find a balance that gave me the confidence to push. There's definitely quite a lot more to come from the car and as the track evolves I think we'll see that the fact we're pretty kind to the soft tyres should help us, probably more on Sunday than tomorrow, but we'll see."
Jarno Trulli - 17th: "That was a very smooth Friday and we made good progress in both sessions, both on learning the track and on the best setup here in India. The track is not too hard to learn but it's interesting - there are a few different lines you can take and I think that will encourage overtaking, so Sunday's definitely going to be fun. The track surface developed quickly today and I hope it continues to do so – off line it's still very dusty and that could catch out a few people, so let's see how it evolves over the weekend. On the tyre side I think we've seen some interesting results today. The softs seem to hang on very well over the long runs but the hard tyres have almost no grip and it seems pretty tough to get them up to temperature. We'll have to see if that's the same tomorrow as it could change as the track keeps developing."
Karun Chandhok: "It felt great to finally be able to drive an F1 car here at the Buddh International Circuit, and it was a real honour to be the first car to set a timed lap in front of the fans. I want to thank the team for giving me that chance, and everyone at the Jaypee Group and all the people involved in helping create the first ever Indian Grand Prix for doing such a great job on the whole event. In the car I was pretty pleased with how it went today. We completed most of the morning programme and without the yellow flags at the end of the session I'm pretty sure there was another second in hand on my final lap time. The track itself is really enjoyable to drive, particularly the middle section which is very quick, and as it evolves and the times keep coming down I think we'll see some very good racing here all weekend."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "This was obviously our first time running here in India so the first task was to take a look at how the gear ratios we had run on the dyno worked when we were actually on track. It looks like we have made the right choices as we hit our targets around the whole track, particularly on the full throttle ratio which plays an important role around this type of circuit, which is pretty similar to Korea."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "An excellent first day here in India for us. We were able to complete a very decent number of laps on both cars and completed the whole program we had set for all three drivers today. This morning Karun was the first car out to set a timed lap here and that was obviously a special moment for him, but he focused on the job he had to do and worked through the aero program we had set him. This afternoon we worked on tyre evaluation and we made good progress on a track that looks to be very exciting for the drivers and fans, and a good challenge for the engineers, so from our perspective this has been a very good day."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am delighted to see the Indian Grand Prix get under way in such a good style, both for the Indian fans and the team that put the race together, and for our team who have had a very good Friday on track. It started with an historic moment for Karun as he became the first driver ever to record a timed lap in an F1 car at the Indian Grand Prix, and I am very pleased for him that he finished the session as the fastest Indian driver out there, having completed his program and putting in another strong performance. This afternoon both Jarno and Heikki were also very strong, Jarno finishing FP1 a couple of tenths away from the cars ahead and in the afternoon session both drivers looking strong on heavy fuel on both tyre compounds, which bodes well for the race. We are finishing the season extremely well, both in terms of reliability and performance, and I think that gives us good cause for optimism for the last three races this year, and looking ahead to 2012."
25 th October 2011
Indian GP Thursday Press Conference
25 th October 2011
Indian GP – Preview
Heikki Kovalainen: "I think India is going to be a fascinating race, for us and F1 in general. I suspect we are going to be given an incredible welcome, and to be able to race on a brand new circuit is always an interesting challenge, so whatever happens in the race I think it will be a great week for the whole sport.
"After Singapore I went back to Europe to do a day in the simulator to get used to the track, and it looks cool. There's the obvious overtaking zone at the end of the long straight and then a few pretty standard medium speed corners but I think the main challenge for us is going to be finding a balance that suits the demands of T10 to T13, which is quick, and the haripins at T3, T4 and T16. We won't know anything about tyre degradation until we get out there, but whatever happens it's going to be hot, probably a bit mad, but seriously good. I can't wait!"
Jarno Trulli: "I'm looking forward to India more than most. I'll do my usual cycle around the track on Thursday and have a close look at the circuit, and when I get in the car I'm usually up to speed within four or five laps. We'll run similar downforce levels to the Korea / Suzuka spec and as we were genuinely competitive in the races at both those tracks I think we'll be ok in India. I'm sure it will be another good race for us, and I think the whole weekend will be fascinating, for us and for the fans."
Karun Chandhok: "I am very excited about driving at the new Buddh International Circuit in FP1 in front of my home crowd and while I am obviously disappointed that I won't have the chance to race on Sunday, I accept the team's decision to opt for the experience and talent they have at their disposal with Jarno and Heikki. This is a team that is still young, still growing, and I know that they have to do their best to secure their future in the sport - sometimes the hard decisions have to be made, and in this case it must have been a very difficult choice, but I understand that this isn't about me. It's about the team and everything the 254 people on track and back at the factory are doing to build for the future. For me, I believe that I have grown as a driver in and out of the car this year with my role in the Friday practice sessions and I'm looking forward to playing my part in helping the team have another strong weekend on track."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "From a technical perspective the track looks like quite a few of the modern era F1 circuits, with a mix of high and medium speed corners and a long straight with a tight turn at the end at T4, which I am sure will create decent overtaking opportunities. It looks like there will be multiple lines for the drivers to take into that corner, as well as into T3 leading onto the straight, so I think we will see a lot of action onto and out of that section. Turns 10, 11 and 12 also look like they present the drivers with a bit of a challenge – they combine to make a long right that will be hard on the front left tyre and in layout it is akin to T8 in Turkey, but instead of being flat throughout it will need the drivers to go in hard on the throttle, come off the power into the first apex and then get back on through the middle section and out onto the run to T13. The next couple of turns are a little fiddly, but we might also see some overtaking into the final corner, T16, as it is a tight right leading onto the start finish straight after a pretty quick T15 which leads straight into T16.
"The tyres have probably been the single most important factor in upping the entertainment factor this season, but we will not know until Friday practice is completed just how they will perform in India. New tracks obviously lack basic grip until any meaningful running has been completed on them, and I am sure the Buddh circuit will be the same. Everyone up and down the pitlane will be in the same situation, so we will all be working hard on Friday to gather as much data as we can and give ourselves as good a shot at qualifying as we can, and at maintaining the race pace we showed in the last two Grands Prix. Whatever happens I am sure it will be a great weekend and one that will show the world just how well India can put on a global sporting spectacle."Tony Fernandes, Group CEO: "I am very excited about the Indian Grand Prix and I would like to congratulate The Jaypee Group and everyone involved at the circuit for their hard work in creating what I am sure will be an incredible event.
"From the team perspective the key goal for us this weekend is to maintain the performance levels we saw in the last two races and while I am sure there will be fans in India who want to see Karun race for us on Sunday we had to make the best decision for the future of the team. While all the emotional reasons for him driving were right we were conscious that the limited running he has had in the car this season, largely due to the weather conditions that have hit most of his FP1 sessions, has not given him the best preparation for this race, so we have taken the very difficult decision not to run him in the race this weekend. It is absolutely vital that we secure tenth place in 2011 to give us the platform to keep growing and despite the fact that Karun's performance levels have continued to improve every time he has driven for us in 2011, it was considered too much pressure to put on Karun to drive in his first home race, deal with all the attention he would have had and be able to perform at the same level as either of our regular race drivers over the whole weekend. For that reason we had to take the pragmatic decision to put our faith in the experience and pace we have in Jarno and Heikki, and are confident they will continue to perform at the level they have over the last two years with us. While this is obviously not the decision Karun wanted us to take he understands that we have to take the long-term view and do so in the best interests of the team. He also understands that his relationship with our team is not about just one race, it is about growing together and while this is an historic event, there will be many opportunities to race in India in the future, and he is in the best possible place with us to take advantage of those chances in seasons to come."
16 th October 2011
Korean GP – Race
Despite not being on pole Vettel still won the race from Hamilton and Webber. Heikki was 14 th and Jarno 17 th, after an issue with traffic in the pitlane. We didn’t see that on TV, but we did see Rosberg and Button driving side by side until Rosberg finally went ahead, only to lose the place at the next corner when he outbraked himself. There were only 3 retirements: Petrov drove into the back of Schumacher on lap 16, causing them both to retire. And Maldonado retired with mechanical problems on lap 31, following a drive through penalty for hitting a bollard at the pit entry. Yes, really. Top 10: Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Button, Alonso, Massa, Alguersuari, Rosberg, Buemi, Di Resta.
Heikki Kovalainen - 14th: "After the fantastic performance last weekend in Japan this is another big step forward for us - finishing 14th today, ahead of both Saubers and within touching distance of Senna on the final lap is for sure our strongest ever race and it's a great feeling for me and the whole team to see us fighting with a big group of cars right from the very first lap. I had another amazing start, passing a bunch of cars into turn 1 and making it look like they were all in reverse. From there I had a good first stint on the options, managing to look after them well enough to stay out for an extra couple of laps that really helped in the first stop. We went onto the primes, and my pace on them was just fantastic, good enough to help me match the times of the cars ahead right up to about tenth. The second set of primes we put on were exactly the same – the wear rates were totally manageable and I could really push on every lap. We knew there were a few cars ahead who would struggle to get to the end, and if I'd had another half a lap I would have passed Senna for sure. As it was we finished ahead of both Saubers on pace and strategy and that's a very good feeling. We've been strong all weekend and it's great for the whole team that we're heading towards the end of the season with a car that is giving us a chance to really show what we can do. Honestly, I'd like to get straight back in now and do it all over again – now I can't wait for India!"
Jarno Trulli - 17th: "That was a really strong race for us, definitely the best of the season, and I want to congratulate the whole team for the work they've done here and back at the factory for giving me and Heikki a car that we can really race with. For me, the start wasn't so good – I lost a few places into the first corner but I made them back up again quickly on the first set of tyres, and when we changed to the primes my times were great. Heikki and I were keeping pace with the midfield and easily pulling away from the cars behind, but then in my second stop I had a bit of an issue with traffic in the pitlane which lost me a bit of time and brought me out just behind where we wanted to be. As soon as the blue flags started coming out late in the race I had to slow up, and if I hadn't had those problems I'm sure I could have finished with Heikki ahead of Kamui and Sergio. Despite that it's been a good weekend, and now we have another three races to build on today's performance and finish the season as well as possible."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We can all be delighted with where we finished today. From the engine perspective we definitely got as much performance out of the car as we could, and seeing both drivers matching the times of the cars ahead shows we keep making improvements right across the car. The drivers have given their all today, and it is good that we can help provide them with the right package to extract as much performance as possible, particularly around a track like this that demands high top speed and good traction – we were not losing any time to our nearest rivals in either the high or the low speed sectors, so I think we leave here feeling very pleased with how we have performed."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A really excellent race and a great performance from the whole team. I know we said that last week in Japan was our strongest ever race but we have managed to improve once again and to beat both Saubers and match the pace of a group of teams ahead is very satisfying indeed. We started both cars on options and then switched onto the primes for the second stint and it was immediately obvious that they were going to degrade much less than we had thought which made the two stop strategy work. Jarno had a very strong middle stint but was unlucky to be held up, dropping him back into the traffic that ultimately meant he finished further back than he could have done. Heikki had a very good start and then drove well throughout the whole race. Towards the end we could see that the Renault's tyres had given up and we kept telling Heikki to push. He was making up about six seconds a lap over the last two laps and with one lap more I am sure he would have passed him as well, but that does not take anything away from the job we have done today. We are having a very strong end to the season and now we need to make sure we continue this run in the last three races."
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "What a race! We are all thrilled with how we have performed today, right across the team. Our strategy was good, our pace was strong and the pitstops were excellent. We keep on improving, and to do so as we near the end of the season shows how serious we are about building on the foundations we have laid for future success. We could have settled for where we were – well ahead of the two teams behind us and just about keeping contact with the teams ahead, but today we showed that we can really race. It feels good, right across the whole team, to know that we can mix it with teams whose combined experience and budgets far exceeds what we can work with, and it shows enormous promise for next year and beyond. We want to do this again in India, and in the last two races, and show that we have really joined the fight. After today, I am sure we can."
15 th October 2011
Korean GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
At least it was dry for final practice and the McLarens were still quickest. Jarno was 20 th again and Heikki 19 th again. The only small drama was Senna spinning and breaking his front wing at turn 13. Top 6: Button, Hamilton, Webber, Alonso, Massa, Schumacher.
In qualifying, Hamilton was the first non Red Bull driver to take pole this year. WDC Vettel was second and Button third. Heikki was 19 th and Jarno 20 th. These positions are boring now! Top 10: Hamilton, Vettel, Button, Webber, Massa, Alonso, Rosberg, Petrov, Di Resta, Sutil.
Heikki Kovalainen - 19th: "For me that was probably my best qualifying lap of the season. Next to Hungary, I think I got as much as I possibly could out of the car and nailed every sector, so it's a good feeling to know when you’ve wrung as much as you can from a single lap. We worked hard last night and today to find a balance that would suit the dry conditions today and tomorrow, and I think we’ve done that, so I’m feeling pretty good about the race. It’ll be very interesting to see how the tyre strategies play out, and if we can keep up the pace from Suzuka we’ll be there or thereabouts."
Jarno Trulli – 20th: "I think we did ok today, but there was definitely a bit more in the car. This morning I had a really good setup and found a lot of grip, but this afternoon it just didn’t feel quite the same so I wasn’t able to get as much out of the car as I could. Still, I’m reasonably happy with where we are – we’re well ahead of the cars behind and close enough on race pace to a couple of the teams just ahead, so another good start tomorrow and we’ll be ok."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "As yesterday’s weather limited most of the meaningful running we could do to prepare for qualifying and the race it was important we had a solid FP3 and could fine tune the engine maps to give the drivers the top speed, traction and driveability they need around this track. I think we have achieved what we set out to, and the feedback from both drivers has been good, especially on Heikki’s car, so I think we can look forward to the race where we know our pace gives us a chance to fight with some of the teams just in front."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "Today was a reasonably satisfying qualifying session for us. Jarno was struggling this afternoon with the grip levels on his car, but I still think he found as much as he could from his car, and Heikki put in a couple of decent laps on both runs to finish just ahead. Tomorrow’s race will be dominated by tyre degradation levels and in similar situations this season our speed in the race has given us the chance to race with a pack of cars ahead, so I think we will be able to fight in the race tomorrow and repeat our performance in Suzuka."
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "That was pretty good, considering how little time we have had on track in the dry. The team worked very well last night and in FP3 to find a couple of setup options to give the drivers something they could really push with, and I think Heikki’s lap in particular showed that we made the right choices. Now we look forward to tomorrow where the objective is the same as it has been all season – make sure both cars run without any issues and edge ever closer to securing tenth place this season."
14 th October 2011
Korean GP – Friday Practice
First practice was wet and Schumacher was quickest from Vettel. Chandhok was in Jarno’s car and was 11 th while Heikki did not set a time and was classified 23 rd. Most action was in the last 30 minutes and no one actually did any damage to their cars despite a few spins. Jean-Eric Vergne, test driver for Toro Rosso was 13 th. Top 6: Schumacher, Vettel, Di Resta, Sutil, Buemi, Kobayashi.
Second practice was also wet but there was more action. The McLarens were quickest. Jarno was 20 th and Heikki 19 th. There were planty of off track excursions but only one crash: Rosberg went wide at turn 1 and slid into the side of Alguersuari who was exiting the pits. Yes, it’s a dangerous pitlane exit and it’s not been changed since last year. Now there will be a warning light for drivers approaching on track and in the pits. Maybe they can change it for next year. Top 6: Hamilton, Button, Vettel, Alonso, Webber, Alguersuari.
Heikki Kovalainen - 19th: "This morning was basically a write-off. You could see that the whole pitlane had the same idea - limit the running on full wets as we're not going to learn anything of real value for the rest of the weekend and avoid any issues that create unnecessary work. This afternoon the track at least dried enough for us to put in some laps on the inters, and we managed to complete some of the plan on the engine maps, so it wasn't all bad. The balance felt fine, and I think it'll be a totally different story tomorrow when it'll be a very busy FP3 for everyone and we can see how the two compounds of slick tyres behave in the dry."
Jarno Trulli - 20th: "To be honest today was just one of those days that we sometimes have in F1. The conditions meant we didn't really have a chance to try too much as the forecast is for dry running tomorrow and Sunday, and when the track's as wet as it was this morning, and we can only run on inters in the afternoon, there's not a lot we can learn. We did a bit of work on the engine driveability in FP2, and at least we now know how the car's behaving on the inters so if the forecasts are wrong we have banked some data, but I think a dry track tomorrow will suit us and we can pick up where we left off in Japan."
Karun Chandhok: "I do seem to be a little jinxed with the rain... I think Monza and Suzuka were anomalies as every time I get in the car the rain seems to hammer down, but I just have to deal with what's put in front of me, and so it was again today! Despite the limited running in FP1 I still got a sense of how good this circuit is but today it was simply about keeping it on the track and making sure I didn't make any mistakes in pretty treacherous conditions. I think the pace was pretty good for the one run I did and certainly the last two Fridays have given me a lot more confidence in the car than I had a couple of months ago."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "The weather conditions today basically made our job pretty hard. We wanted to work on the engine driveability and while we managed to do a bit on that we definitely were not able to complete the program. This circuit requires us to have both very good top speed and good traction out of the slow corners. The long straight from T2 to T3 means we have to have the right top gear to both attack cars ahead under the tow, and defend from those behind and make allowances for the wind which can change quickly here and affect outright pace. We also need to make sure we give the drivers good traction out of the slow corners and good rear stability from the blown floor so I think that will be the main areas for us to work on tonight to prepare for what will be a very busy session tomorrow morning."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "Obviously the weather today made it a tricky Friday for everyone, but despite that Karun managed to complete a good run this morning and did another solid job for us around a track that is new to him. In the second session the conditions improved and we ran reasonably competitively on the intermediates. We put both cars onto the supersofts for the last run but it was immediately obvious that the track had not dried out enough to find out anything useful from the final laps, so now we will hope the forecasts for dry running tomorrow and Sunday are right and we can have another successful weekend as we did last time out in Japan."
10 th October 2011
Korean GP – Preview
Heikki Kovalainen: "Last year was obviously the first race in Korea and while we had a pretty interesting race day, it was good to be in another new country and keep taking our sport to new places. This year I'm sure the whole event will step up another level and be even better and I'm looking forward to getting back there to see how the track has progressed, and how we'll do now we have a car that gives us a chance to fight in the race. The circuit itself is interesting - it has the classic long straight with a tight turn at the end that gives a good chance to overtake, and Pirelli's tyre choice of the softs and the supersofts and the high degradation levels we expect to see will make strategy even more important."
Jarno Trulli: "Having Japan and Korea back to back is pretty tough on the whole team, but as a driver we train to deal with this sort of schedule, so physically it's not too hard. Korea is one of the few track that run anti-clockwise and while that doesn't really affect the set-up it can have an effect in the cockpit by pushing muscles that aren't always stressed at other races, but as I say, we just get on with it and you get used to it pretty quickly. The track is a bit stop-start – you don't really get a chance to build up a proper rhythm, not like you do at somewhere like Suzuka, but I still enjoyed myself there last year, even though my race came to a pretty early end, so this year I want to make sure we get to the end and keep pushing towards the end of the season."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "This is our second visit to Korea but if it stays dry on Sunday it will be a bit of a leap into the unknown as last year's race was run in such wet conditions. The tyre choice there and the strategies we deploy to manage the degradation levels, particularly on the options, will determine how our qualifying and race will run, but we have already completed a good deal of work back at the factory running simulations so despite what happened in 2010 we still have a good idea of what to expect on Sunday.
"The track itself is one of the typical modern circuits. It is a mix of low and medium speed corners with a long straight out of T2 leading to a very tight right-hander at T3 that presents an obvious overtaking opportunity, so we have to set the cars up with the right balance to suit the differing needs of each sector. The long straight means top speed is important but even though the track evolves over the weekend, it is still relatively low grip, so the cars tend to be set up more for understeer, to help deal the drivers deal with that lack of grip."
Tony Fernandes, Group CEO: "The whole team is looking forward to going back to Korea, and while I will not be at the race itself this year, I will be watching every session from Europe and I am sure the team will keep fighting to secure that all important tenth place in this year's championship.
"I was delighted when I first heard that Korea had been awarded its own race – it is an important location for AirAsia and last year we were given a very warm welcome, despite the weather! I am sure that as Formula 1 keeps breaking new ground, especially in parts of the world like Asia where there is so much passion for our sport, and so much talent for us to unearth, that we will be seeing more new venues following Korea's lead and establishing themselves on the F1 map and the fact that our team is part of that is a source of great pride for me, and the whole team."
9 th October 2011
Japanese GP – Race
Sebastian Vettel was third and that gave him enough points to be World Champion. Jenson Button won the race though, with Alonso second. The Lotuses had a great race and for the first time they finished on the same lap as the leader. Heikki was 18 th and Jarno 19 th. There was one retirement, Buemi, whose wheel fell off after a pit stop. There was one safety car, to clear up the debris after yet another clash between Massa and Hamilton. No action was taken on this occasion. Top 10: Button, Alonso, Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Schumacher, Massa, Perez, Petrov, Rosberg.
Heikki Kovalainen - 18th: "What a great race for the whole team! I made an incredible start, no wheelspin, the perfect clutch slip and was suddenly past a load of cars and up into 14th. It looked like everyone else went into reverse and I even heard one of the engineers laugh and accidentally telling someone else how brilliant the start was, and I thought 'no! Don't mention it now, I need to get on with the rest of the race!' After that the first couple of stints were great. The car was working really well on the soft tyres and the stops were mega, and then the safety car came out and bunched everyone up so from there it was a race to the flag with Jarno and I stayed ahead until the last lap. The car has felt balanced all weekend so on the harder compound I was still able to push all afternoon, and even though I was held up a bit by the Virgins and the HRTs when they were being shown blue flags, I was still able to keep ahead of Jarno and as he's always been quick here that feels pretty good.
"Also - the fact that this is the first time this season we didn't see any blue flags is very satisfying. Every time you have to let someone pass you are artificially slowing up your own race, and it shows our car keeps improving, as does the whole team. Ok, the safety car helped us, but then you have to be in the right place to take advantage of whatever happens on track, and today we did just that. A great day."
Jarno Trulli - 19th: "For me that was a good day. It didn't start too well - for once my start wasn't perfect but once we got under way I was able to put in a few good passes and was making up ground. After a few laps it felt like I had a problem with the gearbox that slowed me down, but it came back and almost immediately the safety car came out and I was able to make up the gap to Heikki and we both had a good run to the end. For the whole team this is a pretty significant result. We completed every lap of the race, and while that might not seem all that important when there are guys winning championships up ahead, it still shows we keep on improving, and I'm really pleased for everyone, here at the track and back at the factory, that we can leave Japan on a high again and head to the next race in Korea."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We are delighted for the whole team today. For Renault Sport F1 this is an historic day – Sebastian's won his second title, so congratulations to him for that, and for Team Lotus we have been in the very happy position, for the first time this year, where we have had to manage the fuel consumption levels right to the flag. We have been working hard all weekend on giving the drivers the best balance we can with the blown floor, and they are both reporting that they have had well balanced cars all afternoon, so we have definitely done our part in helping the team take another step forward today. Congratulations to everyone!"
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a really pleasing race weekend for the whole team. For the first time both cars finished on the lead lap and even though we were helped by the safety car our level of performance was still the best we have ever seen relative to cars around us. Both drivers pushed throughout the whole race, right up until the last lap and I think we managed to extract every ounce of performance we could from the cars. Heikki made an amazing start, by some way the best of the year and that made a three stop strategy the obvious choice, running the option for the first three stints, and that worked out pretty well. With Jarno we managed an issue he had in the first stint, and to see him pushing Heikki hard at the end of the race was exactly what we wanted from him and his team mate. They were also both helped by some tremendous pitstops from the guys in the garage so all in all this was a very professional job right across the board and I want to thank the whole team for the work they have put in here, and give my congratulations to everyone."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Firstly I'd like to wish Sebastian and all our friends at Red Bull Racing huge congratulations for an incredible job this season. They still have a job to do, and I know from firsthand experience that they will not let up in their pursuit of the constructors' title this year, and many more titles in the future. They set the standards that we must aspire to and I am very proud that we are part of their extended family and can keep being inspired by them as we grow to, one day, take the fight to them on track.
"For us, I know I keep saying it at every race but this really was the best race we have ever had. As soon as I came in this morning I had a feeling that everything in the team is beginning to come together as we had planned, and to finish on the same lap as the world champion is a huge step forward for us. The drivers both drove their hearts out today and the pitstops were excellent all afternoon. Our race pace was strong and we were bold with the strategies on both cars and that gave us the reward of not seeing a blue flag throughout the whole race. A great team effort.
"I think that this is a turning point for us. Suzuka is a quick circuit, not an easy place to take steps forward, so to have performed as well as we have done all weekend means I leave here absolutely thrilled, knowing our hard work is starting to pay off. The strategy that we have employed, of being patient and not rushing into the wrong decisions is paying dividends, and this is a clear sign that next year, and especially the year after, we are going to see more big steps forwards from our team."
8 th October 2011
Japanese GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Button was quickest again in final practice, from Hamilton. Senna was the guy to crash today, coming out of Spoon. Jarno was 19 th, Heikki 20 th. Top 6: Button, Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Webber, Massa.
But Button was only 2 nd in qualifying as Vettel took his 12 th pole position of the season. Hamilton was third. Jarno was 19 th and Heikki 18 th as Rosberg was unable to set a time and starts 23 rd, with only Liuzzi behind him, who also failed to set a time. Difference is. Liuzzi would have probably been there anyway! Top 10: Vettel, Button, Hamilton, Massa, Alonso, Webber, Schumacher, Petrov, Senna, Kobayashi. As the last four failed to set a time, later this was revised to 7 th Kobayashi, then Schumacher, Senna and Petrov.
Heikki Kovalainen - 18th: "I'm pretty happy with that, particularly as it was one run, one lap to get it right, and I nailed it straight out of the box. We took the riskier strategy with the tyres, went out late in the session and I think I may have even been able to find a bit more in the first sector, but overall I'm pleased. I went through 130R with the rear wing open which was pretty hardcore, but having been bold with the tyres we're in a good position for the race tomorrow. There's been quite a lot of talk about the tyre wear here but I'm not sure the degradation will be as big a problem as people thought. The long run on the soft tyres yesterday was good - I think we can get maybe up to 15 laps out of them, and as we have a few new sets ready to go tomorrow it'll be an interesting afternoon."
Jarno Trulli - 19th: "That was a good session. The car felt much better this afternoon as we made the right changes to the setup and even though I made a couple of mistakes on my quickest lap I still don't think I could have got much more out of it. Tomorrow we'll fight as hard as possible in the race and give our Japanese fans something to cheer for. Our pace in the races has been good all season, so I hope I can make as good a start as I have been in a lot of the races this year, play with the tyre strategies and see where we end up."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We have been working all weekend on giving the drivers the best engine maps for this circuit and I think today's performance in qualifying shows we have done a pretty good job on both cars. We need to make sure the engine has good driveability, particularly through the 'S' curves in the first sector where it is important to have a smooth power delivery that does not upset the balance of the cars, and the feedback we have had from both drivers, especially Jarno, is that we have achieved that, and the times we have seen this afternoon bear that out, so this has been a good weekend for us so far."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A good Saturday for us in both sessions. Jarno and Heikki has issues this morning with understeer but we managed to dial that out for qualifying and their feedback was that they were both happy with their cars this afternoon. Jarno chose to do a run on the medium tyres early in qualifying to see if that could help him get more temperature into the brakes, and then the plan was always to do one run on the softs on both cars. We wanted to make sure we kept well clear of the cars behind and, with tyre degradation likely to play an important role in the race, give ourselves as many sets of tyres as we could for tomorrow, so job done."
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "We keep edging ever closer to the teams ahead so where we finished up today is very pleasing. We made the right call on the tyre strategy, opting to save sets of the softs, and as we have seen all season we can mix it with some of the cars ahead in the race, so with the excellent way our pitcrew have been performing in the stops I think we are in a good position for the race."
7 th October 2011
Japanese GP – Friday Practice
Button was quickest in session one frpm team mate Hamilton. Vettel’s fastest time was good enough for third but his session ended in the barriers at Degner 2. Jarno was 19 th, ahead of Chandhok, standing in for Heikki, in 20 th. Top 6: Button, Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Webber, Alguersuari.
In session 2, Button was fastest again, from Alonso and Vettel. Jarno’s mechanical problems left him 23 rd and Heikki was 17 th. There were a few incidents, worst was Barrichello crashing at Degner 1. Soom after his team mate Maldonado also stopped there, but this time with mechanical problems. Top 6: Button, Alonso, Vettel, Webber, Massa, Schumacher.
Karun Chandhok - 20th: "It was good to get back out on track, particularly here in Suzuka as this is a circuit I haven't driven on before and was looking forward to trying out. It took a while to get the right lines, and as the tyre wear started to kick in I wasn't really able to improve the overall time, although I was getting quicker in certain sectors of the track. I got through a decent number of laps and think I did exactly what was required of me this morning. The car definitely feels quicker than it did when I raced it in Germany - the update we brought to Singapore has definitely taken us a small step forward and we finished pretty close to the Williams, so I think we'll be able to fight in the race and hopefully put in as good a performance as we did here last year."
Heikki Kovalainen -17th: "I'm pretty pleased with how my afternoon went. You're always a little bit on the back foot when you miss the morning session at this kind of high speed circuit as you need a bit of time to get your eye in, but the balance was good almost immediately and we were able to complete the whole plan, so it was a good session. The tyres seem to be behaving well here – on the long run on the softs they held up until about the last lap so I think we've already found a good setup. As the track evolves that will improve even more so I think we could be in a good position in the race, bearing in mind our race pace and how well we can manage the degradation on both compounds. We'll see on Sunday!"
Jarno Trulli - 23rd: "One of those stop start days for me. This morning I was adapting to the power steering system we've put on here and it felt ok but the runs were cut short with a mechanical issue before I could really start pushing. This afternoon the changes we made definitely felt better but when we had the soft tyres on an electrical problem meant I couldn't get any meaningful times in. Despite that the car felt like it was improving and looking at Heikki's times I think we'll be ok tomorrow."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "This is a pretty tough circuit on engines – up there with Monza and Spa in terms of outright pace and we need to work on driveability, responsiveness and ensuring a smooth power curve to give the drivers the right power delivery here. This morning Karun worked through his program, and even though Jarno's was somewhat disrupted, we have been able to complete most of the program with him and Heikki this afternoon, so I think we look ok for the rest of the weekend."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A reasonable Friday for us here in Suzuka. This morning we had Karun in Heikki's car and he did a very solid job for, focusing on aero programmes and engine mapping. Jarno was less happy with his car, struggling a bit with the balance and the brakes, but we made a number of changes for this afternoon and they made an immediate improvement for him in FP2. Unfortunately an electrical problem brought his afternoon to an earlier end than we wanted, preventing him from setting any quick times on the soft tyres, but with Heikki we completed his whole plan and his time on the softs looks pretty good. This weekend will be all about managing tyre degradation and when that is the case it seems to benefit us so we are all looking forward to a strong weekend."
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "I think we can be pretty pleased with today. Karun performed very well this morning on a track he had never driven on before, and Heikki put in a series of strong runs this afternoon that is just starting to unlock what we think we can do here. Jarno suffered issues in both the morning and afternoon sessions, but we improved the overall balance for him in FP2 and with more work tonight and some clever use of strategy tomorrow I think we can push the cars ahead, particularly bearing in mind the limited running some of the teams just in front had today."
2 nd October 2011
Japanese GP – Preview
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “I headed out of Singapore on Monday and back to Europe to do a bit of work in the simulator before heading back out for the Japanese and Korean races. Singapore worked out really well for us and we all left feeling pretty good about what the new floor and diffuser had given us, and how we’d performed generally all weekend. Next up it’s Suzuka, somewhere I think all the drivers look forward to and a track that’s produced a lot of F1’s greatest moments. Most guys will say 130R is the corner that really stands out – it’s pretty hardcore heading in there at over 190mph and knowing you have to stay committed to avoid losing any time, but for me the best bit of the track is the whole run in S1 from T1 to T7. You go into T1 and T2 at high speed and you need to be committed to get the best out of the car through that fast, positive camber section, then from T3 right through to T7 is about the best sequence of turns we race in all year.”Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: “I’ve always loved Japan so I’m really looking forward to getting back again for 2011. I have a lot of really good support out there, and the fans are always generous and happy but without the sort of pressure I get in places like Italy! On track I’d just like to have a race without some of the bad luck that struck again in Singapore. I’d had such a good start and was holding off the Toro Rosso and both Renaults well, even running 11 th at one point as we went into the first round of stops, but the puncture I suffered when Alguersuari hit me was just another one of those things. Hopefully in Suzuka I can make up for that and get as much out of the car as I did on Sunday around Marina Bay.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “Suzuka is without doubt one of the classic F1 destinations, both for what happens on track, and for its place in the sport’s history. The circuit is very quick, it puts a lot of demands on the tyres and the cars need to have very good high-speed stability, particularly when they are closely following a car ahead so they can keep up the pressure into the braking zones.
“130R is all about commitment, guts and the right line, and straight out of that corner and into the chicane at T16 / T17 is about the best overtaking zone on the track, but we also see moves being made into the hairpin at T11 as there are a couple of lines you can take in there and if you have good traction out you can stay ahead of someone you have passed all the way back to the chicane at the end of the lap.
"Pirelli are bringing the Medium and Soft compounds to Japan and as the circuit predominantly affects the cars’ lateral grip I think we will see degradation playing an even more pronounced role in Japan than it has throughout the rest of the season. With the small step forward we saw from our new aero package in Singapore I think we can use that and a bit of clever tyre strategy to take the fight again to the cars ahead, and if we can get qualifying right we have proved we can mix it in the races in midfield, so that has to be the aim again for the race – make sure both cars see the chequered flag and be there when it counts to take advantage of what happens around us.”
Tony Fernandes, Group CEO: "2010 in Japan was our best race of the season – we finished 12 th and 13 th and essentially wrapped up our little battle for the title of fastest new team in Formula One, so it is a race and a country we hold very dear. I am delighted that we are heading to Japan next, both because it is a country that is very important to me personally, and to help The Japanese people show that their fantastic country is bouncing back from the terrible events there at the start of the year. We go around the world, doing business, racing, playing football and occasionally relaxing for a couple of hours, but we rarely have time to stop and take in what goes on around us, so it is good that we can go back to Japan now and help show that one of the greatest sporting events in our calendar is as successful, well managed and as great a spectacle as it ever has been.
“On the team side, I said after Singapore that that grand prix was just about our strongest ever race performance, and having been through the post-race reports it is very pleasing to see that our pace has definitely improved as a direct result of the upgrade package we brought out there. Jarno suffered again with bad luck, but the reliability issue that ended his race is still something we need to improve on – we may be small and we may not have the facilities of the teams ahead of us, but that does not mean our standards should be any lower than them, so we have to make sure in Japan, and at the remaining races, that we are a two car team that can help us guarantee tenth place this year. That is a reasonable aim and one everyone in the team is working very hard to achieve.”
25 th September 2011
Singapore GP – Race
Heikki Kovalainen - 16th: "I'm really pleased with the performance today and we should all be happy as it was a great race from the whole team. The pitstop strategy worked out well for us and the boys worked brilliantly to get me out quickly each time, helping me make sure I could stay ahead of Petrov at each stop. The car felt balanced throughout the whole race and the tyres worked well so I was able to pull away from Petrov and ended up finishing strongly in 16th. It's also good that the upgrade we've brought here has helped us take a small step forward and I think we'll see more from that in Suzuka where it will come more into its own. After a race like today I can't wait to get back in the car, so we leave Singapore feeling pretty good about the last few races of the season."
Jarno Trulli - DNF: "I had another really good start and was ahead of both Renaults and the Toro Rosso. They were pushing me but the car felt great and I was able to keep ahead of them pretty comfortably, coming out of the first stop still ahead and feeling good on the second set of tyres. Then Jaime hit my left rear and I had to come which was pretty disappointing - it's just bad luck really, but that meant I had to try and fight back which I did my best to do until the gearbox problem meant I had to pull over. I'm pleased for the team that we were able to fight from the start and I think it's a good sign that we could do so well in the race, but now we move on to Japan and I hope we can keep pushing on there."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "I think we can be pleased with how we Heikki finished but again the luck was not with Jarno. Another good start put him in a very good position early on and even after his first pitstop he was still in good shape. After that the puncture meant he had to give up the positions he had won at the start which is obviously very bad luck but it was fortunate that Heikki was able to push throughout the whole race and finish in front of the Renault. I think that is a good car and it shows that our car is getting better and better. Engine wise it was all ok for us. We managed the temperatures the pressures well and had no issues on either car so I think we can be pretty happy with how it ended."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "Mixed reactions from me because that was possibly our strongest race performance, particularly early on, but it obviously did not end for Jarno as we would have wanted. Jarno drove a very good first stint and by switching the strategy and stopping Heikki early we were able to control the cars behind us that we were racing at that point. When we pitted Jarno we got him back out in front of the cars he was racing but unfortunately Alguersuari hit him, causing a left rear puncture and ruining his race. He kept pushing when we got him back out but finally he had to stop with a gearbox problem. Heikki drove a very strong race and it was good to beat one of the Renaults on pace today, both on track and in the pitstops. It is a shame we could not get both cars to the finish, but this was still a very good performance from the whole team."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "For me that is probably the best race we have had in our short life in Formula One so far. Heikki drove an outstanding race and was able to keep pace with a lot of the cars around him, and pull away from the cars behind, and he made the most of the new package we brought here to finish very well. Jarno again suffered from bad luck and maybe the strategy we gave him was not the best, but we called it as we saw it and I am sure we will learn from how his race worked out. I am delighted for everyone back at the factory to see their hard work on the upgrade work out well on track, and I think we can look forward to a strong end to the season, knowing we can fight with established teams around us when the opportunities arise."
24 th September 2011
Singapore GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Heikki Kovalainen - 19th: "I'm pretty pleased with that. I got held up on my second run but still managed to get within a second of the car ahead and I think I got close to getting the most out of the car I could. We definitely improved in FP3 and the wear rates weren't too bad so I think we're in good shape for tomorrow. It's a long race, and one where the safety car will probably play a role in how it all ends up, so the aim for Sunday is clear - make sure we get both cars home to the end and put ourselves in a position to take advantage of what happens ahead."
Jarno Trulli - 20th: "Honestly I've struggled with the car all day and even though I managed to get much closer to Heikki in qualifying I'm still not all that happy with where we are. The guys in the garage have been working really hard all weekend to fix one or two problems we've had, and I want to thank them for getting the car to the point where I could get that quick laptime out of it, but now it's about getting to the end of the race tomorrow in one piece."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We worked very hard last night on improving the driveability of the engines and the braking stability and give ourselves the right choice of engine maps for qualifying. The results prove we made the right choices and as this track has such specific demands on the engine, in terms of traction and maximising fuel economy, I think we have put ourselves in the right place to be able to push tomorrow. This is one of the hardest tracks on fuel economy in particular, so even though we are already good in that area, we have a specific map for the race tomorrow that I think will give the drivers a chance to push when they need to, and help to make sure they can both finish the race."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A reasonable effort from us in qualifying today. Jarno was not happy with his car in either session today so we need to look at why that has changed since yesterday. With Heikki his first qualifying lap was good but on his second run he was compromised by the cars ahead when he would have definitely gone quicker, so it is encouraging to know there is still more outright pace in the car than we extracted today. The aim is the same as it always is for us on Sundays – have a strong performance, bring both cars home and do the best we can to push the cars in front."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am encouraged to see that the upgrade we have brought here has pulled us a little closer to the cars ahead but qualifying tonight was possibly not our smartest day in the office – we sent Heikki out just behind Liuzzi which definitely compromised his quickest lap, but on the positive side the changes we made overnight helped us to retrieve the couple of seconds we seemed to have lost yesterday. We know that we can mix it with a couple of the established teams on race pace so we need to make sure we have a good start, use whatever chances we can to overtake, something that is particularly difficult here, and get both cars home across the line."
23 rd September 2011
Singapore GP – Friday Practice
Heikki Kovalainen - 18th: "I was pretty pleased with where we ended up, but obviously we wanted more running in P1. The fire this time was much smaller than last year, and with brakes at the temperatures they run it's not uncommon to see them catch like that, but it wasn't a major issue at all and we got where we wanted by the end of the day's running. I think we can keep getting more from the new package here - there's definitely a couple more tenths in there so let's see where we are tomorrow night."
Jarno Trulli - 20th: "I didn't have the best runs today, but I'm still relatively happy with where we finished. We were able to get good temperatures into both compounds, but traffic and the red flags ruined both my quick laps so I don't think we really showed what's in the car yet."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "The disruption this morning meant we could not learn as much as we were aiming to in FP1, so the pressure was on in FP2 to complete as much of the programme as we could. The data we accumulated in that session will help us make sure that we can give the drivers the best maps we can to maximise traction and fuel economy at a track which is pretty hard on engines, and I think we will be ok for tomorrow and Sunday."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a pretty hard day's work for everyone in the team. The first session was obviously disrupted before it even started and then the red flags affected the whole grid. Jarno's programme suffered from the stoppages and Heikki had a small off on his third run in FP1. Once he came to a halt the high brake temperatures meant he had a small fire in the front right but it was not a big issue and once we had the car back it was sorted out quickly. With Heikki's car and some changes to Jarno's setup the team had a lot of work to do during the break to turn both cars around and worked extremely well to have both cars ready for FP2. The second session was more productive and we were able to evaluate the aero updates we have brought here and it looks like we have made another small step forward. We will know more after going through the data tonight and then look forward to a good qualifying session tomorrow.
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "I think everyone up and down the pitlane had a disrupted FP1 with the track issues just before the session, and with Heikki stopping out on track we were looking to make sure we completed as much mileage as we could in FP2. I am not too sure what it is about Heikki and fire here in Singapore, perhaps our Finn thinks it is not quite hot enough for him here in Singapore, but the car was pretty much unscathed this time and the guys worked well to clean it up and get him out for FP2. We are reasonably happy with where we ended up – there is more to come on the super softs and both drivers are giving us positive reports on the updates we have brought here, so I am pretty happy with where we ended up."
12 th September 2011
Italian GP – Race
Vettel stormed to victory at Monza, even though Alonso caught them all napping at the start. Alonso was eventually third, with Button between them on the podium. There were more retirements than usual. Three of them went out at the first corner, as Liuzzi’s HRT slid down the track after putting a wheel on the grass, which he blamed Heikki for, taking out Petrov and Rosberg as well as himself. Most notable retiree was Webber, after clashing with Massa’a Ferrari on lap 6. Others who didn’t finish were D’Ambrosio, Sutil, Kobayashi, Perez and Ricciardo. Jarno also had dealings with Massa that caused him to stop for a new front wing on his way to 14 th and Heikki was 15 th. Top 10: Vettel, Button, Alonso, Hamilton, Schumacher, Massa, Alguersuari, Di Resta, Senna, Buemi.
Heikki Kovalainen - 13th: "I had a great start, passing Jarno and then seeing the HRT coming into T1 in a pretty hardcore style so I avoided that and was then up into a good position early on. I managed to hold that place for a good number of laps and found the tyre degradation pretty easy to manage. The pitstops were really good today - the calls to come in were made at the right times and the whole crew did a great job to get me out so quickly, so thanks to them and the whole team for a good end to the weekend."
Jarno Trulli - 14th: "For once I didn't have a great start but I managed to avoid the crash at the first corner and luckily Heikki and I were able to get through that and avoid damaging our cars. While I was racing Heikki, I think Massa got into trouble into the first chicane, so I had to go off track to avoid hitting him. When I rejoined the track he shut the door on me, so I went down the inside, kept flat out and managed to overtake him. Then, going into the first corner I had two faster cars behind me with KERS – they had just pressed the button and while going into the second corner Massa lost the car under braking and hit me which forced me into the car next to me, damaging the front end of the car and the front wing. It was really unlucky as I was basically in a sandwich and I was the only one that was damaged! The team did a great job to bring me in , change the nose and then rethink the strategy, switching me to one stop strategy pretty much straight away. From there my lap times were really good and I enjoyed the whole of the rest of the race. I'm really happy about the performance today and the pace was excellent all afternoon. In fact, throughout the whole weekend I have been very happy with the pace of the car overall and this morning's news about next year's contract has made this a fantastic home race for me – thanks to the whole team for that!"
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "From the engine perspective that was a pretty tough race but one that we are very pleased to have finished so well. Jarno's pace today was really good – he was easily able to pull away from Timo once he passed him and to have both cars finishing so closely together after the incident Jarno had is a very positive result. Monza is extremely testing for the engines as the drivers spend so long at full throttle, but we managed to get both cars home without any problems so that is a good afternoon for us and the whole team."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a great race for us. Both drivers managed to avoid the carnage at the start but then Jarno lost a bit of time early on after being hit by Massa. That incident meant we had to bring him in to change his front wing, putting him back a few places but we switched his strategy and put him onto a long stint on the soft tyres tyres before changing to the mediums. That change, and the fact he was pushing throughout the whole race, helped him get back in front of his direct opposition and he did well to finish 14th. Heikki was also strong all afternoon and was holding the places he had gained at the start as long as he possibly could - we are all delighted that he brought his car home in 13th without any issues at all as that was the primary goal for today. After a difficult Friday this performance was a great recovery from the team to show how we can bounce back from a difficult start to the weekend. It is been an extremely positive result which sets us up well for Singapore, so well done to everyone."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "It has been a great day for Team Lotus and, for me, about the best race I have been to so far! To come 13th and 14th at Monza is way above my expectations so I am very proud of both drivers and the whole team. Obviously the race had a number of incidents which helped our final grid positions, but there are two key points for us to take out of today – we were there at the end to take the advantage of the positions that were available and our pace over the race distance was strong enough to keep up with a number of the established teams. Both Heikki and Jarno did an absolutely fantastic job throughout the whole afternoon and they were helped by the pitstop crew who performed brilliantly, and the engineers who made the right calls at the right times. Well done to all. This has been a pivotal few days for our team and we will be making anumber of announcements over the next few weeks that will show just how well we have laid the foundations for the future of our team. But now for me it is back to London and Loftus Road!"
10 th September 2011
Italian GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Vettel was fastest again in practice, ahead of team mate Webber. Jarno was 19 th, Heikki 20 th. Top 6: Vettel, Webber, Massa, Hamilton, Button, Rosberg.
In qualifying it was Vettel on pole again, that’s 100% Red Bull poles this year. Hamilton came next, then Button. Jarno was 19 th and Heikki 20 th. Alguersuari was the unfortunate drop out from Q1. Maldonado had a nasty spin breaking his front wing but had already got through to Q2 so could continue after a visit to the pits. Top 10: Vettel. Hamilton, Button, Alonso, Webber, Massa, Petrov, Schumacher, Rosberg, Senna.
Jarno Trulli - 19th: "I'm really happy with the job the team has done today and I think I got the most I could out of the car, particularly on the second run. There's only really one line here in Monza - it's not a particularly technical circuit but you need to be extremely precise and with the power steering system we had in Hungary back on the car I'm able to feel my way around the whole lap, which gives me the chance to put in laps like I did to get into the 1.26s. The car has definitely improved since yesterday - we found the balance we were struggling for in FP1 and FP2 and I think that puts us in a good place for the race tomorrow."
Heikki Kovalainen - 20th: "The car felt good today but I struggled a bit to get the ultimate lap time out of it this afternoon. I don't really know why so I'll have a look at the data with the engineers and see where we could find some time, but the good thing is that we have definitely improved since yesterday which shows we keep on going in a positive direction all the time. Even after that I think we didn't qualify too badly and are in a reasonable position to fight tomorrow. Jarno is strong here and it will be a good battle with him tomorrow. The important thing is to keep the gap to the guys behind us and look ahead, not behind. I think we'll be ok."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "It has been quite a good day for us. Overnight we quite substantially changed the setups on the cars which gave us a fair amount of work to do in FP3, but it looks like that has paid off as the feedback from both drivers has been much more positive today. Jarno was particularly strong on his home track in qualifying, and I think he and Heikki will both be in a good position to fight tomorrow."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "After yesterday I think that was a pretty good qualifying session. We finally found the performance we knew was in the car and with both drivers happy with the balance we can be pleased with the job we did overnight and this morning. Jarno in particular was much more happy with his car and he could have found a few more tenths on his quickest lap but for the traffic that held him up in the final sector. Heikki was not quite as happy with the balance of his car, but he also put in a good performance, as did the whole team, to get the best out of what we have today and now we look forward to a strong race and a solid two car finish tomorrow."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Firstly I am thrilled to be back on track after a few races away – nothing beats F1 and I am very pleased with the performance today. Last night I was a little nervous after a slightly disappointing Friday, but we had a good conversation with the whole team and I think we did very well today. This is the type of track where KERS plays an important role and without that this year we are always going to struggle, but to have kept a respectable gap to some of the teams ahead is quite pleasing. I noticed some of what Eddie Jordan said on the BBC this afternoon and I take that sort of comment as a positive – he is not alone in wanting to see us keep moving further up but Rome was not built in a day and our plan has always been worked out over the long-term. We cannot rush this and we always knew that securing tenth place in the first two seasons would give us the platform to build for a secure future, so we are on target to achieve that. Over the next few weeks we will unveil some more of the plans for next season and beyond, and having seen the development plan for next year's car I am confident the foundations we have laid will help us reach where we want to be. Hopefully in years to come people with the experience of Eddie will be proud of what we have achieved, and we will take his comments as a positive force for us to keep pushing on."
9 th September 2011
Italian GP – Friday Practice
Hamilton was fastest in the first session, ahead of Button and the 2 Red Bulls. D’Ambrosio had to park his car on track with 15 minutes to go, and so did Heikki on his way to P19. Karun was P20, having taken over Jarno’s Lotus for the morning. Top 6: Hamilton, Button, Vettel, Webber, Sutil, Petrov.
Vettel was quickest in session 2, from Hamilton and Schumacher. Crash of the day was Buemi’s, at Parabolica. Jarno was 18 th and Heikki 19 th. Top 6: Vettel, Hamilton, Schumacher, Massa, Alonso, Webber.
Heikki Kovalainen - 19th: "That wasn't too bad but we can definitely improve. This morning's session was brought to an early end with a sensor issue on the gearbox and I was given the instruction to pull over when the engine temperatures started rising. This afternoon we worked on both sets of tyres and I think the softs are ok but we weren't really able to get the best out the mediums which gave us some areas to work on tonight on improving overall grip."
Jarno Trulli - 18th: "That was a trouble free Friday afternoon for me but honestly I'm not all that happy with the balance of the car at the moment. There's quite a lot of understeer on turn-in and through the exit of the corners and we need to work on dialling that out to find more speed. There's definitely more to come and we've shown all season we can take good steps forward from Friday to Saturday, so I think we'll be ok tomorrow."
Karun Chandhok: "I'm pretty pleased with the performance this morning. The car felt OK from the first laps and it was good to get some more time under my belt in the cockpit. Friday mornings are always pretty limited running, particularly when the track's got that light covering of dust on it, but today I was focusing on some aero evaluation and we got through that program so I think I did ok today."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "This morning we worked with Karun on engine mapping and he did a good job for us collecting a lot of data we can use on both race cars this weekend. The chassis he was in, which reverted to Jarno for the afternoon session, completed decent mileage throughout both sessions, but this afternoon we struggled a bit with Jarno in the car, and we need to spend some time this evening to make sure we can progress for FP3 and qualifying."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a bit of a difficult Friday for us. It started well this morning with Karun doing a good job running through an aero evaluation program and it was good for him to have a full session in the dry. For the race drivers, the main problem today was getting heat into the harder tyres and I think we may find that improves with increasing the downforce levels tomorrow. Both Jarno and Heikki were reporting that they could not find enough grip and as that is linked to both tyre performance and the downforce package the goal is to solve that for tomorrow and unlock the speed we know is in the car for qualifying."
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "That was not one of our best Fridays. Despite completing a pretty decent number of laps we struggled to find grip on both cars all day so the main challenge now is for the engineers to work through the data that we have accumulated and improve our speed tomorrow. We know we can increase performance levels in all areas for FP3, qualifying and the race, and that is the focus now for the remaining sessions."
8 th September 2011
Italian GP Thursday Press Conference
7 th September 2011
Jarno says he will be in F1 in 2012.
3rd September 2011
Italian GP - Preview
Heikki Kovalainen: "Monza is another different challenge for us and it'll be good going there on the back of such a strong weekend in Spa. It has different downforce requirements to most of the rest of the tracks we race on, but we'll go there with the same sort of aggressive strategy we used well in Spa to put us into Q2.
"For Monza you'll hear a lot of the drivers talking about how one of the keys to a quick lap is how well you use the kerbs. Getting over them as efficiently as possible helps minimise the overall length of the lap and it might only be fractions of seconds, but shortcutting as much as you can, obviously within the rules and as much as the car can take, saves time and helps you maintain momentum onto the straights. To the viewer on TV and even at the track the kerbs don't look all that hardcore, but when you're in the car you hit them pretty hard and you need to be ready for it to get out of shape and even start to snap away from you. We'll work on Friday on getting the setup right to give us maximum speed on the straights and enough compliance in the suspension to really be able to attack under braking and into each corner. I'm looking forward to it - it's a classic track and the Tifosi are among the most passionate fans anywhere, so it's a good place to end the European leg of the season."
Jarno Trulli: "Monza's a funny one for me. As an Italian everyone expects it to be the most special race of the season for me but really it's not. I can't really afford to treat it differently to any other race as I want to make sure I can focus on the job every day I'm on track, and even though there's a lot of fans in the stands, and friends and family around the paddock, I always try and treat it like any other race. Obviously the good thing for me is that it's close to my home, so I do get to catch up with lots of people who I don't normally have time to see, but ever since I started racing I was nearly always abroad, so while it's obviously my home race it's not one I approach differently to any others.
"From a technical perspective Monza's not the most technical track, but it's still critical to have the car balanced so you can attack the kerbs and be really confident under braking, particularly into the first chicane as that's the most obvious overtaking opportunity. The car felt really good in Spa, and I know we have the revised power steering system I used in Hungary back for this race, so I think we'll be ok. We had very strong race pace in Belgium, and if we can carry on like that in Italy we'll be just fine."
David Mart, Renault Sport F1 Engine Engineer: "Italy is the toughest circuit of the year for engines due to the high percentage of wide open throttle time per lap. 75% of the 5.793km lap is spent at full throttle and near maximum revs – it's comparable to high speed oval racing in the States. As such we need to create engine maps that allow the engine to work well at the top of the revs, from 16,000rpm to 18,000rpm, with a smooth power delivery which peaks to a maximum obtainable from a 2.4 litre naturally-aspirated V8 engine, to ensure that the car doesn't get out of shape and can go as quickly as possible."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am delighted to be back on track after having had to miss a couple of races due to what has probably been the busiest summer of my working career! Despite not being on track I have been keeping up with everything that has been going on, both at the factory and the races, and it was very pleasing to see the team have such a strong weekend in Spa after a disappointing couple of races before the break. The factory staff were working right up until Friday night of the Belgian race weekend on reliability fixes, to ensure we did not see a repeat of the problems we had in Hungary and Germany, so the fact both cars finished well, particularly after being involved in the collisions at the first corner, is testament to a job very well done by the factory team.
"Monza gives us another chance to keep edging towards the teams ahead before we go back to the Far East and what is really our third home race in Singapore. This weekend we are not going to be challenging the teams ahead quite yet in outright pace, but clever use of strategy and very strong drives from both Heikki and Jarno gives us a chance to hold our own in the race, so the target for Monza has to be to maintain the reliability record established in Spa and look for another two car finish at the chequered flag, as high as we can reasonably hope. That is a realistic target, and that is the approach we bring to everything related to our team. The plans for the future development of the team, and the group it sits in, are taking shape eactly as we want them to and we are setting ourselves reasonable goals that can be achieved through hard work, innovation and a little bit of luck."
28 th August 2011
Belgian GP – Race
It was a good race for Lotus despite a bad turn one when Senna got carried away and with putting Alguersuari out, sent Heikki bashing into Jarno. They fought back to finish 14 th (JT) and 15 th and in the course of the race Jarno passed Senna on pace! Senna got a drive through penalty and so did Glock for a similar incident. It was quite an eventful race with Rosberg powering away at the start to take the lead by Les Combes. Webber had another shocking start but in the end came through to finish second to Vettel with Button third. Lewis Hamilton made another daft mistake while passing Kobayashi to crash himself out of the race. Afterwards he did admit he was ‘100%’ responsible despite Martin Whitmarsh making excuses for him after the race. The incident brought out the safety car, Vettel took the lead after pitting and rolled on in front to the end. Buemi, Ricciardo and Perez retired as well as Ham and Alguersuari. Schumacher had a great race to come from the back to 5 th. Button also did well from 13 th on the grid to finish 3 rd. Top 10: Vettel, Webber, Button, Alonso, Schumacher, Rosberrg, Sutil, Massa, Petrov, Maldonado.
Jarno Trulli - 14th: "For me and the whole team that was a really good race. I had a great start, passing a few other cars away from the line but then the accident in T1 meant both Heikki and I suffered damage - him to his nosecone, me to the floor and I had to run the whole race with that damage, so to finish 14th after that is just fantastic. Apart from the start I enjoyed the whole race – I passed a number of cars and when the safety car came out I was able to close the gap to the cars ahead. That gave me the chance to fight with the Renault and I passed him and was then able to keep pace with the other guys ahead. One of the best points of the race was the first stop I made – I came in just behind one of the HRTs and the pitcrew did a brilliant job to get me out fast enough to pass him in the pitlane, so I want to thank them and the whole team for a really solid weekend. Racing like this, with no problems and with a car I can fight with all afternoon is very satisfying, so now I can't wait to get back in when we get to Italy and keep up the momentum we've built up here."
Heikki Kovalainen -15th: "That was a good race for us, obviously apart from the start! I got off the line well but it all tightened up at the first corner and I touched Jarno after someone else had hit me – I was caught in a bit of a sandwich but after I'd pitted and had a new nose it all went pretty well from there. The soft tyres weren't working quite as well as the mediums, but I was still able to push and the main thing is we had a two car finish in strong positions, so that's a good end to the weekend."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We can be very pleased with the result today. Our race performance was good and we were able to show that the setups we had worked on in the practice sessions were right for today, giving us the chance to fight and manage the tyres well all afternoon. We enjoy races like this!"
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That is a very good result for the whole team today and goes down as one of our strongest performances since we came into the sport. We had a poor start where both cars were last after making contact in the first corner but we recovered very well, and to have finished in 14th and 15th after that is very pleasing. Both drivers were excellent today, but the pitcrew deserve special praise for having taken a massive step forward in their performance. All our stops were exactly what we needed so congratulations to them for a job very well done today."
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "I want to thank the whole team for today's performance, and the jobs everyone has done all weekend. The main aim was to make sure both cars saw the chequered flag, and we wanted to be in the mix to take advantage of any opportunities that presented themselves and finish as high as we could reasonably expect. 14th and 15th means we achieved that, and everyone played their part in making sure we leave Spa on a high, so this goes down as a very good weekend."
27 th August 2011
Belgian GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Practice: It was wet throughout and Mark Webber was fastest from Hamilton. Heikki was 12 th and Jarno 18 th. Top 6: Webber, Hamilton, Alguersuari, Button, Vettel, Buemi.
Qualifying: Jarno was 19 th, knocked out in Q1 but Heikki made it through to Q2 but could only manage P17. Virgin’s D’Ambrosio and the 2 HRTs were outside the 107% rule but were later allowed to race. Di Resta was also knocked out of Q1 after a spin and early return to the pits. A ‘misunderstanding’ left Button out in the cold of Q2 and P13. Hamilton and Maldonado had a couple of bumps during Q2 which led to a 5 place penalty down to 21 st, for the Williams driver and a reprimand for Lulu. Sutil ended up 15 th after crashing at the exit of Eau Rouge. Star of the day was Bruno Senna, P7 in his first qualy in the Lada Renault, with his team mate 10 th. Top 10: Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Massa, Rosberg, Alguersuari. Senna, Alonso, Perez, Petrov.
Heikki Kovalainen: "I think we can be very pleased with the performance today. That last lap in Q1 was as much as I could get out of the car and to get back into Q2 is obviously a great result for the whole team. We had the right plan for the conditions, put it into action on track and it paid off. I don't think I could have got any more out of the package today, so finishing where we did goes down as objective achieved for today. It looks like it'll be a dry race tomorrow, and I think the key for us is to make sure both cars finish. If we can do that, be there to take advantage of anything that happens, and leave Spa having got into Q2 and had a solid race, this will go down as a good weekend for us."
Jarno Trulli: "Another good day for the team and congratulations for Heikki for getting back into Q2. For me it was looking pretty good until traffic pretty much ruined my second run, but the car felt good as the track was drying up and we were definitely on the right strategy for the conditions so it's a shame we couldn't make the most of it, but when everyone's out like that trying to get times in you're always going to have some issues with traffic, and it's unlucky it hit my last run in Q1 today."
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer: "That was an exciting qualifying session for us! Obviously it was great for Heikki to get into Q2 and it was particularly impressive as he was held up in the last corner in Q1 so had more time to come from that lap. I think Jarno would have got into Q2 as well but he was held up on his last run but despite that we can be very satisfied with the effort of the whole team and now we are looking forward to a strong race tomorrow."
Riad Asmat, group CEO: "I am delighted with today's performance from right across the whole team. We had worked this morning on turning the cars around quickly in the garage to take advantage of whatever the weather threw at us in qualifying and it paid dividends with a good use of strategy, some great driving and very solid teamwork to put Heikki into Q2. Jarno was on course to join him as well but suffered from traffic, so with the good reliability we have had all weekend, a very good performance today, now we want to put together the perfect weekend for us and have a clean, problem free Sunday."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 support leader: "From our perspective that goes down as a good day. Heikki drove very well in the conditions and to put his car into the second qualifying session was a good result for the whole team. It is a shame Jarno had traffic on his last run as he had a chance of getting into Q2 as well, but I think we achieved what we wanted to in both sessions so that is very satisfying."
26 th August 2011
Belgian GP – Friday Practice
Spa has the same weather we experienced at the Clacton Air Show! That was cut short because of the rain, but everyone ran at Spa. Schumacher was quickest in practice 1 with Rosberg second as Mercedes banked their fastest laps early before it rained. Bruno Senna has replaced Heidfeld at Lada Renault… and spun into the tyres at turn 9 with half an hour to go. Di Resta did the same in the same place shortly afterwards and there was a 10 minute red flag as the Force India had to wait for the crane which was busy with Senna’s car. Karun Chadhok ran in Heikki’s car and was 21 st with Jarno 13 th. Top 6: Schumacher, Rosberg, Button, Vettel, Hamilton, Sutil.
In practice 2 Mark Webber was fastest between showers from Alonso and Button. Jarno was 18 th and Heikki 20 th. Petrov had a steering problem and could only manage last. Top 6: Webber, Alonso, Button, Hamilton, Massa, Rosberg.
Karun Chandhok - 21st: "It's good to have been back in the car and despite the weather I enjoyed my time out there today. I had traffic on what would have been my quickest lap, but the chance to spend more time in the cockpit is always useful and as it was a bit of a stop-start session for everyone I pretty much did as much as I could today."
Heikki Kovalainen - 20th: "It's always difficult in weather like this to get anything meaningful done, but we did get out on both the mediums and the softs and have a bit of data from those runs that'll be useful for Sunday. Tomorrow should be interesting - it looks like rain but we've always done pretty well in qualifying in the changeable conditions so let's see what we can do with strategy tomorrow afternoon – whatever happens I'm sure it'll be a good session for the fans!"
Jarno Trulli - 18th: "Despite it being a typical Spa day it was still pretty positive for me. We obviously knew what the conditions would be and had a plan to work around that, so we managed to get through most of what we wanted on the tyres, engine and setup and I think we're ok for quali when it looks like it'll be similar weather. One good point is that we were trouble-free in all the runs today so I think it's important we keep that up all weekend and give ourselves a chance to be in the mix if anything happens in qualifying or the race."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "As Spa is one of the most demanding tracks of the season on the engines we always have to achieve as much as we can here on Friday, whatever happens with the weather. The drivers spend a lot of the lap at full throttle, particularly on the run down to Eau Rouge and along the back straight, so we had a runplan for today that was based around the weather conditions that we had and we were able to complete most of the goals we had set ourselves for both sessions. Obviously we could not complete as much mileage as we would have liked, but we were able to work on the wet setup we may well have to use tomorrow, and the dry setup that hopefully we will be using on Sunday so despite the rain it has been a pretty good day for us."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "An interesting day with fairly typical weather conditions for this track. This morning Karun did a solid job for us and ran some aero checks early on, but then the rain brought an end to any meaningful running in his session. This afternoon, although Heikki wasn't able to complete his run on the softs we still managed to complete a run on the mediums for him and Jarno did get through some laps on the softs so at least we have banked some time on track on both compounds. Now we will have to see what the weather decides to do in qualifying and the goal for Saturday and Sunday is the same as it has been all season – see if we can push the cars directly ahead and make sure we have a problem free race."
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "It is good to be back racing and to see that the whole team has come back from the break raring to go. There is a good spirit in the garage and everybody is determined to make sure we work as hard as we can to consolidate tenth place and take whatever opportunities present themselves, particularly on a track like Spa where the weather conditions may mean we can use strategy and a bit of luck to take the fight to the cars ahead."
22 nd August 2011
Belgian GP - Preview
Heikki Kovalainen: "After a really good break in Finland it'll be good to get back to work. I'm feeling better than ever and it's always exciting heading to Spa. Eau Rouge is, of course, the corner everyone talks about and while it is still flat-out it's actually not that hard for us now, but it's still a big thrill. Any corner you take at 300km is pretty quick so you hang on the wheel pretty hard so that you don't get any snap out of the corner, build up a good speed down then you feel all that compression as the car bottoms out through the corner and then you're up the hill. It's still very exciting! It's been said so many times before but Spa is what a racetrack should be - hardcore corners, massive speed, overtaking opportunities and passionate fans, and, being Spa, anything can happen with the weather. Actually, it's not just Spa this year - we've had rain following us all season so in Spa maybe we'll have a hot and sunny weekend for once! I doubt it... it's almost certain it will rain somewhere on the circuit at some point over the weekend and that could well be an opportunity for our team. We just have to keep pushing and make sure we're in the hunt if there's an opportunity to be grabbed, work hard all weekend and keep taking little steps forward."
Jarno Trulli: "Since Hungary I've been able to spend the last couple of weeks with my family in Miami - I've had a good rest and after we took such a step forward for me in Hungary I can't wait to get back on track. Honestly – it's hard to describe in simple terms just how much happier I was in the car from the very first laps in Budapest but it really was like night and day. For the first time all season I could work on the setup from a baseline I had confidence in, and that puts me and the team in a really good position for the rest of the season.
"It's also good that the next race is at Spa – it's pretty much the total opposite of Hungary, so it'll be another good chance to keep learning how to get the best out of the new system on a much quicker track with more high speed corners. Enough's been said over the years about what a great circuit Spa is, and for me it's the same as everyone else – it has some unique challenges and it brings out the best in the whole team – the drivers love the track, the engineers have to work hard to set the cars up right for the whole lap and the mechanics have to be on it all weekend to deal with the changing weather conditions, so while everyone talks about it being a drivers track, for me it's really a teams track."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "The whole team has had a good break and now they are all back and ready to get back to work in Belgium. We will do our best in Spa to keep taking measured steps forward and we need to make sure we have put the reliability issues that have affected some of our recent performances behind us.
"Off track, while the team took a deserved rest the last couple of weeks have been as busy as ever for me. We announced this week that we have taken a significant stake in QPR and while that is another new challenge it also opens up some very exciting opportunities for all the businesses I am involved with. One of the most interesting areas we will be looking at straight away is what we can learn in Team Lotus about the interaction between QPR and its fans – across the whole football industry there is a much more integrated day to day relationship with clubs' supporter bases than F1 and its teams have with their fans and I think that we can learn a huge amount very quickly about how we can be even more accessible to our fans than we Team Lotus has been since day one. While QPR has obviously been a focus for the last few months we are also progressing exactly as planned with the wider Team Lotus and Caterham Cars group. We have already made a number of very big announcements this year, about our racing, road car and football activities, let alone AirAsia and Tune Group, and there is more to come over the next few months that will keep us moving forward in exactly the right direction."
31 st July 2011
Hungarian GP – Race
Lotus’s race was over by lap 56 when Heikki had to stop with a water leak, which wa apparently the same problem which caused Jarno to stop on lap 18. Most spectacular retirement was Heidfeld on lap 24, whose car began failing as he left his pit box and burst into flame by the end of the pitlane, plus a small explosion on one side which slightly injured a fire marshall. Schumacher left the action on lap 27 with a spin and a gearbox problem. At the sharp end of the grid later in the race the lead changed hands between Button and Hamilton until a surprise fall of heavy rain caused Ham to spin on lap 47 and spin his car round on the the racing line, causing Di Resta to take avoiding action. This led to a penalty for Ham and Button drove on to win. Top 10: Button, Vettel, Alonso, Hamilton, Webber, Massa, Di Resta, Buemi, Rosberg, Alguersuari.
Heikki Kovalainen - DNF: "A weekend of real ups and downs for me. I struggled to find a decent balance in the practice sessions but then it all came good in quali where I put in a really good lap after finally getting comfortable with the setup. I started the race well and was keeping pace with Maldonado, Sutil, Perez and the guys around me, and right through the early stops I was able to push them, and keep pulling away from the guys behind. We came in for inters when the rain really started again about two thirds of the way through the race, then back in pretty shortly afterwards for options again, but then I was given the instruction to shut the engine off due to a water leak. Having seen how close we were in race pace to the midfield I'm not disappointed - it's just another step in the growth of the team and we'll pick up where we left off in Belgium in a few weeks time."
Jarno Trulli - DNF: "My run of bad luck in Hungary seems to have struck again! The car has been great all weekend and even though I didn't have the best start I was really enjoying myself out there. I got past Timo pretty early on and then had a good first stop but it looks like a water leak brought my race to an early end. Despite that, the steps forward we've taken here have been really positive, so after the break I'm sure we'll be back fighting again at Spa."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "That was a bit of a hard race for us. Heikki had a good start and was right in the mix but reliability issues brought both his race and Jarno's to an end. We obviously wanted to complete the full race distance so now we need to make sure that we do not see this sort of problem again."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A disappointing end to a strong race. Jarno stopped with a water leak and it looks like the same problem also ended Heikki's race later on, but we need to get the cars back and take a closer look before we can be sure what the problems were. Until they stopped both Jarno and Heikki were having strong races, particularly Heikki in the middle stint when he was keeping a lot of cars behind him. So, overall it is disappointing to end like this, but we have definitely taken a step forward here so now we can go into the well deserved mid-season break which the whole team, here at the track and back at the factory, definitely deserve, and come back refreshed and ready for an even better second half of the season when we return in Spa."
Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "What a shame our weekend ended like that. Heikki had driven a fantastic race and had been fighting right up until the end with the guys ahead – his pace was better than we have seen all season so it is obviously very disappointing that through no fault of his own he could not bring the car home. Jarno's race was also cut short which, after such a strong weekend for him, compounds the disappointment, but sometimes these things happen and we just have to make sure we learn from it, build on the positives and keep on pushing forwards."
30 th July 2011
Hungarian GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Practice: Vettel was quickest from Alonso and Button. Jarno was 19 th and Heikki 20 th.
Qualifying: Back to his best in qualy, Vettel beat the McLarens to pole. Massa outqualified Alonso for Ferrari. Heikki was 19 th, Jarno 20 th but both will move up one when 18 th placed Buemi takes his 5 place penalty. Top 10: Vettel, Hamilton, Button, Massa, Alonso, Webber, Rosberg, Sutil, Schumacher, Perez.
Heikki Kovalainen - 19th: "After a bit of a tough weekend so far I'm really pleased with how quali finished up. I've not been able to find a balance I'm happy with all weekend and we made a couple of changes for qualifying that finally took us in the right direction. On the first run I couldn't get a clean lap together, but I was quietly optimistic we could hook it all up on the second run and that's how it ended up. I had to work pretty hard to get it all right and it's very pleasing to see it come good in the last minutes of Q1. The updates we've brought here are working very well for us and it looks like we've made a gain relative to the guys ahead, and with Jarno clearly much more competitive here the mood is really good across the whole team."
Jarno Trulli - 20th: "This has been a very good day, even though in qualifying I didn't manage to get everything I could out of the car. On the first run we went with the prime and the car was oversteering a little. On the second run we went onto the super softs and found more understeer than I'd had all weekend so I wasn't really able to find the pace I'd had yesterday and this morning. Despite that I am really pleased with how this weekend's gone. The new power steering system has transformed the car for me and I'm so much happier now - it's really like night and day, and I can't wait to get back in tomorrow and see what we can do in the race. The difference between the two tyre choices means strategy will come into play in a big way, so let's see what we can do."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We can all be pleased with the performance today. From the engine side we have been working on giving the drivers the right engine maps for this track, focusing on driveability which is key to maximising on this type of twisty track and I think both drivers extracted as much as they could from the complete package today. Our race pace looks pretty good for tomorrow as well so I think we are in a good position all round."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a pretty good qualifying for the team. We only ran one set of options on both cars in Q1 to save them for the race which will put us in good a position for the race tomorrow with the degradation levels we are going to see. Both drivers did a good job today. Jarno has been much happier with the car all weekend but couldn't quite translate that into his qualifying runs. He made a couple of small mistakes on his quickest lap which cost him a bit but it is good to see how well he has responded to the updates we have brought. Heikki has been less happy with the balance this weekend but he did an excellent job to get the most out of the car, so well done to him and the whole team."
Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "Firstly I want to say how pleased we all are with jarno's performance this weekend, in and out of the car. He has responded exactly as we would have hoped to the updates introduced here and has shown exactly why he is rightly considered one of the fastest drivers out there. On the qualifying session itself, I think we have to be reasonably pleased with how that went. Heikki put in a great final lap to edge just ahead of Jarno, and to finish less than three tenths from Buemi and about five tenths from Maldonado suggests that the changes we have made here have paid dividends. Both drivers have said they probably could not have found much more from the cars, but after very solid performances in all three practice sessions, and with good pace in the long runs yesterday, I think we are in good shape for tomorrow's race."
29 th July 2011
Hungarian GP – Friday Practice
Jarno had a good day! The new power steering has helped him and in FP2 he was half a second ahead of Heikki. But going back to the start, Hamilton was quickest in first practice from Vettel and Alonso. Only drama was Webber shaving off his front wing as he went off over the kerbs and bumping the barrier at turn 9, although he was able to drive back to the pits. Jarno was 20 th and Heikki 19 th. In second practice those positions were reversed. But Hamilton was still fastest from Alonso and Button.
Jarno Trulli - 19th: "I'm very happy today. I want to thank the whole team, everyone at the factory and in the race team because they have all been patient with me and have worked hard to give me the new power steering system and a car that I can really feel. As soon as I pulled out this morning it felt so much better than before so today I've been able to start rebuilding my confidence in the car, and working on all the little changes and improvements that help me to find a set-up I can really work with. It's been a really positive day and for that my thanks go to everyone in the team."
Heikki Kovalainen - 20th: "It feels like we have taken a step forward with the updates we've brought to the back end of the car but I still need to work on finding a balance I'm happy with. We tried a few different set-up options today but I couldn't really find the best solution on either compounds, but we've completed a lot of mileage so I'm sure we'll find the right way forward tomorrow."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "A good Friday for the team. We have completed a very decent number of laps and worked through all the engine maps we will need to use here. Driveability is the key to maximising engine performance at this circuit and with the amount of data we have generated today on both cars I am sure we can find more time for qualification tomorrow for both Jarno and Heikki."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was one of the best Fridays we have had this year. We have made some modifications to the diffuser and those changes have definitely worked, and with Jarno immediately telling us the new power steering system is working exactly as we wanted it to we have been able to push closer to the cars ahead than we have for a while. On Heikki's car we need to work on finding him a balance he is happy with and we will see how we have got on with that tomorrow, but overall this has been a very positive Friday."
Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "I am very pleased with today's work across the whole team. Back at the factory we have put in a lot of hours on the updates we have brought here, both on the diffuser and the new steering system, and it is clear from both drivers' laptimes that those efforts have closed the gap to the teams ahead more than we have seen for several races. Jarno in particular has been able to push today and he reported that as his confidence increases he will be able to find more time, so I think quali tomorrow could be veryinteresting."
28 th July 2011
Hungarian GP - Preview
Jarno Trulli – car #21, chassis T128-01: “I’m obviously pleased to be back in the car and looking forward to getting on track in Hungary. The Hungarian Grand Prix is held on one of the typical modern Formula 1 circuits - it’s pretty stop / start and has a lot of low speed corners with nothing really quick. It's very bumpy and hilly, and it's always very hot, so it's a big challenge for the cars and the drivers but I do enjoy the race there as it pushes the drivers physically, and getting a good lap requires concentration and focus.“This year it's more difficult than any other season to predict how competitive we are going to be at any of the circuits we race at, mainly because there are so many new factors to take into account that comparisons with previous seasons are largely redundant. However, I think we can expect to be OK because we were competitive in Monaco, a circuit that’s pretty similar to Hungary - relatively low speed with a need for good traction to push out of the slower corners and not so much reliance on aero performance.
“After the Hungarian race I’ll go straight to my house in Miami and spend some time with my family out there. Whenever I’m in the US I make sure I get as much sunshine as possible and I like going out cycling whenever I can. There’s a few other drivers who are usually around when I’m there, like Bruno Junqueira who I met through cycling and Juan Pablo [Montoya]. He’s sometimes around to say hello to and while he’s not into cycling I’m sure I’ll see him once or twice. After that it’ll be back for the next race in Spa but before then August is the three week break for everyone in the team. They all deserve it because they’ve worked so hard all year and it's a long season so I’m sure they’ll all make the most of the time off and come back ready for the last third of the year.”
Heikki Kovalainen – car #20, chassis T128-04: “After the cold weather in Germany it’s back to the heat and dust of Hungary, scene of my first victory in F1. This year I think the Hungarian race will be similar to most other places for us but as it’s less dependent on aero efficiency I think we are in with a shout of pushing the guys ahead a bit more than somewhere like Silverstone. We need to get the tyres working properly and if we’re clever with the strategy I think Saturday afternoon could be interesting – we’ll see. Whatever happens I get a great reception when I’m in Hungary – there’s always a lot of Finnish fans there and I’ve always left Hungary with good memories so I’m looking forward to getting back there again.
“Once the race is done I’ll head home and have a couple of weeks catching up with family and friends in Finland, and keeping up my fitness levels. It might be a holiday but I never stop training so I’ll do that without the distractions of any team or sponsor commitments and that’s as important for me as it is for anyone in the team, to recharge the batteries for the next phase of the season.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “Hungary has always been one of the circuits where all the teams run maximum downforce. While it is obviously not a street circuit it requires a similar setup to Monaco and Singapore as the track’s characteristics do not place a large emphasis on aero efficiency, instead rewarding enhanced downforce throughout the restrictions of the tight and twisty track. In the past teams have tried very innovative additions to the cars in an attempt to generate as much downforce as possible, sacrificing aero performance in favour of points of downforce, but now the rules are so tight there is no room to add the odd bits and pieces that used to be seen sprouting from the cars in Hungary and Monaco.
“With that in mind we may see the differences between the front of the grid and the back decrease slightly, and that could play into our hands. We showed at Silverstone that we can put our cars into Q2 using the right strategy and that may be the same in Hungary. We are definitely influencing the plans of the teams ahead as they cannot risk being behind us in Q1 using only the prime tyres, so hopefully we can do that again in Hungary and keep fighting the midfield pack on Saturday, and pushing on in the race on Sunday when our race pace comes into its own.”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “Hungary is the last race before the whole team has a well-earned rest. Obviously I know just how hard everyone in our little team works but having helped out with pack-up in Germany on Sunday evening I had another insight into not only how physically tough it is to take down our whole trackside operation in a few hours, but also how quickly and efficiently everyone works to get it done, in some pretty grim conditions. The factory staff have also been flat out all year and their combined efforts helped us in Germany to cure the reliability issues that came back to haunt us in Silverstone. For Hungary the key is to keep up that record and focus on covering as many kilometres as possible over the three days on track, minimise mistakes, and grab whatever opportunities that come our way.
“Jarno will be back for that race and it will be his first chance to try the new power steering system we have developed and tested over the last couple of months. We are not expecting miracles from that – it is obviously a small part but, for Jarno, pretty vital as the aim is to give him the feel he needs from the car to extract every ounce of performance he can. It will be good to see him back in the pack and I am sure he will be pushing harder than ever alongside Heikki on a track that rewards the best drivers out there.”
24 th July 2011
German GP – Race
A cat and mouse race and Hamilton won it with Alonso second and Webber third. Vettel could only manage 4 th and that was right at the end when Red Bull beat Ferrari (for Massa) in the pit stops. Webber had a bad start again and that allowed Hamilton to take the lead, although the lead changed hands several times as the race played out. 4 retirements, Liuzzi, Barrichello and Button with mechanical stuff and Heidfeld crashed out after a collision with Buemi, for which he has been penalised 5 places for the next race. Heidfeld himself was guilty of a bad move on Di Resta on the first lap but was taken out before he could serve that penalty. Lotus got both cars home, Heikki in 16 th place and Chandhok in 20 th and last. Top 10: Hamilton, Alonso, Webber, Vettel, Massa, Sutil, Rosberg, Schumacher, Kobayashi, Petrov.
Heikki Kovalainen - 16th: "I think that was a pretty good race. For me everything was working well in the car but honestly it was a bit lonely out there! We're not quite with the guys ahead, and we're well clear of the teams behind, so I wanted to make sure I could push as hard as possible over the full race distance, not make any mistakes and get the car home in one piece. We are progressing in the right direction, and it will take time to be able to really fight with the guys in front, but we'll get there."
Karun Chandhok - 20th: "That's a full race distance completed and an awful lot of learning under my belt. Honestly, that probably wasn't the race I wanted -I had a couple of high speed spins and I think I need more time to get used to the tyres. When they start to go off there's very little give compared to last year's rubber, but that's all part of the learning process and I'm glad I got the car home and did the best job I could."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "From the engine perspective I think we are pretty pleased. The feedback we have had from the drivers has been good - we wanted to maximise the driveability of the engine, especially in the wet conditions, and according to the data we amassed we managed to achieve that. Karun did a good job in very tough conditions – it is not easy to jump straight into the car and be able to extract maximum performance, but he adapted well to the strategies we gave him and has definitely taken a lot on board."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "Good to get both cars home over the line. Heikki had good pace, particularly on the options and he was able to keep up with the cars ahead throughout most of the race. Karun acquitted himself pretty well, despite having a couple of moments he got on with the job and has definitely learnt a lot from his time in the car here this weekend. The whole team has worked very hard to make sure we could have a two car finish, so well done to them and now we can move straight on to Hungary where the aim will be the same – progress little by little and keep moving forward."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "The main aim today was to bring two cars home and to make sure Karun could learn as much as possible over a full race distance. It is good that he finished the full 60 laps and showed some reasonable pace and I am very pleased with Heikki's speed on the options – we obviously have a lot of work to do but this is another platform to build on, so overall I am pretty happy."
23 rd July 2011
German GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Practice: The Red Bulls were quickest. Heikki was 19 th and Karun 23 rd. No dramas apart from Karun spinning on his way back to the pits! Top 6: Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Hamilton, Button, Rosberg.
Qualifying: Webber beat Hamilton to pole, with Vettel having to settle for third. Heikki was back to 19 th and Karun was 21 st. They will move up one because Buemi has been chucked to the back due to fuel irregularities. He will join Liuzzi who was almost there anyway, but drops behind new team mate Ricciardo because of a gearbox change. Top 10: Webber, Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Massa, Rosberg, Button, Sutil, Petrov, Schumacher.
Heikki Kovalainen - 19th: "I'm relatively pleased with the performance today but I think there was still more to come from the car. On the second run I was still struggling to get the front tyres working and I maybe pushed a bit more than I should so couldn't improve on my first run. That run had gone well and I was able to get a decent time in so all in all not too bad."
Karun Chandhok - 21st: "I've got to say I'm pleased with how qualifying went today. Tony had said to me that if I could get within a second of Heikki he'd be proud, and I finished about 0.8 off him so that's a goal achieved. One of the challenges today has been finding out how much grip there is on the soft tyres on low fuel and that was always going to be a pretty steep learning curve in quali, but my times have been coming down all weekend so I'm getting there. As I've been saying, the last couple of days have been about learning the car, the tyres and how to get the best out of the DRS system, so to get as close as I reasonably could expect to my teammate is pretty good progress ."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "First I want to say that Karun has done a very good job today. That was his first qualifying session for quite a long time and he has had a lot to take on board this weekend, so to see the improvement he made from his first run to the second is impressive. From the overall engine perspective I think we can still find more time in the setup and while our performance was ok, there is the potential for more, so overall I am reasonably satisfied, but with a bit more work to do."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A reasonable qualifying session. Karun has improved steadily all weekend and if he had put his ideal lap together I am sure he would finished just behind Heikki. On his second set of tyres Heikki made a mistake but that did not affect his overall position as he had put in a good lap on his first run. With the rain that is forecast for tomorrow I think we can put in a strong performance and the aim is to pick up some positions and have both cars cross the finish line."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am pretty pleased with where we have finished today. As soon as I walked out of my hotel this morning and felt how cold it was I knew this would be a tricky day for us - our car really does not seem to like the cold so I think we have ended up about where we should be. I am also pleased with Karun's performance today, and in all the sessions so far. He has achieved exactly what we wanted him to and has maybe even ended up closer to Heikki than I thought he could after such limited time in the car, so the aim now is to repay the faith we have in him by putting in as strong a performance as he can in the race tomorrow.
On the wider team front I have also been busy helping push forwards in 2012, in what will be a critical season for us. I have had a number of good meetings today about next year and beyond and am very happy with the way we are progressing, so now I am looking forward to the race tomorrow to hopefully see both Karun and Heikki fight to the end of the race in what could be quite tricky conditions."
22 nd July 2011
German GP – Friday Practice
Alonso was quickest in first practice with the Red Bulls next. Heikki was 17 th, and Chandhok was 21 st in Jarno’s car. Top 6: Alonso, Webber, Vettel, Massa, Hamilton, Button. The second session was topped by Webber, ahead of Alonso. Ricciardo’s HRT packed up 5 laps into the session with smoke coming out, and Buemi couldn’t set a time due to a misfire in his engine. Heikki was 18 th, Chandhok 20 th.
Heikki Kovalainen - 18th: "I'm pleased with today's performance - that was one of the good Fridays. We completed more laps than anyone else out there and the car has felt good all day. I can feel that we have made a decent improvement to the back of the car which helped us find a good balance pretty early on and it was working well on both tyre compounds, so this goes down as a good days work."
Karun Chandhok - 20th: "That was good day of learning. The main area I've been looking at is the brakes – we use a different material here to my previous team so I think that's why I've maybe ended up with quite a lot of square tyres today! I had a few moments under braking, and a couple of lock-ups, but that's what today was about – getting used to the tyres and the brakes and easing myself into a place where I can start to push. Over the day I improved my time from this morning by over 1.5 seconds, so I'm pleased with that, and now I'll work with the engineers to find more time and keep pushing forwards tomorrow."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "The main challenge here is to work on the driveability of the engines. We need to find a good top speed for the long straight and couple that with strong traction out of the slow and medium speed corners, and after having completed so many laps we have a very decent amount of data to work on to give the drivers the best package we can. We also wanted to make sure Karun could run as much as possible on different fuel loads and get used to the different engine maps, so the fact he completed so much mileage means this has been a good day all round."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A pretty useful first day where we were able to complete the programmes on both cars and make sure Karun completed a decent number of laps. He was obviously on a steep learning curve so we wanted to give him a chance to work on the tyres, both over a single lap and on long runs and he acquitted himself very well in both sessions. He and Heikki were struggling to warm up the front tyres, especially on the harder compound, but we can work on that and look forward to tomorrow."
Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "I am delighted with how today has gone, both in terms of the mileage we completed and the fact that both Karun and Heikki have performed so well. Karun has done exactly what we needed him to do – learn as much as possible, avoid any mistakes and ease himself into his race weekend. There is definitely more to come from him in pace and he can be pleased with how well he has grabbed the opportunity he has here in Germany. It is also good to see that the work that has been going on at the factory to resolve the reliability issues that befell us at the last race appear to have eradicated those problems, so now we have to make sure we have another strong Saturday and look forward to seeing both cars cross the line on Sunday."
21 st July 2011
German GP – Preview - Chandhok replaces Jarno for this race only
Tony Fernandes - Team Principal: “I am looking forward to my first visit to the German Grand Prix, even more so now we have announced that Karun will be competing in his first full race weekend for Team Lotus. Ever since I first met Karun I have been impressed with his whole demeanour - he is talented, passionate, committed and he brings great energy to the whole team so I am delighted that we are giving him the chance to add even more value to us in the cockpit over a whole race weekend. One of the key goals of Team Lotus is to provide a stepladder to the top of world motorsport for talent from all over the world and we have been true to that philosophy since the first days of the team. For Formula 1 to continue to develop globally we need to keep creating new opportunities for talent from around the world to reach the top and Team Lotus will continue to do its best to support that. As a young Asian driver Karun faces even more obstacles to achieving his goals than his counterparts from the established motorsport homelands in the West, both from inside and outside F1, and I am very proud to be able to give him this chance on merit.I also want to take this chance to thank Jarno for helping make Karun’s opportunity this weekend possible. He has been extremely accommodating in stepping to the side for this race and our commitment to him is unwavering. I am delighted to confirm that we are in the process of negotiating an extension to his contract with us and we are all looking forward to unveiling the details of that very soon. He is a key member of our team and I hope that we can give him a car as soon as possible that allows him to utilise his considerable talent to the full. For this weekend he will be on hand to lend his huge experience and support to Karun and I am sure Jarno, Heikki and Karun will do me, the whole team and all our fans very proud indeed.”
Karun Chandhok – car 21, chassis T128-04: “Firstly I want to thank Tony Fernandes, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin for giving me the chance to race this weekend for Team Lotus. Ever since I first joined the team I have been looking forward to this opportunity and I am determined to do my best to repay their faith in me and help the team progress, this season and for many years to come. I am approaching the weekend in a very realistic frame of mind. I will be doing my best to push and to make sure I learn as much as possible all weekend, take each session as it comes and work as closely as I can with the engineers and the whole team to do the best job I can. Whatever happens, I am very excited about lining up on the grid on Sunday and I know there will be millions of Indian fans, and Team Lotus fans around the world, who will be behind me and the whole team, so I will do the best I can to give them something to cheer for.”
Jarno Trulli: “I’m looking forward to working with Karun this weekend and doing whatever I can to help him get the most out of his opportunity in Germany. It’s great that the team is true to its word of helping develop young talent, particularly from parts of the word where it is even harder to break through into the top rung of motorsport, so I’ll be there to give him guidance and assistance, in and out of the car.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “I am delighted that we are able to give Karun a full weekend in the car. He has been a very good addition to our driver line-up and now we are giving him a chance to take the next step in fulfilling his potential. Jarno will be stepping aside for him for this race and we will use Karun’s feedback over the weekend as a comparison against Jarno’s and Heikki’s experiences this season with a number of aspects of the car, including the power steering system, to help us keep moving forward in 2011 and beyond. I am sure Karun will equip himself very well in this and in his performances in and out of the car all weekend. The whole team is looking forward to helping him get the most out of his time in the cockpit in Germany and it will be good to see him grab this chance and make the most of it."
Looking at the track, the Nurburgring is one of the typical modern F1 circuits, among the first of the modern era to introduce big run-off areas and, much like Spa, a track that is subject to huge variations in the weather conditions. It can be blisteringly hot, especially in July, but you can also have local showers building up with almost no notice so the weather always plays a big part over the whole weekend. When the track was constructed they attempted to make it a small version of the legendary Nordschleife, and while it has elevation changes and a couple of quick corners it obviously can’t replicate the fearsome challenge of the old track next door.
Having said that I think it will be a good race. Overtaking has not been too easy there over the years but we have already seen this season that DRS and the behaviour of the tyres has meant overtaking is now possible at a number of tracks where traditionally passing was only really possible in the pits. Pirelli are bringing a medium and a soft tyre as the choices in Germany, so the performance differential between the two compounds won’t be as pronounced as it was at Silverstone, but I think we will still have an interesting race right across the grid as degradation levels will need to be managed as the grip levels improve throughout the weekend.”
Heikki Kovalainen – car 20, chassis T128-01: “Before the race weekend starts we’re doing some filming with Renault Sport F1 around the original Nordschleife. I’ve driven there a couple of times and it really is one of the best driving experiences in the world. It obviously has a huge amount of history and is rightly considered one of the greatest single laps in motor racing. Driving a modern F1 car around there would obviously be incredible but I don’t think it’s particularly likely… it doesn’t have the run-off areas that we need from a safety perspective and the track surface is pretty bumpy, so even though we’re not in something as quick as my current car I’m really looking forward to the afternoon we have working there.
From the old to the new. This is our first visit to the Nurburgring as Team Lotus as we were are Hockenheim last year, so I’m looking forward to taking the green and yellow to the new Nurburgring which, while it’s not the same as where we will have been filming, it still has a good mix of elevation changes and high and low speed sections. Finding the right downforce level takes a bit of work as you don’t want to compromise your speed on the straights, particularly from T11 to T13, but you also need to have as much grip as possible through the tight sections, especially into T1 and the chicane at T13 at the end of the lap where there you have the best chances of overtaking other cars. The weather is also usually a pretty big factor at the Nurburgring. It’s almost exactly like Spa in the way it can be hot and sunny one minute and then heavy rain the next, and I personally love racing in those sorts of changeable conditions. Going from a dry track to a wet one on the same lap is the what racing drivers should have to deal with as much as possible, so, while it’s not great for the spectators sitting in the stands, I hope we have exactly that sort of mixed up weather!”
10 th July 2011
British GP – Race
The very quiet Ferrari team won the race in the shape of Alonso. Vettel and Webber completed the podium, after a late race tussle left Red Bull having to tell Webber to back off, which he mostly ignored! Hamilton had moved up the order until told to save fuel which didn’t stop him having a go at passing Massa late on, leading to a collision but both finished the race. Button’s race ended in a mix up at the pitstop when his right front tyre wasn’t attached before he was allowed to go. Schumacher slid into Kobayashi after misjudging his speed into a corner which attracted a stop-go penalty. Kobayashi got one himself after an unsafe release from his pitbox which saw him take out a Force India airgun to avoid a collision with another car. Di Resta clashed with Buemi losing his front wing and causing the Toro Rosso to retire. The only other retirees were our Lotus boys, Heikki was first with a lack of 4 th gear, and Jarno had to stop out on track with an oil leak. Top 10: Alonso, Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Massa, Rosberg, Perez, Heidfeld, Schumacher, Alguersuari.
Jarno Trulli - DNF: "I had a decent start and was getting set to pass Timo but then had the call to stop the car to prevent any damage to the engine because of an oil leak. It's obviously not how we wanted the race to go but our reliability record has improved dramatically this season and this is just one of those blips. I'm sure we'll bounce back at the Nurburgring where we may well have similar weather conditions, so we'll move on and make sure we learn the lessons from this weekend."
Heikki Kovalainen - DNF: "What a shame! I had a really good start but then lost fourth gear and had to retire the car. The conditions out there were exactly what they should be for real drivers - a mix of two types of circuit, one wet, one dry, exactly what I love racing in and the type of race we could have taken advantage of. But these things happen so we'll move on to Germany and keep on pushing."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "After the excellent result we had in qualifying yesterday we were unfortunately unable translate that into a result today because of the mechanical issues we had on both cars. We were not lucky today and that meant it was a short race for us on both sides of the garage. However, I am sure we will find a solution for the problems and make sure we get both cars across the finish line at the next race."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That is obviously a disappointing end to what had been a very encouraging weekend for the team. It looks like Heikki suffered an electrical problem on his gearbox which caused him to lose fourth gear so we had to pull him in and retire him. It was definitely not a problem with the gearbox itself so we need to take a close look at what went wrong on our side and make sure it does not happen again. On Jarno's car we instructed him to stop as he had an oil leak and lost pressure so we had to end his race early to ensure we did not damage the engine. Sometimes races end like this but we have been working very hard to minimise these sorts of problems, so we will regroup and come back stronger in Germany at the next race."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "That is such a shame. This weekend held huge promise for us after we had performed well on Friday, and especially well on Saturday, and in conditions like these we know both our drivers have the talent and experience to take whatever opportunities present themselves. We have worked very hard on improving the reliability of the cars throughout the season but you can never account for everything that might happen and unfortunately this just turned out to be one of those races that we have to move on from. Despite that, the whole weekend has been very encouraging, particularly for me seeing the huge support we have in the stands where there is a growing legion of fans wearing green and yellow, so now we will do our best to give them something to cheer for in Germany and Hungary before we head into the summer break."
9 th July 2011
British GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Drama as we know and love it in F1. A big row over the exhaust rules. The cynical might think that it is a ploy to even up the playing field as Red Bull can’t seem to get anything wrong. Red Bull v McLaren, Renault v Mercedes, Ferrari mysteriously very quiet. Meanwhile Vettel was fastest in final practice, from Alonso. Again changeable conditions but the only incident was a spin by Liuzzi. Jarno was 20 th, Heikki 19 th. Top 6: Vettel, Alonso, Webber, Massa, Maldonado, Button.
Vettel was pipped at the post by his team mate in qualifying though, with the Ferraris next. Heikki got through to Q2, ending up 17 th but Jarno caught the rain shower before his flying lap, finishing 21 st. Top 10: Webber, Vettel, Alonso, Massa, Button, Di Resta, Maldonado, Kobayashi, Rosberg, Hamilton.
Heikki Kovalainen - 17th: "I'm very pleased with that. Before qualifying we knew it would be important to get as much as we could out of the dry tyres because the showers were expected - small showers, but we just didn't know when they were going to happen so we had to give it everything on the slicks. At the start of Q1 I managed to get a pretty decent lap in and got everything out of the car almost immediately. Then when I went out for the second run the rain started but having got it right when it was dry we were already where we needed to be so the whole team can be pleased about where we ended up. Hopefully I can put in a good race from 17th. I know the whole team is working very well together and even though the outright performance isn't quite there yet, we are still getting everything out of the car and attacking the teams ahead - that's what we're here to do in our second season, so days like today are very encouraging for me and everyone in Team Lotus."
Jarno Trulli - 21st: "The rain played its part in Q1 and the session unfortunately was cut short after I'd only had one run. It wasn't quite good enough, which is a shame, but we have one car in Q2 which shows we have the pace to take the fight to the cars ahead, so hopefully I can have a strong race tomorrow, as long as I can avoid any bad luck with the conditions!"
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "This morning in P3 we took a step forward compared to yesterday because we had much improved weather conditions and that definitely helped us in qualifying. We were able to finalise our engine mapping comparisons and focus on the effect of the new regulations which allowed us to make the right decisions for qualifying. That was obviously the right strategy because when you look at Heikki's lap time in Q1 it was very good and that enabled him to get into Q2. Jarno was not so lucky because of the weather - it's always difficult when the conditions change that quickly, but for the whole team this has been a good day."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "I am delighted with our performance today, and especially pleased for Heikki. In conditions like that it is a good result for the whole team to get the strategy calls right and Heikki did exactly what he needed to do to get into Q2, and he gave it his best shot in that session as well so full credit to him. On Jarno's side he has been struggling all day with the balance so I am obviously disappointed for him, but tomorrow in the race I am sure it will be different and he will be able to attack the group in front. Overall this has been a good couple of days for us. The team has reacted well to all the changes we have had had to make with the amendments to the regulations and now we need to round off this weekend with a strong two-car finish and take the fight to the teams immediately in front of us."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am very happy with today's performance. To run like this at Silverstone, where the Team Lotus dream began when I met Mike here, and put a car into Q2 in only our second year is a big achievement. Heikki gave it 100% and Q2 is a deserved reward for his efforts today. I am a bit disappointed for Jarno - we'll have to find out what happened to him because there was quite a big gap between him and Heikki, but now I am looking forward to the race tomorrow. Our race pace has been good all season, so the aim is to maintain our much improved reliability record and see what happens in the race itself."
8 th July 2011
British GP – Friday Practice
Webber was quickest in first practice from Schumacher and Barrichello. That brought back memories! Jarno was 19 th and Chandhok, in for Kovalainen, was 20 th. It rained half way through and Kobayashi spun on the wet kerbs at turn 18. Top 6: Webber, Schumacher, Barrichello, Perez, Massa, Rosberg.
Massa was quickest in session 2, from Rosberg and Kobayashi. It was wet to start with and the track only began to dry after 51 minutes. The changing conditions allowed Heikki to finish 13 th but Jarno was 21 st. Top 6: Massa, Rosberg, Kobayashi, Hamilton, Button, Sutil.
Jarno Trulli - 21st: "This morning it was a very good session with the stable conditions we had. This afternoon the weather obviously made our life a little bit tougher and in the end I don't think we ran enough with the intermediate tyre, which was looking pretty good at in the last minutes. But, I think we still completed most of the programme today, so from the data side it was pretty satisfactory."
Heikki Kovalainen - 13th: "That was okay. The conditions were obviously tricky, starting with heavy showers and then drying out towards the end, but everything on the car was fine and the balance of the car felt good on both the wets and the inters. I'm not sure how much we've learnt, it's always difficult with this sort of weather, but it's the same for everyone so hopefully we'll have more time on track tomorrow and we'll see where we are in qualifying."
Karun Chandhok: "That was good a session. Obviously the conditions weren't ideal but it's useful mileage for me to get a feel for the car and the intermediate tyres - I'd never driven on Pirelli's intermediate before and it's a bit different to last year but I enjoyed myself out there and am pleased I've been able to add my contribution here at Silverstone, so close to my home in the UK."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We were not able to run so much today due to the weather, but in spite of this we were able to learn quite a bit about the engine behaviour in these conditions, especially on driveability and the cooling configurations of the car which is quite tight in the wet. The main challenge will be to work out the optimum fuel consumption for tomorrow because if it the weather dries up we have not run in dry conditions yet. It will be good for us to have an idea of that, so I hope it will be better in P3 tomorrow to make that a bit easier for us."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "Overall, a pretty reasonable day. I think the cars look more competitive than in Valencia and even though the day was made difficult by the changing weather conditions we were still able to try out two different aero configurations this morning, and work through a number of runs on the wet and intermediate compounds, so we will look through the data we have generated tonight and see what we can apply for tomorrow's sessions."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "It is very good to be back at Silverstone where it all started for this team two years ago when Mike managed to get me into the paddock and we started talking about Team Lotus. The changes to the track here are fantastic, for me this is now the best paddock in the whole calendar so I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to the BRDC for having done such a great job on this historic circuit. On track, it was a reasonable day for us - I am not too sure how much we can take from the limited running we had but I am happy with the job that both the race drivers did today, and am pleased that Karun was finally able to complete a decent number of laps in FP1. He is a great asset to our team and we are very pleased to have him on board. I am also delighted to see the continuing development of Caterham Team AirAsia, our GP2 team who are setting very high standards in their first year. They have come together into a race-winning outfit extremely quickly and it is very exciting to see their continued progress from within the heart of the team."
5 th July 2011
British GP - Preview
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "The British Grand Prix is one of the classic races and one where I have always had a lot of support. Throughout my career the British fans have been very kind to me (this means you guys! - ed) and since joining Team Lotus the support in the UK has been ever better, so it’s great to be heading back there in the green and yellow for the second year. There are a few obvious changes this time around – we have the Pirelli tyres which have made our strategic decisions critical all season, and with the probable performance differential between the soft and the hard tyres I think qualifying could be pretty tight. Managing the degradation of both compounds will be important all weekend, and if there is a big gap in laptimes between them that could play into our hands – we’ll see. The effect of DRS will also create more overtaking on Sunday than we’ve had for a long time, so hopefully we can take advantage of that and keep taking the battle to the cars ahead.”Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “Silverstone is our second home race and it’s one of the great drivers’ tracks so it’s always a race I look forward to. There’s obviously a huge amount of history around the whole place and the whole team is looking forward to getting back to another track where there will be big support for us in the stands over the whole weekend. The track itself is a good challenge from inside the cockpit. The first sector is very quick – Copse is taken at over 280kmh and then as you come into Maggots and Becketts where it’s all about staying committed and keeping the car balanced through the whole section, right until the flat-out run up to Stowe. Overtaking was always pretty tricky at Silverstone but the way the tyres are behaving this year and with DRS I think we’ll see a busy race, particularly with the compounds Pirelli are bringing. Whatever happens it’ll be a great weekend!”
Mike Gascoyne: “I think all the signs are that Silverstone will be a good race for us. It’s one of our two home Grand Prix so it is a chance to race in front of our families and friends and after we slipped a little in Valencia it gives us the opportunity to get back to the level of performance that we know we can extract from this year’s car. I do not think the rule changes we will see at Silverstone will have a great effect on the grid order but we have been making preparations for this weekend both in the wind tunnel and in some of the work we have been doing at the straightline test we are running in the UK on Monday and Tuesday this week, so we know what to expect.”
Tony Fernandes: “Back to the UK and our other home race. This is a big race for us, both in terms of track performance where we want to keep bringing down the gap to the midfield, and because we will see the GE and Caterham logos on the cars and across the whole team for the first time. Being able to race with two such important additions to the team is a very big step forward for us – our partnership with GE is a clear sign that one of the most important members of the global business community shares our vision for the future of our team, and the plans for Caterham will start being revealed very soon. The long-term strategy for the Caterham Group is taking shape and we are all very excited about the direction we are taking, as I am sure our fans and our partners will be too.”
26 th June 2011
European GP – Race
Heikki Kovalainen - 19th: "For me that was a very good race. I'm happy that we seem to have regained the early season form after Monaco and Canada where I wasn't really feeling toocomfortable in the car. Today the conditions were pretty hot out there but I felt good all afternoon - I've prepared myself physically for this sort of heat so it wasn't hard at all to push right to the end. I didn't have any issues and after we went to the three stop strategy I was able to keep up a good pace after each stop. We know where we have to improve the car to keep taking the fight to the teams ahead, and that will come in time, but this is a long-term plan and we are definitely on the right course. "
Jarno Trulli - 20th: "That was a good race for me. We tried a couple of different strategies to cover all our options and even though my second set was gone by the end I definitely enjoyed myself out there. This was always going to be a track where we knew we would have to keep pushing to get anything out of it, but it's satisfying for the team to get both cars to the end and be well clear of the cars behind us."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "Engine-wise that was a good race. Valencia is a track that is hard on both engine temperatures and fuel consumption and we managed both elements well on both cars. The maps we used gave the drivers the right options today which helped when we split the strategies as we did not suffer any drop in performance as a result of the switch."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A very solid race from both drivers. We had considered two stops on both cars but when we saw higher degradation levels on Heikki's car we put him onto three and kept Jarno on two to give both of them a chance to fight. Jarno nearly passed Heikki in the final stops but Heikki's fresh rubber gave him the chance to edge ahead and the key goal today was to make sure they both finished, so I am pleased we achieved that. This has not been our most competitive type of track but despite that we finished well and that sets us up nicely for Silverstone."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "A pretty good day for us. I am happy both cars finished but as we are steadily increasing our competitiveness it would have been good to have finished a bit higher. It is obviously a big challenge for us to find the 0.5 seconds that will propel us towards the midfield teams, but we have the right elements in place to help us do that. We will find more downforce and we will continue to grow, both in experience and in pace, and that is why I see days like today as another step in the right direction."
25 th June 2011
European GP – Saturday Practice and Qualifying
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “For me that was a pretty good performance. I found some more time on my second run and I definitely got as much as I could out of myself and the car, so even though the gap to the cars ahead isn't what we want it to be it's still satisfying to have delivered on that goal. We knew from the practice sessions that the time difference would be about what it turned out to be and despite the hard work put in right across the whole team we weren't able to close it up any more.”Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: “Traffic played a major role in my qualifying today. Everywhere I went it seemed as if there was someone right on the racing line, so to be honest I'm a bit disappointed. The car felt good and without the traffic I'm sure there was more pace in it, but even though we were all told not to back off in sector three there were other cars doing that and unfortunately that had a big influence on the times. However, now it's all about the race tomorrow and I think we can continue to show that the speed of the car in race trim is good. I want to make sure I have another good start and let's see what happens from there.”
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: “During FP3 we completed a good programme with Heikki. We had a small electrical issue with Jarno but that was quickly fixed and from our perspective that was a good session. One of the goals was to give the drivers the right engine maps to maximise performance in the slow speed corners and with the mileage we completed we were able to achieve that. In qualifying the result was not quite what we had hoped for but we definitely know where we have to improve the car and I am confident we are going in the right direction."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “A reasonably good qualifying session for us. We are a little further down than we expected to be here, but we are well clear of the cars behind. Tomorrow will be a long hard race and the goal for us is to have a reliable two car finish and see what we can pick up.”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I watched that session from Paris where I have had a very good week working on deals for AirAsia and Team Lotus. Ten years ago we started an airline with just $250,000 and two planes. Two days ago we completed a the largest ever contract with Airbus worth $18 billion and won the title of World's Best Low-Cost Airline for the third consecutive year. After such a momentous week I then had the pleasure of watching Heikki put in yet another very strong drive, and had Jarno not spun on his final lap he would have been right up there with his teammate. With performances like that, and the hard work the whole team puts in every single day, I can't help but feel that AirAsia's history will eventually repeat itself with Team Lotus. I do love our little team."
22 nd June 2011
Trulli Frustrated by Steering Issues
20 th June 2011
European GP (Valencia) – Preview
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: “I left a very wet Canada and headed to my home in Miami for a few days of sun before returning to Europe for the next race. Despite the finishing position in Canada I was really pleased with my performance there across the whole weekend. It was a tough race for sure and I’ve already said that I think the FIA played it just right. At times it was obvious that the cars were undriveable in the conditions so when they stopped the race, and brought out the safety cars, it was exactly the right times to do so. I finished the race with the inerter dangling around between my legs – the guys on the pitwall were urging me to bring it home and while it would have been easier to park it, it’s times like that when you have to do whatever you can to help the team. Having a large lump of metal hanging about was definitely holding me back and I wasn’t able to push as hard as I’d have liked, but it was still pretty satisfying to catch the guys ahead and finish just behind them as we crossed the line.Now it’s Valencia. It’s another temporary circuit and a good challenge for the drivers whilst also being very safe. In contrast to Canada the track surface in Valencia has strong evolution over the weekend - It starts out dusty on Friday but by Sunday there is a lot of grip and the lap times come down all weekend. It’s a track where you need to find a rhythm. Sections of it flow but then you have other areas that are very much stop and go – long straights with hard braking at the end into tight corners. First gear is used a lot more here than most tracks and often at the end of a flat out straight so the brake wear is high. I’m looking forward to it – the Spanish fans are some of the most passionate in the world and they’ve taken Team Lotus to their hearts so I think it will be a good weekend for us all round.”
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “Straight after Canada I headed down to New York with Tony, Mike, Ansar Ali from Caterham Cars and some of the team to take part in the GE announcement. We had a very good couple of days in NYC and at GE’s HQ and I’m really pleased for the whole team that we’ve been able to bring GE on board. Signing them up is massive news for us and is exactly the sort of partner Tony and Mike told me they were targeting when I first joined the team in 2010.
After New York I went home for a few days before the trip to Valencia. I’m looking forward to the European GP as I think the heat and the demands of the circuit should suit our car well. It’s not exactly a street circuit, it’s a semi-street circuit with a very smooth track surface with almost no bumps and low kerbs. It has long straights and a number of tight corners that means finding the right downforce level is critical to maximising performance. Pirelli is bringing the softs (option) and the mediums (prime) which we haven’t raced yet this season so I think we will have some work to do on Friday to look at how to get the most out of them. We’ve been easy on the tyres all season so hopefully that will be the case again in Valencia, giving us strategic options that we’ve used well all season – Q2 is still the goal for qualifying and then let’s see what happens on Sunday.”
Mike Gascoyne: “We learnt a number of important lessons in Canada and that weekend is now behind us and we are straight on to Valencia. Before leaving North America I was lucky enough to go GE’s General Research Centre to be shown around, just after Tony had announced our partnership with them. From an engineering perspective the whole operation is breathtaking. Now it is back to Spain and the European Grand Prix. In terms of downforce levels Valencia is unlike most of the other tracks in the calendar – we run more wing than in Canada for example, but less than a number of the other tracks like Barcelona or Turkey. The prime tyre here is the medium which we are racing for the first time this season. We ran it in on Friday in Canada and it behaved pretty well but as degradation can be reasonably high on Fridays in Valencia, due to the amount of dust and sand on track, we will be looking closely at how it performs and how we can take advantage of the time difference between the primes and the options on Saturday and Sunday.”
Tony Fernandes: “The Canada weekend was definitely one of highs and lows. Our performance in qualifying was especially pleasing and the aim is to build on that again in Valencia and throughout the season, but the race was obviously a missed opportunity. It is important that we learn from that experience, cut out the same mistakes again and make sure we are in the right place to take advantage of such extraordinary circumstances in the future. It is all part of the learning curve and you have to have the lows to truly appreciate the highs.
With that in mind it felt like perfect timing to go straight to the US and unveil our partnership with GE. Just before I went on CNN to make the announcement I was shown a picture of all of our staff back in Hingham crowded around a TV waiting to see me make the announcement and that was a special feeling. GE is obviously good news but seeing how much it meant to the people back at the factory drove home just how important that announcement is for each and every one of us in Team Lotus. We have definitely taken a huge step forward with the GE partnership and, on a personal level, I am delighted that a company that has supported AirAsia since day one has seen the same potential in this team. We are still very much in our infancy so to attract a brand of the calibre of GE at this early stage in our development sends out a very strong message to our fans, existing and future partners and the other teams in the pitlane that we are going to be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come.
Now our attention turns to Valencia. This is our sixth trip to Spain this year and a venue I particularly enjoyed in 2010. Valencia is similar to Montreal and Monaco in the way Formula 1 is embraced across the whole city and that level of support creates a fabulous atmosphere, on and off track. On track the goals are clear – repeat the qualifying performance from Canada and keep up our much improved reliability record to bring both cars home on Sunday. It would also be good if the other drivers on the grid could avoid using either of our cars as launch ramps this year…..”
12 th June 2011
Canadian GP – Race
That took long enough thanks to the awful weather! And yet another mixed up (apart from the usual suspects) race that Lotus weren’t able to exploit. Heikki had a driveshaft problem, retiring immediately after the safety car that went in around lap 28. Jarno finished a disappointing 17 th after struggling with the brakes and bits falling off the car into the cockpit all afternoon. At one time his result looked more promising than that. There were 5 safety cars and one red flag. The first SC started the race, so they began by swerving puddles for 5 laps. Lewis Ham became Lewis the Mad again as first he made contact with Webber, pushing the Red Bull into a spin, and losing a few places, then he managed to put himself out of the race by colliding with the wall after contact with Button, his own team mate. Probably for the safety of his colleagues that was just as well. So, there was another SC period. Button got a drive through penalty for ‘speeding’ during that one. As it rained hard again, there was SC3 and soon after it rained so hard the race was red-flagged. For 2 hours. Starting again with the obligatory safety car! All this time Vettel had led the race through the various tyre changes. The next SC came after Button and Alonso collided, as the McLaren got squeezed but came off best as Alonso couldn’t continue. Button did have to pit with a puncture though and came out in last place. The final SC came with 13 laps to go when Heidfeld and Kobayashi clashed and the Renault retired. Massa scraped his front wing on an HRT he was trying to pass and had to pit for repairs. The last 9 laps were eventful as Vettel led and the others tried to catch him. Schumacher threatened the first podium of his comeback but it was not to be, he was 4 th in the end, having run 2 nd before overtaken by Button and Webber. On the last lap. Vettel made an error and ran wide, allowing Button to take the lead and win the race. How did that happen when half way through Button was last, having done 6 pitstops and served a penalty? The benefits of a competitive car! Top 10: Button, Vettel, Webber, Schumacher, Petrov, Massa, Kobayashi, Alguersuari, Barrichello, Buemi. Other retirees were Sutil and Maldonado.
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: “That was a very eventful race. It started well but I struggled all afternoon with the brakes and even though I was able to get them up to temperature I think they glazed after the first safety car and I couldn’t recover them. After the race restarted I had the same issue with the brakes but as the track dried they started coming back and I was able to start pulling away from our direct competitors. Unfortunately after the stop to dry tyres I had something moving around in the cockpit so I came back in again for the team to investigate it. They couldn’t fix it so I went back out and did as well as I could to bring the car home to the end.”Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “Unfortunately my race came to an end with a driveshaft failure. When we restarted I lost drive pretty much immediately and had to retire which is obviously a disappointing end to the weekend. It’s just one of those things, nothing I could do about it so hopefully we’ll have better luck in Valencia and keep pushing on.”
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: “It was a pretty difficult day out there. We were maybe not as lucky as we could have been with the strategy and you always need a little luck in these conditions. From our perspective a wet race like this makes it very tricky to get the most out of the engine mapping. The conditions mean we need very good driveability, especially out of the corners because the driver needs a very smooth engine response and I think we have some work to do in that area.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “After a very strong weekend that was not the sort of race we wanted to have. We lost a number of places after a problem in the first stops and then unfortunately Heikki had a driveshaft failure after the race restarted. Jarno has been strong all weekend and put in a fine drive this afternoon. He was able to pick up all the places he lost after the first pitstop and would have had a strong finish, but when he came in for the second time the front inerter failed and dropped down around his feet in the cockpit . We considered retiring the car but Jarno did an awesome job to not only bring the car to the end but also to catch the cars in front of him. He nearly passed them in the last couple of laps, despite the very large handicap he had, so sincere thanks to him for keeping his foot down in what was a very difficult situation. Despite all that, we did have a strong weekend in terms of the car’s performance so while that was not the best race we will ever have, I think we can see it as another stepping stone in the development of the team.”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “Honestly, that was a bit of a disappointing day for us. We had a mix up at the first pit stops and we struggled to improve from there in a race that could have provided some exciting opportunities for us. It is important that we see this as another part of our development and learn from the experience this weekend. However, there are a number of positives to take away from here – our performance in qualifying was excellent and Jarno put in an excellent drive this afternoon, and all weekend, so now we move on to Valencia where I am sure we will put this race behind us and keep moving forward.”
11 th June 2011
Canadian GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Vettel was quickest in final practice but Webber didn’t get out at all as the team struggled with a KERS problem on his car. Heikki was 18 th, Jarno 19 th. Top 6: Vettel, Alonso, Rosberg, Massa, Button, Hamilton.
Vettel took pole again in Qualifying but this time pushed by both Ferraris. Jarno (19 th) outqualified Heikki (20 th) for the first time this season. Yay!! D’Ambrosio was outside the 107% time but will still race. Top 10: Vettel, Alonso, Massa, Webber, Hamilton, Rosberg, Button, Schumacher, Heidfeld, Petrov.
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: “I'm pleased with the performance today. It was very windy out there, and a lot cooler than yesterday which maybe affected our ability to get the most out of the tyres, but I think I got as much out of the car as I could on the final lap in qualifying. The gap to the guys ahead keeps coming down and I think with the rain tomorrow it's going to be an eventful race, and hopefully we'll be in a position to take advantage of whatever happens.”Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “A pretty good session for me today. The car felt fine and the strategy worked out as we wanted it to so I think we did what we set out to. Little by little we keep on improving and I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow - it's going to be eventful and I think what we've shown all season is that we can fight with the guys ahead, so let's see what happens.”
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: “We can be pleased with the performance today but it was more difficult than yesterday to extract the maximum pace from the car. I think we have some more work to do to get the most out of it but as there is only a small gap to the teams ahead and we have had good speed in the races all season I think that is encouraging for tomorrow.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “That was a good qualifying session for us and overall it has been a very solid weekend so far for the whole team. Both drivers drove well in qualifying - Jarno struggled a bit with the brakes and Heikki couldn't improve on his second set of tyres as he reported that they had lower grip levels than the first, but we finished the session with a small gap to the cars ahead and I think we will have a good race tomorrow.”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am very happy with today. From my perspective that was the best qualifying of my short career in Formula 1 because we showed that we did not have to rely on other teams making mistakes or using different tyre strategies to finish the session with avery small gap to making it into Q2 on merit. That is a clear sign that the hard work being put in across the team is paying dividends as we are genuinely edging ever closer to the midfield."
10 th June 2011
Canadian GP – Friday Practice
Rosberg was quickest in first practice with his team mate third, so good pace for Mercedes early doors. Alonso was the meat in the Merc sandwich. Vettel crashed into Champions’ Wall with 33 minutes to go. Jarno was 18 th, Heikki 19 th. Top 6: Rosberg, Alonso, Schumacher, Massa, Button, Hamilton.
Alonso was fastest in practice 2. Vettel came back out in his repaired car to be second, in a Ferrari sandwich. Jarno was 16 th, Heikki 17 th. De la Rosa (loaned by McLaren – haven’t Sauber got a reserve driver?) took over from Perez, who although passed fit to drive by the FIA doc on Thursday, felt sick after FP1. Today’s crash list: Kobayashi and D’Ambrosio in the same place at the first chicane, and Sutil at turn 7. Top 6: Alonso, Vettel, Massa, Hamilton, Button, Di Resta.
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: “That was a good Friday for us. We ran well all day with no problems, got through the tyre evaluation programme and put good mileage on both the compounds. The grip level this morning was as dusty as we expected it to be and then it improved throughout the day, but with wet weather coming I think it will be harder work for everyone over the rest of the weekend.”Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “Overall I'm pretty satisified but it was a bit of a strange day. In the early runs this morning it felt like one of the hardest Fridays I've had this year in terms of the balance and overall performance of the car, but as we kept putting more laps in we made some good improvements with the brakes and the setup and I think we pretty much got what we wanted out of it by the end of P2.”
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: “Another good Friday for us. We generated a lot of data from the mileage we ran, particularly on maximising performance on the very long straight here, and both drivers have given us good feedback about the maps we worked on so we have definitely achieved what we set out to today."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “A very useful day for the team and good preparation for the weekend ahead. Both drivers completed their full programmes and we ran all day with no mechanical issues on either car. This morning we ran on the development tyres and both the primes and the options in the afternoon and were pleased with how well all the compounds behaved. We have definitely made some progress on the setup, particularly on Heikki's car, so that goes down as a good day.”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Today's performance in both sessions is a good way to mark my first visit to Canada. We have obviously made good strides on the reliability of the cars and that sets us up well for the whole weekend which is key to our development on track, so I am very pleased with how today has gone. Off track we have also had a very good lead up to the Canadian race by completing a number of very exciting deals for both Team Lotus and AirAsia. We will unveil everything we have been working on in due course and when we do I am confident that it will serve as proof positive of how successfully we are growing both the F1 team and the airline."
5 th June 2011
Canadian GP – Preview
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: “Monaco was really busy but the final result was great for the whole team. I enjoyed myself on track and I think the performances we’ve put in there and in Spain show that we are progressing in exactly the right direction. Since then I’ve taken some time off before heading to Canada which has always been a bit of a strange one for me. I love Canada and especially Montreal - the track itself is great, a real challenge, the people are very welcoming and the city is that cool mix of Europe and North America, but the race itself has always been a tough one for me! I don’t know if it’s a luck thing but while I’ve had strong races there in the past I’ve always suffered with luck. Last year was a DNF so I really want that to change this year As it’s a temporary circuit the first challenge is dealing with the track surface. It improves throughout the weekend but with the constant threat of the walls it’s critical not to make any mistakes and experience usually counts around there. It’s a very quick lap and one of the toughest tracks of the season on the brakes, so cooling and stability under braking both play a big role, particularly in the race. It’ll be interesting to see how the tyre strategies play out over the weekend and I think it’ll be another great race, hopefully for us as well!”Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “Canada is one of the highlights of the whole season and I know everyone in the team is looking forward to getting out there. It’s obviously not the same intensity as Monaco when you’re away from the track, but the whole city buzzes when we’re in town and they get behind the whole event right across the city so there’s an amazing atmosphere wherever you go. The crowd are also very knowledgeable and you can see what it means to them when the race takes place in their back yard as it’s packed from Thursday right through to Sunday. On track it’s a good challenge. It’s hard on the brakes and you need to be really precise in the braking zones to nail a quick lap. Another key is to use the kerbs as much as you can and as efficiently as possible - you can make up good time if you have a car that’s set up to ride them well so that will be one of the key goals for the practice sessions. On the car I think we’ll be looking to repeat the performance we showed in Spain. Monaco was an odd race for me – I couldn’t get the best out of the tyres and even though there was more to come from the car we just couldn’t hook it all up in the race. However, now we have so much more data on the car we can get much closer to maximising its potential and Canada’s a good place to do our best to achieve that.”
Mike Gascoyne: “Montreal is one of the races that is universally popular up and down the pitlane. The city welcomes us with open arms, the track is a great challenge for the cars, the drivers and the whole team and the fans create the sort of atmosphere that proves they love having us in town. On track the aim is to put in another performance that continues the progress we’ve shown all year. Different tracks may reduce or increase the gap to the cars ahead, but the facts are clear – we have been into Q2, we can race cars ahead on pace and we are now lapping the teams we were racing last year. Canada gives us another chance to keep moving forward and we have a new low downforce package for Montreal that we have seen some good numbers on in the wind tunnel, so I think the progress should continue.”
Tony Fernandes: “Monaco was obviously a very important weekend for both Team Lotus on and off track, and Team AirAsia who came of age on Friday. This will be my first trip to Canada and I am looking forward to going to what I am told is one of the best races of the season. Off track we have some more good news to unveil and on track we will have another chance to see how much more we have learnt about the car. Monaco was not the best environment for us to make significant steps forward with the new package, but having had such good reliability recently we have a lot of data that will help us put in another good performance in Montreal. With all that in mind we will all head there in a very positive frame of mind.”
29 th May 2011
Monaco GP – Race
Vettel won the race, chased home by Alonso and Button. They were very close due to a safety car 6 laps from the end. Both Lotuses finished, Jarno 13th and Heikki 14 th, a good result. The accidents were: Di Resta colliding with another car at Loews hairpin, earning him a drive through penalty; Hamilton doing the same at Loews, colliding with Massa, also getting a drive through; Massa coming out of the tunnel and hitting the wall after clashing with Ham again; and the big one 6 laps from the end involving Sutil hitting the wall and puncturing a rear tyre, then going slowly as Petrov ran into the back of Alguersuari trying to avoid the Force India. The Toro Rosso then hit the back of Ham’s McLaren as Petrov and Alguersuari hit the barriers hard, bringing out the red flag. Unbeliveably Ham was able to get his rear wing repaired as the cars sat on the grid waiting to re-start the last few laps. Other retirees were Glock with rear suspension falure on lap 31 and Schumacher who ground, to a halt on lap 33. Top 10: Vettel, Alonso. Button, Webber, Kobayashi, Hamilton, Sutil, Heidfeld, Barrichello. Buemi.
Lewis Hamilton made a prat of himself afterwards, accusing the stewards of racism just because he has been up before them in 5 out of 6 races. You want to look at your aggressive driving mate, and take those blinkers off, it’s not a coincidence but it IS justified.
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: “That was a great result for the team, the best of the season so we’re all pleased with that. I had another great start – I wish I had made starts like that in previous seasons as I think I would have won several races with starts like that. After that I was holding position and keeping up with the cars ahead but the safety car hit our race strategy hard. The gap we had was wasted behind slower cars and even though I passed D’Ambrosio the second safety car pretty much defined the rest of the race.”Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “Finishing 13th and 14th is a very good team result, but that was a bit of an average race for me. I lost a position at the start and that was pretty much the end of my race. The first stint was pretty difficult and on the second stint I couldn’t really find a rhythm as I kept having to let cars past. After the second stop I was able to start pushing but by then I couldn’t really do much. Having said that, it’s been a good weekend overall and we’ll keep fighting in two weeks time in Montreal.”
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: “I think that is a very good result for us, the best finish of the year for both cars. The car setup and strategy was good for both drivers and we are very satisfied with what we have achieved this weekend.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “A strong result for the team and it was good to get both cars over the finish line. Both drivers drove very strong races and we gave them a chance to fight with a two stop strategy, starting both cars on options. We switched Heikki to the prime for the last two stints because he had higher degradation but kept Jarno on the options until the second pitstop and even thought they were held up by slower cars we are very pleased with 13 th and 14th.”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “I watched the race from Bali and that capped off an incredible week for us. This time last year neither car finished the race but today both cars crossed the line in 13th and 14 th places. Our pace was good but most importantly both cars finished the race, we brought the Team Lotus brand home and we won the first of the GP2 races in Monaco. That constitutes a very good weeks work at the office. Now we go to Montreal and as we keep moving forwards to the rest of our history, our heritage and our destiny with Caterham. Thank you all for one hell of a ride.”
28 th May 2011
Monaco GP –Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Practice: Alonso was quickest ahead of Button and Massa. Heikki was 18 th, Jarno 21 st, for what it’s worth. The accidents were: Rosberg under braking for the chicane after only 8 minutes, causing a red flag, and Liuzzi at the exit of Ste Devote, causing a red flaf 5 minutes from the end. Top 6: Alonso, Button, Massa, Vettel, Schumacher, Hamilton.
Qualifying: Vettel took pole again, beating Button and Webber in difficult circumstances after Saubers’s Sergio Perez crashed heavily at the exit of the chicane with 2 minutes to go in Q3 and the session was red-flagged for 40 minutes. Perez has concussion and will not race tomorrow. No one got up to speed again in the last 2 minutes so the earlier result stood. Heikki was 18 th and Jarno 19 th. Behind them was Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso as he bumped into the other Sauber, Kobayashi’s, at Rascasse and damaged his car. Ironically, and possibly unfortunately, both HRTs WILL race even though they took no part in qualifying, Karthikeyan with a rear suspension failure and Liuzzi because his car wasn’t repaired in time from his earlier accident. Top 10: Vettel, Button, Webber, Alonso, Schumacher, Massa, Hamilton, Rosberg, Maldonado, Perez. (Presumably everyone moves up one so Petrov will be 10 th.)
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “Before I talk about the sessions today I want to say that it’s good to hear that Sergio is conscious and talking. I’ve had a big accident myself and know what it’s like for the team, friends and family as you wait for news, so I hope he’s back on track soon. In quali it was quite a tricky session for me today, but I’m reasonably pleased with where I ended up. My first run didn’t really go to plan - I definitely didn’t get the best out of the tyres so I had to really go for it with the second set and that was definitely better, but not quite enough to get into Q2. But the gap to the cars ahead is pretty close and I think we’ll be ok tomorrow.”Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: “That was a bit unlucky for us. The car’s not been responding as I’d like all day and the tyres were behaving strangely – the first set was mega and the second set were really poor, so I’m not too sure where we’re going wrong. I know I could have gone much quicker on the second run with more rubber on the track but for some reason I was only marginally faster which is why we ended up where we did. Tomorrow in the race we’ll keep our heads down, run to our plan and see what happens around us. I’m sure there will be places to pick up so let’s wait and see. I also want to say that I hope Sergio is ok. That was a massive shunt and I hope we have more good news about him soon.”
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: “During FP3 we worked more on the driveability of the engine which is the most important aspect of engine behaviour here. We had good feedback from the drivers who were both happy, especially in the slow speed corners where the engine is reacting in a good way but unfortunately in qualifying we were not able to get into Q2, but were pretty close. Both cars were very close to each other so we have clearly found a good, consistent setup, but I think we struggled a bit with the tyres and that is what has stopped us pushing into Q2 today. I also want to echo what the whole team has said about Sergio. I hope he's ok and we have good news soon.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “Firstly we obviously hope that Sergio Perez is in good shape following his accident. Our best wishes are with him and the whole Sauber team. For us that was a reasonably good qualifyign session. Jarno was reporting more grip than in the morning but he couldn’t get the most out of his second set of tyres, but overall we are close to the group in front and we look forward to a strong race tomorrow.”
Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: “To begin with I want to say that I hope Sergio Perez recovers quickly. He had a big accident and the early news is that he’s taken a knock but is ok so that’s encouraging. On track I think we knew we would probably struggle to get into Q2 here as the performance difference between the tyre compounds doesn’t give us the same chance we had in Spain to play with the strategies. Despite that we have had a good, reliable weekend so far and the aim is definitely to have both cars cross the finish line tomorrow. We have obviously had a couple of pieces of good news so far this weekend so perhaps tomorrow will bring us something else to cheer.”
27 th May 2011
Monaco GP – Thursday Practice
Vettel was quickest in first practice, followed by Alonso. Webber only did 3 slow laps in his Red Bull as he was plagued by gearbox issues. Heikki was 17th and Jarno 19th as a result! The list of accidents: Liuzzi on the approach to the chicane, and Schumacher on the approach to Ste Devote, with Karthekeyan going off in sympathy but with no contact. Top 6: Vettel, Alonso, Rosberg, Massa, Hamilton, Button.
Alonso took top spot in second practice with no Red Bull in sight (well, 5th then!). Liuzzi didn’t appear at all and Di Resta had to stop after 35 minutes with a mechanical problem. The accidents were: Petrov sliding into the barriers on the approach to the chicane, Alguersuari doing the same at Ste Devote, with the same area favourite for Heikki and Maldonado to take to the run off area. Heikki was 18th, Jarno 19th. Top 6: Alonso, Hamilton, Rosberg, Button, Vettel, Massa.
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: “That was good. We’ve got a good deal of data from both sessions and we can use that to put us in a better position tomorrow. I had a few issues with traffic during the performance run which means there is definitely more pace to come tomorrow so all in all this was a good day. We’ve also run reliably in both sessions and that’s what we need to give us the best chance of fighting in quali so I think it’ll be a very interesting Saturday afternoon.”Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “Not too bad at all. We completed the whole programme, worked a bit on fine tuning the balance and I think with some more work tonight there’s a bit more to come. The degradation levels on both tyres was better than many people were expecting and I think both the primes and the options will give us some interesting strategy options to play with.”
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: “This was a good day. We have put a lot of miles on the cars and with the unique nature of this track we can have driveability problems so it’s important to set up the engine to give the drivers something they are happy with. The feedback we have had so far looks like we have found a good
setup so I think we are set for a good P3 and qualifying.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “A very useful first day of running with no mechanical issues with either car. The track had its normal issues with dirt and traffic but overall we’re very happy. Tyre degradation looks to be much lower than expected and we have accumulated a lot of data that will be good for the race. In performance terms we are really quite close to the cars in front and with the improvements we expect to see on Saturday I think this has been another good day for the team.”
Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: “That sort of performance is very encouraging. It is good to see that we have we had another day without reliability problems and today everything went how we wanted it to. Finishing around half a second from the guys ahead gives us something to fight for in qualifying and I think the experience we have in both cars, and throughout the team, should give us a good chance of having another good day on Saturday.”
24 th May 2011
Monaco GP – Preview
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: “Monaco is a unique race and one that is challenging, slightly chaotic and a bit mad, for the drivers and all the teams. Everywhere you move there are people who want to come up and say hi, and that’s great but after almost a week it adds to the pressure, but we all just get on with it as it’s the same for everyone. I’m very proud to have won here and count myself so lucky that I can say I’m a Monaco winner. I remember when I won it was so busy – I went to the dinner with the Prince that night and that was special, but the minutes and hours straight after the race were almost more intense than the race itself! However, I don’t really like looking back. It’ll be great for my kids in the future to know their Dad can say he won Monaco, but for me I want to keep looking ahead.I think this year the race will be fascinating. We’ve already seen how much the tyres are influencing the qualifying and race strategies, and here that could be even more true. We’re on the super softs and the softs here so I don’t think there will quite the same difference in lap times as there was in Spain. Obviously in Monaco aero performance is less important but I think strategy will play a critical role and we have some very good guys looking after that so I think we’ll be ok.”
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “Straight after Barcelona we go to Monaco where we take on one of the most fascinating challenges of the season. You obviously need a good car but you don’t necessarily need the peak performance that you have to have at some of the other circuits, as the demands on aero are lessened by the nature of the track. As it’s a temporary street circuit it’s very dirty at the start of the race weekend and experience plays a massive part in how well you perform whenever you’re in the car. I’ve always felt very comfortable in Monaco and as the performance difference between the cars is always less around here I hope we can use our experience to take the fight to the guys ahead. There has been some talk about the use of DRS there and even though it’s only at certain parts of the track I’ll definitely be using it whenever I’m on full throttle, and I think that’s true for the whole grid. As we don’t have KERS it’s important we use whatever we can to keep fighting so there’s no question of not using it. I’m very comfortable with DRS and I don’t think it’ll be a distraction at all. We’ll just get on with it.”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Unfortunately I won’t be in Monaco this year but I will be watching every second from Malaysia and will be supporting the whole team as much as I can from several thousand miles away! Monaco is obviously a special place for Team Lotus. The Principality has been the scene of many of the moments that makes Team Lotus such an iconic name in the sporting world and it’s very pleasing that in our team’s 2011 guise we go back there after another positive weekend in the previous race. I was so pleased with the whole team’s performance in Spain and even though we didn’t record the race finish that perhaps we would have wanted to, we showed that our measured progress is bringing rewards, this time in the shape of Q2 on strategy and pace. I think that Monaco could be another race where we can use the tyres quite aggressively in qualifying and the race, use strategy to give the teams ahead another reason to look over their shoulders and keep on learning, and that is the key to our long-term success. Use all the assets at our disposal as intelligently as we can, set realistic targets and then go out and achieve them. Monaco is another chance for us to do just that and I hope it is another great weekend for the whole team."
22 nd May 2011
Spanish GP – Race
Despite Alonso taking the lead from the Red Bulls and Hamilton and the start, and leading the first two stints, he struggled with the hard tyres and finished 5 th, behind those three and Jenson Button, who fought back from 10 th place after a slow start. Vettel won again, with Webber only 4 th, behind Ham and Butt. Lotus had their best race pace yet on the soft tyres, mixing it with the Williams and Toro Rossos for a while and in the top 10, but dropping back on the hard tyres, which were slower for everyone. Jarno eventually finished 18 th, but not far behind Barrichello, having lapped the Virgins and the one remaining HRT (Karthikeyan). Heikki though, made a mistake at turn 4 and stuffed his Lotus in the barriers on lap 49. Liuzzi had dropped out on lap 29, and the only other retiree was Massa, whose gearbox eventually packed up on lap 60, after a torrid afternoon for the Ferrari driver. Top 10: Vettel, Hamilton, Button, Webber, Alonso, Schumacher, Rosberg, Heidfeld, Perez, Kobayashi.
Jarno Trulli, Car 21: "The race was really good. It was another great start for me, another strong start this season, so that was very positive. I gained a number of positions and was right in the race in the beginning. Obviously with soft tyres our car was looking better than it did with the hard tyres and that gave us a very good first couple of stints. Unfortunately towards the middle of the race I felt I had a problem with the exhaust which affected the rear end of the car and meant that my performance was not as good as earlier. But all in all, it was a very good race for me. I fought like a lion and I’m happy with myself and felt that I really got the best out of the car today. There’s still a bit of work to do to catch up with the guys in front, but it’s fantastic that we’ve lapped the guys behind us once again. The overall aero package is good - we just need to focus on developing that for the future and increase the gap even more from the guys behind, and keep on closing the distance to the cars ahead."
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20: "It's a real shame my afternoon came to an end like that. I made a mistake on the entry to turn four and went off but up until that point the race was pretty good. Both Jarno and I were right in the mix early on and we were fighting in the midfield for a lot of the race but then the tyres started to go off and the early pace wasn't there for the later stages of the afternoon. Maybe we should have pitted earlier on but we've still learnt a lot from this weekend and can take that to Monaco where I think it will be a very interesting weekend for everyone."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We had a good start, particularly Jarno, and in the early stages of the race the pace was ok. Later on we had to manage a couple of small issues on Jarno's car which somewhat compromised his overall speed so we had to manage those throughout the race, but the point is that we have seen the potential of the car. We have made quite a lot of changes over the weekend and now we need to work hard to understand how to maximise the whole package, in set-up and translating that into performance."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a long hard race that was all about managing the tyres. Both drivers started well but Heikki suffered some damage to his front wing that helped Jarno get past. From then on the pace was good. We were trying to stay on three stops and maybe stopped a little late in the first stint, but in the end it was a shame we were not able to get both cars to the flag. Heikki made a small mistake on lap 52 and then Jarno had a cracked exhaust which meant we had to keep an eye on that, but overall we have made real progress this weekend and have amassed a great deal of data on the new package that will help us learn how to get the most out of all the changes, so it is another positive weekend for the whole team."
Kamarudin Meranun, Deputy Team Principal: "The whole weekend has been pretty good for us. We had an excellent result in qualifying and had reasonably high hopes for the race but we always knew it would be tough to replicate what we did on Saturday afternoon over the race distance. We started well and were looking good in the early stages of the race but then Heikki's accident brought his race to an early end and Jarno was pushing as hard as he could on the hard tyres for the final stint but finished a credible 18th. There are a number of positives to take from this afternoon - we were able to fight with the established teams and have shown that we are consistently improving, little by little. That is the key goal for this year and we keep moving forward so we leave Spain pretty pleased overall."
21 st May 2011
Spanish GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Seb Vettel only got one flying lap in the whole of the practice session and that was enough to be quickest! His team mate was second and MSC was third. Things got a bit hot for Heidfeld in the Renault when his car caught fire half way through. Heikki was 18 th and Jarno 19 th, their fave positions! Top 6: Vettel, Webber, Schumacher, Hamilton, Button, Rosberg.
In qualifying Webber beat Vettel to pole for once, but he WAS second. This was after only one Q3 lap and with Vettel having KERS problems. Heidfeld did not take part in qualy due to his charred car taking a bit longer to repair, and Barrichello had gearbox problems. This along with Lotus’ better pace allowed Heikki to take part in Q2, the first time for the team, beating the Force Indias too, who were saving tyres. Jarno was not so fortunate, with gearbox problems meaning he had one chance at a flying lap which was good enough for 18 th anyway. Top 10: Webber, Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso, Button, Petrov, Rosberg, Massa, Maldonado, Schumacher.
Heikki Kovalainen- 15th: "This is obviously a great day for Team Lotus and I want to thank everyone here and back at the factory for working so hard to get us to this next step in our story. There is a lot more to come from this car and while we have performed really well today we can see that we can keep progressing and taking the fight to the cars around us on merit. With the work we did overnight and in FP3 I can feel that we have found a much better balance in the high-speed corners, and we can work more on how it feels in the low speed corners which is where I think we will find even more time, but for now this is a good feeling and puts us into a good position for the race tomorrow."
Jarno Trulli - 18th: "First I want to congratulate to the whole team for getting Heikki into Q2. That's a great achievement for us and a sign of what's to come. For me the session was interrupted by what looks like an electrical issue that meant I was stuck in second gear when I went out for my first run, but we changed the steering wheel and I managed to get a lap in right in the last few seconds that still put me ahead of Rubens, so we'll start tomorrow from 18th and with the pace we have in the car in race conditions I think we'll have a good afternoon."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We worked hard last night on the data from yesterday and in this morning's session we were able to do more work with the floor and the new exhaust which I think helped us perform so well today. Heikki reaching Q2 is very good news for the whole team, and we feel that there is a lot more to come. Rather than just working on different parts of the car and making those parts work, we will be able to make them work well together and the results of this will continue to be seen as we progress through the season. The plan for tomorrow is to keep our focus on maintaining our reliability. The performance matters throughout the race, not just in qualifying, and we need to see how the tyre degradation influences our strategy but for now congratulations to everyone and we must enjoy this feeling today."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That is a very pleasing result and thank you to the whole team for today's result. We took advantage of the misfortune that befell a couple of the other cars but Heikki did a great job to get the best out of his runs today, and Jarno put in a strong performance to get in a decent time at the end of Q1 after a gearbox problem cut into his first run. Now the important thing is to focus on having a good race tomorrow and learning as much as we can about the upgrades we have brought here over a race distance."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am so thrilled. It is almost unbelievable but this is a great day for Team Lotus and just reward for the effort that the whole team keeps putting in. I am so thrilled for everyone associated with our team. Heikki did a fantastic lap and the whole team worked together brilliantly to give him the chance to take his car into Q2, and on top of that Jarno managed to put in a great lap in the dying seconds to put himself into 18th place under a great deal of pressure. We have a lot of work to do so we are not going to get carried away, but it is important that we enjoy days like this and the feeling that comes with hard work being rewarded with this sort of result. As I keep saying, these small steps will keep us moving up the grid, so well done and thank you to everyone."
20 th May 2011
Spanish GP – Friday Practice
Lotus brought loads of upgrades on the car this weekend, but Webber was still quickest in the first session, with Vettel second. Ah well, Lotus is a work in progress so we have to be patient. Heikki was 19 th and Jarno 23 rd. There was only one teensy weensy incident in the whole session…. Maldonado went off at turn 12 and got stuck in the gravel. Top 6: Webber, Vettel, Rosberg, Alonso, Perez (what???), Hamilton.
Webber stayed at the top in session 2, with Ham second and Vettel third. Lotus started to make things work on the car (not Jarno’s obviously!) and Heikki was quicker than Sutil’s Force India, in 18 th place with Jarno 20 th. Top 6: Webber, Hamilton, Vettel, Button, Alonso, Rosberg.
Heikki Kovalainen - 18th: "Overall we can be very happy about this Friday. I think we've seen an improvement today on where we were and throughout the sessions we could see that we were getting more and more out of the new package. The gap to the cars ahead seems reasonably small so I think it's all positive. The key point is that there is a lot more to come out of it. Optimising the whole update will take time and even though the car felt good on both the options and the primes we know that after going through the data tonight we can make more improvements tomorrow, and in the coming races ."
Jarno Trulli - 20th: "A bit of a mixed day for me. The team made a change to my steering in the morning session which meant I couldn't complete the program in FP1 but in the afternoon session we completed a decent number of laps and I could start to feel where we have found some improvements on the car. For much of the day I didn't really feel like I was getting the most out of it but we have found some of the pace we want to with the updates and with more work there is clearly much more to come ."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "In FP1 we struggled a bit with Jarno as we had a couple of mechanical issues which needed to be resolved during the session. That cut into the program but we redoubled our efforts in FP2 and have had some good feedback from both drivers, especially from Jarno on the new package overall. We have generated a great deal of data from the mileage we completed today so we will analyse that and look to implement it in FP3 and qualifying tomorrow ."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a very interesting and useful day, and good to put so many laps on the new package. As we expected the behaviour of the car is now quite different to what we have been working with so far this season and it will take a lot of fine tuning to get the best out of all the improvements, but I think that on the soft tyre and the longer runs we could clearly see some of the improvements we were aiming for. There are obviously areas we need to focus on, but those can all be dialled out, so all in all this has been a good day with the new package, well done to the whole team for working hard to get it all working so well on the car on its debut and I am sure there is much more to come ."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I always thought it would take some time for us to maximise the potential of the updates we have applied here, especially for the drivers who have basically a new rear end of the car to get to grips with. However, I am very happy with the mileage we have accumulated today and the fact we are faster than we have been before. I cannot remember a Friday when we have run so many laps and that has given us a lot of very useful data for Marianne and her team to work on in the wind-tunnel. We clearly performed very well on the options, maybe not so well on the primes, but for me, even though I am not a veteran of this sport, I knew it would take time to integrate the updates so I keep realistic goals and know that we will keep working hard and moving forward step by step."
13 th May 2011
Spanish GP – Preview
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: “It's always good to get back to Spain. I've spent so much time at the Barcelona circuit it’s like a second home to me and the whole team and even though I must have completed thousands of kms around there it's still a good challenge. It's very technical and that puts demands on the car's aero – a good aero package is one of the keys to being quick. Looking at the circuit itself I particularly like T9 – it’s one of the quicker corners in the whole calendar and one that rewards confidence and good balance. There’s not a lot of overtaking chances around the lap and we’ll see if the DRS plays the same role in Spain that it did in Turkey – if it does then tracks like Barcelona will suddenly have overtaking chances and that’s got to be good for the fans.”Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “Barcelona is one of the tracks where we all know every single centimetre of the whole lap. We test there so much that it usually ends up with the whole grid having teammates side by side but it’s the kind of circuit where you can’t hide anything at all. If you are quick there you can be quick everywhere as it’s demanding aerodynamically, and if you struggle there you could have problems at a variety of circuits. A good lap kind of flows until you reach the last three corners which are a bit fiddly. The first sector is probably the best – T1 is a quick chicane and then turns three, four, seven and nine are all fast. You need good high-speed stability there and good grip to get the best out of the car and when you hook it all up and put in a quick time it’s pretty rewarding.”
10 th May 2011
Jarno: It’s qualifying but not as we know it
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91312
8 th May 2011
Turkish GP – Race
Lotus got both cars to the finish, although Heikki had issues this time. Jarno was 18 th, Heikki 19 th. There were only 2 retirements, although Glock didn’t actually start I believe. I missed some of it because my daughter visits with grandson on a Sunday lunchtime and I haven’t had a chance to watch the recording. Such is life, these days! The only other retirement was Di Resta on lap 45. Vettel won the race with Webber second. It mostly came down to tyres and DRS, with a few minor incidents like Schumacher breaking his front wing on Peteov late on, and a couple of delayed stops for Hamilton and Massa which affected their result. Top 10: Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Hamilton, Rosberg, Button, Heidfeld, Petrov, Buemi, Kobayashi.
Jarno Trulli - 18th: "That was a reasonably good race, particularly in the early laps. I had another incredibly good start but was blocked in the first corner so couldn't really exploit how well I'd got off the line. Early on I started fighting with the tyres so we changed to a three stop strategy which eventually worked out pretty well. However, the result today doesn't really show how we have improved our performance so I think that when we get to Barcelona with the whole new package on the car we'll really be able to fight with the midfield teams."
Heikki Kovalainen - 19th: "That was a pretty tough afternoon. I had a couple of mechanical issues, with a small hydraulic leak which affected the DRS and the diff, and I think the strategy didn't work out how we would have liked. Despite that it's been another good weekend for the team and a two car finish was always a major goal here, but now it's about looking forward to Spain and we're all focusing on taking a big step forward there."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "That was a good race because both cars finished so for us it was okay reliability-wise. That is the second time we have done that and that is the first job of the team, so that is a good result for us. We struggled a bit with Heikki today but I think it was a bit easier for Jarno and even though we can see that we need some more time to be able to catch the teams ahead I am sure that will come soon."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "The key goal today was for both cars to cross the finish line and I am pleased we achieved that and it is pleasing to see that both drivers performed very well all weekend, and the whole team. With Heikki we tried to stick to two stops but the degradation of the tyres was higher than we expected so we switched Jarno to a three stop plan. Heikki's car then developed a hydraulic leak and we were concerned that he would not be able to get to the end, and that if his tyres went off he would be unable to stop again but we were forced to keep him on two stops and turn off the differential and clutch off which made his car very difficult to handle. Without that, I think we would have been able to beat Maldonado on the track. Jarno drove a good, strong three stop strategy but reported quite high tyre degradation so we have to look at why he is suffering more than Heikki. However, overall it is good to get two cars to the finish and we look forward to Barcelona where we will have our big update and I hope that we can take the fight to those in front."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "This has been a good weekend for us and we are all happy that we got two cars to the finish. Heikki had some hydraulic issues and if they had not affected his race I think he would have given Maldonado a much better fight. Looking at the laptimes I am very happy that we keep improving every weekend. The whole team is excited about the updates we have for Barcelona, but for now I am very pleased with this weekend. Here in Turkey last year neither car finished so this is another positive development in our growth. We keep making small steps and moving forward and that has always been the plan - grow in a measured, controlled way that gives us the best foundations for future success."
7 th May 2011
Turkish GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Vettel finally completed a session unscathed and quickest in final practice, challenged by Michael Schumacher. Heikki was 19 th, Jarno 20 th. Top 6: Vettel, Schumacher, Webber, Rosberg, Button, Hamilton.
And there we go, Vettel completed his 100% pole record in 2011, even 4 tenths ahead of his team mate. At the other end, Kobayashi had a sick car and couldn’t complete a lap so starts at the back, although D’Ambrosio will drop back with a grid penalty. Heikki was 18 th and Jarno 19 th, which was a good effort after DRS problems all day. Top 10: Vettel, Webber, Rosberg, Hamilton, Alonso, Button, Petrov, Schumacher, Heidfeld, Massa (no time in Q3).
Heikki Kovalainen - 18th: "I'm happy with that. We only have to find a little bit more to join the fight in Q2 but today we had a good strategy and got everything that we could from the tyres. I'm pleased with my own performance - the quick lap was right on the money with no mistakes so it's a good feeling to keep edging closer. We're all looking forward to the Barcelona upgrade package where hopefully that will deliver a greater performance gain compared to what the opposition will bring but we're nearly there so for now it's just about keeping up the effort and putting in another strong performance tomorrow."
Jarno Trulli - 19th: "I'm pretty much satisfied with my run today. Unfortunately I had a DRS issue which obviously costs a lot of time on a circuit like this but I think that all round we did as good a job as we could today. Our race pace definitely gives us a chance to fight with the cars ahead so hopefully we can sort out the DRS issue and replicate what we did in the race in China."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "It was quite a good day when you look at the result, especially for the engine because the weather yesterday had limited our running. This morning we worked on the driveability characteristics of the engine and have had some very good feedback from the drivers on that, so that's another step forward. Cooling-wise, the car was okay because it was colder today than the usual ambient conditions in Turkey, so the engines ran well in the qualifying session."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "I think we can be reasonably happy with qualifying and both drivers got the most they could out of the car. Unfortunately we went into qualifying knowing that we had a problem with the DRS on Jarno's car and that costs quite a lot of time around Istanbul Park which explains his final position. However, we know that we are kinder on the tyres in the race than the cars in front of us so I think we can have a very competitive Sunday and take the fight to the cars in front."
Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "We keep edging ever closer. Half a second now from Q2 is another improvement and I think it's a measure of our ongoing development that we keep pushing the teams ahead. We're still 18 months old and the fact we have, relatively, made the biggest performance gains of any of the teams this season is a sign of the fact we are now an established team ourselves and will keep progressing to make good on that title as the season progresses."
6 th May 2011
Turkish GP – Friday Practice
The first session was wet which complicated things for the drivers and teams. Especially for Red Bull when Vettel crashed at turn 8 causing a red flag with 15 minutes to go. Maldonado was also a victim of the conditions, clocking up 2 spins, one with damage. Lotus let Karun Chandhok loose with Heikki’s car, which survived unscathed after 6 laps. He was 15 th, with Jarno 21 st. Alonso was fastest with Vettel out of action. Top 6: Alonso, Rosberg, Schumacher, Heidfeld, Petrov, Kobayashi.
The second session managed to be dry. Vettel never made it out after his morning crash and Button took the opportunity to be quickest, from Rosberg, again in second place. Maldonado found the only patch of damp and spoilt his new front wing. Jarno was 17 th, Heikki 19 th. Top 6: Button, Rosberg, Hamilton, Schumacher, Webber, Massa.
Heikki Kovalainen - 19th: "That was a reasonable session for me - I had a DRS issue that definitely cost me some time but I think the balance was pretty good and we got through some decent setup work so I think we'll be ok tomorrow."
Jarno Trulli - 17th: "I'm pleased in general with today. It's been a positive, trouble free day and we managed to run through a number of options that give us a good direction for tomorrow and the race. We have made an adjustment to the power steering and that's definitely improved things in the cockpit for me but there's more to come from that and the whole car so I think we can go into tomorrow in good shape."
Karun Chandhok: "The wet weather meant we limited the morning runplan but despite that it was good to get back out on track. I didn't get a chance to push but I'm enjoying working with the team and the more time I spend with everyone the more I can see how far this team can go. There's a great spirit across the whole garage, and back in the factory, and with the constant progression towards the midfield this is a great place to be working in."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We didn't manage to do much running in P1 this morning due to the weather so we had to work a lot harder during P2 this afternoon, especially with specific engine mapping. I hope we will have good feedback from the drivers and can take another step forwards on strategy. I think there is more to come from the whole package tomorrow so this was a pretty good start to the weekend."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A pretty good day. Obviously we had limited running this morning in the wet conditions as we wanted to save tyres in case we have to use wets in the race. Unfortunately that limited the running Karun and Jarno could do but this afternoon we completed the whole program without any real problems with the performance levels we showed I think we are looking at having a pretty good weekend."
4 th May 2011
Turkish GP – Preview
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "We are all delighted that there has been such a warm and positive response to last week's announcement about Caterham Cars, but now our focus is back on track and the whole team is looking forward to the start of the European races. We have begun this season in the style we wanted to, making steady progress towards the midfield teams and I am hopeful we will continue to do that in Turkey. The next step forward should come in Spain where we have a number of significant updates on the cars, but for Turkey we will look to build on the improved reliability and pace we showed in China and work on maximising the mechanical and aero package we have on the T128. We have realistic expectations for this weekend, I am not expecting us to have found another chunk of time here as we have been focusing on the Barcelona race for the update package, but I am very confident about the future as the foundations for the long-term success of this team are being laid exactly as planned.”
Jarno Trulli (chassis T128-03): "Turkey's another chance for us to keep growing as a team and after the short break we've had it'll be good to get back into the car. The team's been hard at work on the aero updates we'll introduce at the Spanish Grand Prix and on a couple of mechanical fixes that will give me a better platform to really push on from. I want to make sure we can repeat the performance we showed in China and that relies on us having an error free Friday and Saturday and giving us the best chance to fight with the likes of Williams, Force India and Sauber."
Heikki Kovalainen (chassis T128-04) on the race weekend: "We've obviously been pretty busy since getting back from China and it was great to see so many fans turn out for us at Duxford last week. I had a really good day and it was cool to be given the chance to be the first person drive the Caterham in our team colours in front of everyone. Now it's on to Turkey which is a circuit I've always enjoyed. People talk about Turn 8 being the most hardcore bit of the track but for me it's not that big a challenge - our car should be ok around the whole lap and after having had more time to work on the next update, which we'll see in Barcelona, the focus will be on getting the most out of the car in qualifying and showing the pace that we know is there over one lap."
27 th April 2011
Duxford
Jarno was at Duxford today as Team Lotus announced they have bought the car manufacturer Caterham and took the opportunity to straight-line test the T128. The Air Space building at the Imperial War Museum was the venue for Tony Fernandes and Caterham’s Ansar Ali to explain the take over. All Lotus race and test drivers were present and did a good PR job!
17 th April 2011
Chinese GP – Race
No, Vettel couldn’t make it 5 sessions out of 5 but he came close. Hamilton was only able to overtake him for 1 st place 4 laps frpom the end. Vettel had a rubbish start and Button took the lead with Hamilton also getting past. The rest was down to tyres and strategy. Webber came all the way through from 18 th to 3 rd, as expected. Lotus were happy because Heikki beat Maldonado’s Williams and Perez’s’ Sauber, although Perez did have a drive through penalty at one stage for smacking into Sutil. However, both Lotuses ended only a lap down, Heikki was 16 th and Jarno 19 th. Our fave stat of the day was that Jarno’s fastest lap was faster than Alonso’s! Only one retirement – Alguersuari on lap 12. And Massa beat Alonso which is always good. Top 10: Hamilton, Vettel, Webber, Button, Rosberg, Massa, Alonso, Schumacher, Petrov, Kobayashi.
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - qualified 19th, finished 16th: "That is our best ever performance. It's not the highest place we've had but today we beat two midfield cars in a straight fight so I am very happy, with my performance and the performance of the whole team. We knew we would struggle in the cool conditions yesterday but today the temperatures rose and we expected to be able to put in the sort of race that would do justice to the pace that is in the car. We will keep working hard to improve the car's behaviour in the cooler conditions and we can only get better from here."
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - qualified 20th, finished 19th: "I had a good start and then Heikki and I were able to pull away from the cars behind and keep to the strategy to fight with the guys ahead. My first stop wasn't great and I'm still having a few issues with the tyre degradation but really today is about the team result. We have shown we are developing exactly as we want to and that's a huge motivation for everyone."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "That is a very good result for the whole team and it is important we enjoy it. The key goal today was to get both cars across the finish line and to achieve that, and beat both Perez and Maldonado is a big step forward for us. A very satisfying day."Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was an absolutely fantastic race from both drivers and from the pitcrew who performed brilliantly under huge pressure. It is very satisfying to have beaten two other midfield teams on track on pace and strategy and to be able to show that we have bridged the gap to the established teams. Both drivers made a good start and with the higher track temperatures we knew our race pace would be good, and so it proved. With the tyre degradation we were able to stick to two stops, which was always our plan and that allowed us to jump a couple of people, giving us our strongest race in F1. Additionally, we were only lapped once, right towards the end of the race, so I am very proud of the whole team today.”
Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "I am actually lost for words. We were racing today, actually taking on teams who have been in the sport for many years, and even though there is a huge amount of work ahead of us, now we need to enjoy this moment, build on this feeling and keep moving forwards."
16 th April 2011
Chinese GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Practice: Vettel made it 3 out of 3 on top of the times, ahead of the McLarens again. Webber was not having much fun though, an electrical problem and a KERS failure. Heikki was 19 th, Jarno 20 th. Top 6: Vettel, Button, Hamilton, Rosberg, Massa, Alonso.
Qualifying: It’s 4 out of 4 for Vettel on pole. Can he make it 5? Button took second and Hamilton third. Webber’s awful day continued, no KERS and out on hard tyres at the wrong time, he found himself just ahead of our Lotus boys in 18 th. Heikki was next in 19 th and Jarno was 20 th, still no sign of getting out of Q1. At the end of Q2, Petrov’s Renault, at the time P4, ground to a halt at turn 6 with some issues. This led to a mad scramble when the track re-opened. Petrov still qualified P10 due to his good time. Top 10: Vettel, Button, Hamilton, Rosberg, Alonso, Massa, Alguersuari, Di Resta, Buemi, Petrov.
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20: "From my perspective I'm very happy with that. I left it all until the last minute and swapped to a one lap run, putting myself under a bit of pressure, but I put in a good final lap and got under 1.38. After FP3 we already knew we'd have a bit of a tricky qualifying session as the track temperatures were a lot lower than yesterday and that definitely affects our car. We're quite easy on the tyres and when the temperatures drop we need to work harder to get them up to the optimum heat, which means we don't get everything out of them, but in the race conditions we're definitely stronger and you can see that we're steadily doing what we want which is to keep pushing towards the midfield."Jarno Trulli, Car 21: "I am really happy from the driving point of view because I pushed hard out there today and said over the radio that I think I got as much as I possibly could out of the car today. I'm still working on finding the right balance but little by little we're progressing so I think we keep on doing a good job across the whole team and after a good weekend from the reliability point of view we should have a good race tomorrow."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "From the engine side we have made another step forwards. The improvements across the car from the beginning of the year are starting to pay dividends and we are now close to the optimum engine strategy. Even though we have a lot more work to do I think we are getting closer to unlocking the real potential of the car so we are pretty happy with where we are now, and the direction we are heading in."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A trouble free day but disappointing in terms of performance. In the cooler conditions we clearly struggled more with the tyres than last week and yesterday and we were some way off the level of performance we expected. However, we have seen that even in these conditions our race pace is much better and we are considerably more competitive so I think we can take the race to the midfield group in front and do ourselves justice."
Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "We are realistic and we all knew when we woke up that the considerably lower temperature would mean we would struggle to replicate what we did in the yesterday's practice. Despite that we have had a good weekend so far, pretty much trouble free, and I know from talking to a few of the teams just ahead of us that we are starting to play a part in their strategies as they know we are very close to being able to take the fight to them in real pace. So, even though the gap is a bit bigger today than we would have liked, it is still clear that our steady progress will pay dividends over the long term."
15 th April 2011
Chinese GP – Friday Practice
Vettel was already extremely fast in session 1, trailing Webber and the 2 McLarens. Heidfeld crashed at turn 10 after 5 laps so that was the end of his session. Luiz Razia took Jarno’s car and was 23 rd to Heikki’s 14 th but had a suspension problem. Maldonado had a session-ending spin with 12 minutes to go. The circuit was covered in smog, delightful. Top 6: Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Button, Heidfeld, Massa. Vettel was fastest again in FP2, followed by the McLarens. Jarno got his care back and was 19 th with Heikki 20 th. HRT’s Liuzzi was quicker than the Virgins even though he only did an installation lap! Glock struggled with lack of lap time, in both sessions. Force India’s Di Resta did not run at all due to fuel pressure issues. Heidfeld had another off track moment, grazing the barrier at turn 12 but was able to continue after checks. Top 6: Vettel, Hamilton, Button, Rosberg, Schumacher, Massa.
Luiz Razia: "It was good to get back in the car and even though the suspension issue brought the session to an earlier end than we would have liked I could still feel that the car has taken a step forward since I last drove it in Barcelona. I was taking it steadily, aiming to bring the lap times down and give the team some useful feedback so it's a shame I couldn't complete the plan, but that's racing."
Heikki Kovalainen (car 20): "It's good to get through the whole day with no reliability issues and hopefully that sets us up well for the weekend ahead. The car had a good balance this morning but this afternoon the changes we made maybe didn't take us in the right direction so I wasn't quite as comfortable in FP2. I had a few issues with traffic on my performance run which meant I couldn't get everything out of it but having had a clear day we'll put in the work tonight as see where we are tomorrow."
Jarno Trulli (car 21): "Clearly it's good that I had a trouble free afternoon but I am struggling a bit with the balance to be honest. We'll work on that tonight with the data we've generated today and with another clear session tomorrow we should be able to pick up where we left off in Malaysia."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "That was a good Friday engine-wise. We were able to set up the engines according to the driver requests and we worked through a program that tested a number of maps and the feedback we have had is good. We have definitely taken another step on from Sepang and as the ambient conditions here are less severe than in Malaysia the engine is consequently under less stress so I think we should be able to continue the progress through qualifying and into the race and maximise our performance across the weekend."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a far more productive Friday than we have had in the two previous races this season and I think it is a measure of our increased competitiveness that we are actually a little disappointed with the overall pace. We ran Luiz Razia this morning and he did a good job for the team, despite having a suspension problem that brought his run to a premature end. With the race drivers we completed the full programme on each car but traffic interrupted both their runs on the soft tyres so we are a little disappointed that we were not able to show more pace that we know is in the cars. The tyres are working pretty well here - we have found our way around the warm up issues, so while today is satisfying in terms of reliability, there is definitely more to come tomorrow and we want to be pushing towards Q2."
Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "I think that was a pretty good day for the team. We put in the laps and have accumulated some good data on the tyres so I think we're in good shape for tomorrow and Sunday."
12 th April 2011
Chinese GP - Preview
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "We head to China after taking a good step forward in Malaysia, but we are all focused on the reality of where we are now and know there we have a lot of work ahead of us. The main aim for me now is to improve our reliability and make sure both cars cross the finish line on Sunday. We have shown there is pace in the car, and there will be more to come when we start putting the updates on in Europe, but now we have to make sure we give the drivers the time they need on track to optimise the setup and the only way to do that is to avoid reliability issues."Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "In China we have Luiz Razia and Davide Valsecchi driving for us in FP1 and I think Shanghai will be another interesting weekend for us, especially as we have had two races so far in such different conditions. In Melbourne the tyres lasted longer than I think everyone expected and then in Malaysia there was much higher drop-off and multiple stops as a result. In China we will all be in slightly unknown territory with the tyres and the cooler temperatures will mean the most important goal for us will be to maximise our track time on Friday and Saturday morning, getting the cars set up properly for qualifying and bridging the gap to make it into Q2."
Heikki Kovalainen (car 20, chassis T128-01): "I enjoyed my time in Malaysia but now it's about building on the performance there and looking ahead to China. It’ll be cooler than in Malaysia for sure, but for me the heat isn't a problem anywhere we go, and obviously that's the same for the cold! However, pace wise, I think that if we can repeat our performance in the race in Malaysia then it means we can repeat it anywhere in the world. I do enjoy driving in China - it’s similar to Malaysia in that it's a modern circuit, fairly small and it has some pretty heavy braking zones. The DRS will come into play on the main straight and I think it'll be another good race."
Jarno Trulli (car 21, chassis T128-03): "China is one of those tracks where I have never been too lucky, so it’s always a bit of a challenge. Despite that, we go there in a good position after getting pretty much the best out of the car in Malaysia. We learnt a lot from Saturday and Sunday there, and that will be very useful for us in Shanghai where obviously it will be a different challenge, but hopefully we can have a better shot at qualifying and let's see what happens on Sunday."
10th April 2011
Malaysian GP – Race
Vettel won again with Button second and Heidfeld third. It was Heikki’s turn to finish a race (15 th), but Jarno had to retire with a clutch problem on lap 32. Nevertheless, Lotus are excited because race pace was okay and Heikki finished close to a Toro Rosso. As for everyone else, sometimes the KERS works, sometimes it doesn’t, as on the Red Bulls, and sometimes the rear wing DRS thing works and sometimes not a la Michael Schumacher. Multiple pitstops meant lots of changing places. Hamilton had some issues, not least Alonso clipping a rear tyre with his front wing, as he drove up behind him, which Fernando described quite creatively as ‘we touched’. He also got passed by Heidfeld and Webber in the last few laps, and had to make another pit stop on his way to …er… 7 th place. Dramatic incident of the day goes to Vitaly Petrov who went off track, and rallied through a storm gulley with 4 wheels off the ground so violently he broke his steering column. Top 10: Vettel, Button, Heidfeld, Webber, Massa, Alonso, Hamilton, Kobayashi, Schumacher, Di Resta. So annoying in relation to writing reports - after the race Hamilton and Alonso both received 20 second penalties, Hamilton for weaving too many times defending against Alonso, and Alonso for hitting him. Alonso stays 6th, Ham drops to 8th.
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - qualified 19th, finished 15th: "That was a pretty good race all round. The balance was good on both sets of tyres and I think the strategy worked well for us - we pitted at the right times and we didn't have any problems all afternoon. I think we can be pleased that after a difficult Friday we showed the sort of performance that the winter tests had given us hope we could do so now it's about continuing development of the car and keeping up the pressure on the guys ahead. China will be a good test of how the car behaves in cooler conditions so the goal will be to repeat this kind of performance there and keep on pushing."
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - qualified 20th, DNF: "Unfortunately a clutch problem brought my race to an early end which is pretty bad luck as we were looking ok at our home grand prix. I had a tricky start with the anti-stall kicking in but I recovered and then after the first pitstop I locked a front wheel coming out and had to make up ground again. I got past Timo but then the clutch gave up, which is a shame as we looked like we have started to show what the car is really made of."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "It was a good day today, especially for the overall package of the car. Although only one car came home at the end of the race, it was a good result as engine wise it was not easy this weekend - this track is particularly hard on engines due to the very high temperatures so overall we are pretty pleased. We fixed the issues we had on Friday and we are going in the right direction. We have had some great feedback from the drivers this weekend and I am sure we will find some more lap time next week, and looking ahead to China we will be able to make some positive changes based on the results we have from here."Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A very strong race from both drivers although unfortunately Jarno stopped in the garage with a clutch sensor problem. We looked to do a two stop strategy with both cars. We might have struggled with Jarno as his tyre degradation was slightly higher, but it worked well with Heikki. Overall our pace was very good at the end, particularly when we were with the leading cars, and we were very close to passing one of the Torro Rossos as we came over the line which shows how we have progressed. This weekend has been by far our strongest race performance since we came back into Formula One, so it is good to be racing again.”
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Well I think we can officially say we were racing today! It was a real shame about Jarno as I really wanted two cars to come home but Heikki drove a fantastic race and it is exciting that he was really pushing the Toro Rossos in the final few laps - maybe with a couple more laps he would have passed one of them. He kept pace with cars that were much faster than us during qualifying so I’m thrilled that we have recorded 15 th at what was a very tough circuit, so huge congratulations to the whole team and well done to everyone."
9th April 2011
Malaysian GP – Saturday Practice & Qualifying
FP3: Lewis Hamilton was quickest overall from Mark Webber. Heikki was 19 th and Jarno 20 th. No dramas. Top 6: Hamilton, Webber, Button, Heidfeld, Vettel, Alonso.
Qualifying: Lotus were happy with qualy, even though Heikki was 19 th and Jarno 20 th, because Heikki was within half a second of Maldonado’s Williams and beat the Virgins by 2 seconds. HRT must have been happy as well because they were actually within the 107% rule! Vettel took pole again with Hamilton second again, Webber third again and Button fourth again. Déjà vu, as in Australia! Top 10: Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, button, Alonso, Heidfeld, Massa, Petrov, Rosberg, Kobayashi.
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20: "That was a great session for us and I'm really pleased with how we've performed. After yesterday, I didn't really know what to expect going into today's sessions but the guys have done a great job to give me a car that is totally different to yesterday. As soon as I went out on track this morning I could feel there was a huge improvement in every area and we have had no reliability issues at all today so I was able to really push. I've enjoyed the whole day and I felt like I was able to get the best out of the car in all the runs. There's still a bit more to come so I think tomorrow will be a really interesting race for us, particularly when you see how close we are to the midfield, and with the pace we know the car has in race trim."Jarno Trulli, Car 21: "Today's performance is obviously a lot more positive for the whole team. We had no issues with the car in either session and I think we got pretty close to showing what the car can really do. FP3 was very useful and we have also taken some good data from qualifying itself as we tried to get the best out of the car. The plan for tomorrow is to keep consistent and reliable, take our chances when they come and be there at the end. It is a long and very hot race where anything can happen but I think we are ready for it, so let's see how it goes."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "That was a much more solid performance from the whole team, particularly compared to Melbourne where we were not able to show the true pace of the car. We have looked strong all day, especially in qualifying, and I think that we have found improvements in a number of areas that have contributed to the step forward today - cooling, engine mapping and the car behaviour in general, I think this is a good result all round. The improvements are very encouraging for us and I think that seeing it here at Sepang is particularly pleasing as it is tough on everyone's engines, so for us that goes down as a good day."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A very very good day for the team, however we are left feeling a little disappointed because we felt we had a real chance of getting into Q2. We had no problems on the cars at all today which meant we were able to show the true level of performance that we had seen in winter testing, and ultimately we were very close to Q2 on merit. The drivers did a great job and the whole team has worked very hard to turn everything around from yesterday, and from Melbourne. In Heikki’s last run he made a couple of small mistakes and we could have been even closer, but, looking at the positives, we are all looking forward to the race tomorrow. Tyre degradation will be very important here - it will be an interesting Sunday for the whole grid and at last we have a car with which we can go and take the fight to the midfield."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Words cannot express how happy and overjoyed I am right now. To see 18 months of hard work come good with us finishing within a couple of tenths of teams that have been around for a long time, and less than a second away from the midfield pack, that is an amazing achievement. It is made even more satisfying after what has been a pretty hard winter test program, taking on the issues we have been working through and, honestly, not a great start to the season - but this is a great feeling. Both Heikki and Jarno know there’s more to come from the car, and we feel good about the race this weekend. The aim is to keep our reliability and bring two cars home. I am really proud of the team, particularly after such a hard winter, so I take my hat off to every single one of them for keeping up the progress and helping us reach where we are today."
8th April 2011
Malaysian GP – Friday Practice
FP1: Woohoo! Jarno’s Lotus beat Vettel’s Red Bull for speed! No it’s not 1st April, it really did. Okay, the Red Bull might have been messing about for most of the session and just when he was about to put in the faster laps, D’Ambrosio’s Virgin careered into the gravel trap and no one bothered to restart the session, but Jarno was still 16th and Vettel was 17th. In fact Button was only 15th. Someone was fastest though, and it was Red Bull team mate Webber. Nico Hulkenberg got a go in the Force India and was 4th quickest. Ricciardo took over Buemi’s seat this session and was 12th. Davide Valsecchi took over Heikki’s seat for the morning and was 21st. There was some drama with a couple of Renault mechanical failures, first for Heidfeld after 6 laps and then for Petrov after only 4. Top 6: Webber, Hamilton, Schumacher, Hulkenberg, Maldonado, Massa.
FP2: Session 2 was not quite so good for Lotus, with Heikki developing a problem after only 4 laps and not getting out again. Jarno did 19 but was 20th, suffering from traffic on his soft tyre run. The only excitement was Maldonado crashing his Williams near the pit entry. Webber was quickest, followed by the McLarens. Top 6: Webber, Button, Hamilton, Vettel, Schumacher, Massa.
Jarno Trulli (car 21):"We managed to get through most of the program but the fact the traffic held up my quickest lap I think masks how we're really looking in outright pace. It's a bit tough as we have had a great build-up to the race here, and the support we have had from the fans and the media in Malaysia has been just great, so we'll work hard to make sure we put on a good performance tomorrow and on Sunday."
Heikki Kovalainen (car 20): "That was just one of those days. I went out in the second session and felt something go at the rear so came straight back in. It looks like a differential problem and despite the fact the guys worked really hard to try and get me back out the time beat us. However, we'll work on it overnight, and on the data Davide and Jarno have collected today and get back on with it tomorrow."
Mike Gascoyne: "Today really was a day of two halves. This morning we had a pretty good session, with Davide having his first run in the car here at Sepang and he did a good job for the team, although his last run was cut a bit short. With Jarno we tried both the hard tyre and the development tyre and have good feedback on both. This afternoon we had what looks like a differential problem on Heikki's car which meant his afternoon was cut short, so apologies to him for that. With Jarno we managed to complete most of the program, despite changing his power steering, but unfortunately when he was on the soft tyres traffic held him up which meant he wasn't able to extract the maximum speed from the car. Despite this it is clear that the pace of the car is closer to the midfield than we were in Melbourne and now the onus is on us to make sure the reliability issues are solved and give the drivers a chance to show what the car can really do."
Tony Fernandes: "The day started very well off track, with the announcement that Dell has upgraded their relationship with us to become an official Technical Partner. When a company of the stature of Dell wants to increase their partnership with us it is a clear sign that we are going in the right direction, so that was very positive. On track it was a day of mixed fortunes. It started well but ended up fairly mediocre, but there are still many positives that have come out of today. If Jarno had not had traffic issues we would have been much closer to being able to show our true pace than we were in Melbourne and even though we keep being dogged by reliability issues we are still very excited about the weekend ahead and what will happen in qualifying tomorrow."
8 th April 2011
Peter Windsor on Twitter (@PeterDWindsor) today:
“Jarno still has to be the best "straight line" driver on the planet. Perfect positioning of car rel to dynamic load and turbulence"
“Jarno does an excellent job of not turning a straight into a corner. He minimises the dynamic loads on the straights”
7 th April 2011
Malaysian GP – Thursday Press Conference
Jarno’s Contribution
Q. Jarno, great local interest in the team and you have been training by cycling in the hills somewhere. Tell us about that?
JT: Yeah, I did enjoy a little bit the Malaysia countryside. It was interesting. It was the first time I had a chance to discover Malaysia by cycling with a local professional cycling team. It was very nice. We went to the Fraser Hills first and then somewhere else, I can't remember, up to 1,600 metres so it was really, really nice. There were rubber plantations around so It was a good view and good training so good preparation for this weekend which is very important for us as it is our home grand prix.
Q. Was this on road or off road?
JT: Normal road. Actually pretty nice, even though we were in the countryside. It was really good. I enjoyed the cycling but I also enjoyed the surrounding.
Q. What are the realistic hopes for Team Lotus this weekend?
JT: I think we need to get the best out of the car, which we didn't in Australia, and be part of the midfield, as I believe the wintertime testing showed our good pace but actually we struggled quite a lot in Australia. We had several troubles with radiator, power steering, so we didn't get the best out of the car, which we want to do here. We have got some fixes, several updates on the car, so we hope to get right into the tight midfield battle and let's see then. It is very important first of all that we fix the problems and we show that we are really close to the others.
Q. In your 'cockpit' column in La Republica, you expressed your disappointment with Pirelli tyres. Could you explain exactly where that came from.
JT: I think that came from a completely wrong translation. I actually said that Pirelli did a very good job for Australia. We didn't expect to have problem with the tyre warming up, but actually we didn't have degradation. I think one driver did a one-stop strategy, which, during the winter testing, was completely out of mind. For the Australian Grand Prix the tyres behaved completely different and extremely well for the experience we had during the winter testing. The only thing that I pointed out is that some people struggled for tyre warm-up, which was the case for several drivers. This showed that we still have a lot to learn, from a drivers and teams point of view, of the Pirelli tyres but as well Pirelli is trying to adjust themselves and trying to give us the best possible option for condition, weather, circuit...becomes inaudible.
3 rd April 2011
Malaysian GP - Preview
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Team Lotus returns home and we are all excited about the race ahead. There will be three teams here with links to Malaysia but only one team that has Malaysian blood running deep in its veins, with Malaysian staff contributing to our growth at every level and which has been built from the ground up in the same style as Formula One’s grandee teams. We are enormously proud of what we have already achieved in just 18 months and we have done it through hard work and dedication, not by buying seemingly instant success through stickers on a car. We will continue to work extremely hard as we develop the car and the team, this season and for many years to come, but we will not rush into anything. Our team is growing in the right way, just like AirAsia has done, and when we look back in years to come history will show that by laying solid foundations now we will achieve long-term success."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "We left Australia with mixed feelings about the race. Heikki's pace in the early laps was a good step forward for us, and Jarno's race pace took us close to what we showed in the pre-season tests we can do, but we did struggle all weekend with the tyres and a couple of small issues that we have now had time to resolve back at the factory. The conditions at Sepang should suit us more favourably. I think the track temperatures will help us show more of the car's true pace and as the layout it is quite similar to Barcelona - relatively high aero and a good mix of low and high speed turns - I think we will be able to extract more performance from the car than we were able to in Melbourne. The whole team is excited about the challenge ahead - they are energised by the huge local support we have and that will help us all put in a performance that will do our fans proud."
Heikki Kovalainen (car 20, chassis T128-01): "Malaysia has a combination of all kinds of corners. The first few corners are very slow chicanes, then turns four, through five, six, seven and eight are very fast and you need to have a really good balance there. Then towards the end of the lap there’s two very difficult braking points, corners where you’re turning and braking into the corner. I think it’s turns 11 and 13, both right-handers. You can take a couple of deeper lines there. Those are the main points. Getting your braking stability right in those kind of corners is one of the key elements to making a good lap time in Sepang. Physically it’s one of the toughest races, maybe together with Singapore which is also very difficult. It’s something we start preparing for immediately after Australia. I arrived in Malaysia immediately after Melbourne and I started preparing the hydration and working with my nutritionist to prepare for the race itself. If you prepare properly it’s no issue. I’m looking forward to it - I enjoy being in the heat and I’m not distracted by it at all ."
29 th March 2011
and
Mike explains what heppened to Lotus this weekend
27 th March 2011
Australian GP - Race
Here goes Red Bull, with Vettel taking a dominant win in the first race of the season. After all the pre-season moaning and groaning, Hamilton managed second. And third was Petrov in the Renault, way ahead of his new team mate Heidfeld, who finished 14 th, one place ahead of Jarno in 15 th. At least he finished and beat a Virgin, D’Ambrosio. Heikki and Timo retired with mechanical problems on laps 19 and 50 respectively. Schumacher also stopped from the after effects of a puncture caused by Alguersuari on lap 1. Williams’ Maldonado was the first to retire on lap 10, and Williams had a double retirement with Barrichello stopping on lap 49. Earlier Barrichello had performed a daft dive down the inside of Rosberg’s Mercedes on lap 23. The Merc had to retire in a cloud of smoke and Barrichello earned himself a drive through penalty. Button also acquired a drive through after an incident with Massa, when Button cut a corner when trying to pass. Hamilton damaged the floor on his McLaren while off-roading but still took 2 nd. Vettel’s team mate Webber was on a different strategy and only took 5 th with suspicion of mechanical issues as he parked up immediately after the chequered flag. Top 10: Vettel, Hamilton, Petrov, Alonso, Webber, Button, Perez, Kobatashi, Massa, Buemi. Oh yeah, afterwards Sauber got disqualified for illegal rear wings.
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - qualified 19th, DNF: "Until the retirement I was very pleased with my own performance. I had a good start and was then staying with Alguersuari and Perez until the water leak brought my race to an end. I think this has been a bit of a tricky weekend for us, perhaps more difficult than we had anticipated, but we have some time now to analyse why the pace wasn't quite where we had expected it to be and to work on the reliability before we get to Malaysia. We're all ready to put in the hard work to make sure we keep moving forward, and these are still early days in the life of Team Lotus so we'll put in the hours and look for an improved performance in our home race in Malaysia."
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - qualified 20th, finished 15th: "It was really good to finish the race and to show that there is some pace in the car, despite some of the problems we have had to work through this weekend. We now have a lot of very useful data we can use to help us move ahead in Malaysia and China and I think once we have got through these early teething troubles we will show that we have taken the step forward we want to this year."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "That is a good result for us. We were not able to finish the race with Heikki but with Jarno we saw some encouraging signs from the car's behaviour and I think we will be able to extract more performance from it in the next race after we have been through the data in more detail. For the first race with a Renault Sport F1 engine in a Team Lotus car this is a good day."Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "After a pretty tough weekend I am very pleased with both Jarno and Heikki's race performances. We had an issue with water leak on the radiator on Heikki's car and soon after his pitstop that unfortunately brought an end to his race. He had been very strong on the options so that was a shame, but he had looked good until that point which is obviously encouraging. Jarno struggled early on with the prime tyres so we swapped him onto the options and he quickly found his pace. Our speed in the race was much more representative of the pace we had shown in testing so for Malaysia the target is to make sure we achieve that level throughout the whole weekend. In summary it was good to get one car to the end with solid pace and thank you to the whole team for some very good work all week."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am happy. After a tense day to see Jarno have a strong finish in 15th and show good speed in the race is very pleasing. We knew we had a potential issue with the radiator on Heikki's car so when he had to pull over it was not a surprise, but the main thing for me today is that the pace we showed in the pre-season tests is back. We were able to stay with the midfield teams and that has been the stated target for this year so now we know we have a base to build on for the season ahead and some time to fix the radiator issue before we go home to Malaysia for the next race. With the work ethic and spirit in our team I am confident we will take another step forward in Sepang and we are all very excited about coming home again for the next race."
26 th March 2011
Australian GP Saturday Practice & Qualifying
Practice: Red Bull were quickest again in third practice, followed by the McLarens. Lotus came in at 18 th and 19 th (JT). Still not much better then. Williams’ Maldonado had a slower time, partly due to beaching his car in the gravel. HRT managed one installation lap for Liuzzi and 5 laps for Karthikeyan, who was 17 seconds off the pace. Top 6: Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Button, Petrov, Alonso.
Qualifying: As indicated by practice, the Red Bulls were quickest. Well, one of them anyway. Vettel took pole, with Webber in P3, separated by Hamilton’s McLaren. For Williams and Force India, both experienced drivers were beaten by their rookie team mates! Barrichello spun into gravel before he could set a Q2 time and Sutil only just avoided the wall after a spin. Lotus took up last year’s positions in 19 th and 20 th with Jarno behind Heikki, both still having problems getting the tyres up to temperature. Sadly for HRT, they failed to make the 107% cut, after running about 3 laps all weekend, so are not allowed to race and it’s not really surprising. Liuzzi must be on the happy pills though, stating: "It's not what we wanted, but I think we have to take into consideration the fact that the first time we did a timed lap was in qualifying.… And I think we did an amazing job because I don't think the teams competing with us, after seven laps, did this time on Friday. I think it was an amazing achievement. (Well, that’s ONE way of looking at it!) We know where we need to improve. We know where we can improve quickly. We had problems to fit things that should have been in the car. (Huh???) Also we will have more laps, more confidence from me. We started some three months later than anybody and now we are paying the consequences.” Top 10: Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Button, Alonso, Petrov, Rosberg, Massa, Kobayashi, Buemi.
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20: "Unfortunately the rear wing was stuck in the high downforce configuration for the second run which definitely masked the real pace there is in the car. We've also struggled with getting the most out of the tyres all weekend but I think the increased temperatures tomorrow will suit the car much more and we'll be in good shape to show what we can really do in the race."Jarno Trulli, Car 21: "I've had a few issues with the power steering in practice but the team worked well to resolve that for qualifying and the car definitely felt better than it had this morning and yesterday. We'll clearly be much quicker when we can get the tyres up to full temperature so it'll be an exciting race for us tomorrow and I think we'll be in good shape to push the guys ahead who we were much closer to in the warmer conditions in pre-season testing."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "Firstly I want to say that the atmosphere in this team is very good. This means we are all able to work together very well and it's important that we can do that to get the best out of the car this year. From the engine perspective I think we are ok on usage and the drivers' feedback has been very good. Obviously to maximise the performance of the car the whole package can work better and I'm sure we can unlock the true potential of the car when we have worked through areas like the tyre usage."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "Both drivers did a very good job in qualifying today, despite both of them being hampered by issues - Heikki had a rear wing problem whcih meant he couldn't improve on his second set of tyres, and Jarno reported loss of grip on his second set so we clearly were not able to maximise the car's real performance today. However, I think that we have definitely taken a step forward in qualifying. We have been struggling to get temperature into the tyres all weekend, and have had some issues with the power steering, but we made significant progress in qualifying. On the positive side the tyre warm-up issues will be much better in the race and looking ahead I am very confident that we can get back to the level of performance we showed in winter testing as we continue through the early part of the season.
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am happy with qualifying. Obviously we are paying the price of the limited running we had in testing, but I have to admit I was a bit nervous before the session and having seen where we ended up I am pleased with what both drivers produced today. We continue to learn all the time and as this is essentially a completely new car we have to work hard on a number of areas to help us achieve our full potential, particularly on tyre management - the car looks like it has Malaysian blood as it clearly prefers hotter conditions! Despite that we are all looking forward to the race tomorrow, and with much more development to come here, in Malaysia and China, before we head back to Europe, I am happy with where we are today."
25 th March 2011
Australian GP Friday Practice
Oops, not a great start for Team Lotus as newly appointed reserve driver, Karun Chandhok blotted his copybook by crashing Jarno’s car as he exited the pitlane. This rather messed up the schedule and Heikki only managed 13 laps in first practice. Better than HRT anyway, who still haven’t turned a wheel in their 2011 car. Will they even qualify? Virgin are also way off the pace. The Red Bulls were fastest, Webber ahead, followed by Alonso and Rosberg. Top 6: Webber, Vettel, Alonso, Rosberg, Barrichello, Button. McLaren popped up from somewhere to top the second session with Button quickest. Team Lotus repaired Jarno’s car in time for him to do 23 laps and take 20 th. Heikki was just ahead in 19 th. Not quite the start we were hoping for. But Virgin are worse and HRT managed one installation lap by Liuzzi. Have they even got another driver? No one would know on today’s showing. Top 6: Button, Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel, Webber, Schumacher.
Karun Chandhok: "I'm obviously disappointed to have had such a short run for my first time in the Team Lotus car, but I put my hands up to it and totally accept it was a combination of a slippery track and less grip than I expected from the tyres that combined to put me out so early. I'm just pleased the guys could get Jarno out in the afternoon session and it shows what a great team this is that they could get the car fixed that quickly to ensure Jarno could get a decent number of laps under his belt in FP2."
Heikki Kovalainen: "It was one of those days. We had a couple of problems the guys worked hard to resolve, and once we had got through the issues we managed to complete most of the program so we have some good data to work through tonight. There is obviously more pace to come from the car so let's see what happens tomorrow."
Jarno Trulli: "The team worked really well to get the car ready for the afternoon session but we struggled a bit with a few issues that meant I couldn't really push. We'll work tonight on setup options and there are definitely some areas to look at where we can find some pace so I think tomorrow we'll be ok."
Mike Gascoyne: "A difficult first day in Australia, although we managed to complete some good work at the end of FP2. At the start of FP1 Karun was caught out by the slippery conditions and made a mistake which unfortunately curtailed his running. In the second session we had a fuel pressure problem on Jarno's car and an electronics issue on Heikki's car, both of which limited our running, but we were able to solve those issues and work through most of the afternoon's plan. For tomorrow there is a lot more to come from the car. We are clearly not quite where we expected to be in performance terms but we understand the reasons for that - it is proving quite tricky for us to get the best out of the tyres but we will work on that tonight and when we improve I am confident we will move up to where we expect to be in qualifying tomorrow."Tony Fernandes: "It is good to be back racing and very satisfying to see our green and yellow vision coming together on and off the track. It was one of those days that are not so good for us but this is a continuous journey and while we have work to do I'm confident we are moving in the right direction for the year ahead. It is a real mark of where we are now that the comments from the rest of the team are expressing disappointment with today. As a Team Principal it is actually very pleasing to hear that a performance that a year ago we would have been thrilled about is now being seen as us not meeting our targets, and that shows us all just how far we have already come. The team may not see it right now but this is huge progress, so I am happy and looking forward to the rest of the weekend."
21 st March 2011
Australian GP Preview
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal:"I cannot wait to get back to racing. This is a very important season for Team Lotus as we are no longer a new team – we achieved what we set out to in 2010 but now it's effectively a clean sheet – an entirely new car, a fully fledged race team and factory and much higher aspirations. Now comes the next phase of the hard work – time to prove that our pre-season promise can help us take the next step forward in the amazing story that is Team Lotus."
Heikki Kovalainen (chassis T128-01) on the race weekend: "As Melbourne is now the start of the season it will be very exciting. The Australian fans are great people and the city always has a carnival atmosphere because the race is right in the middle of town. The track itself is a semi-street circuit so it's tricky. It evolves a lot throughout the weekend as the rubber builds up and traction and grip improves. On Friday morning it's always very slippery and you need to bear that in mind when you're setting the car up. If you have some balance problems in the first session it's better not to worry about it too much as you just need to get a feel for the downforce levels, gear ratios and the tyres. By the third session on Saturday morning the track really starts to come into its own. In qualifying it improves every lap and the grip level gets better as people put more rubber down - it can be hard on the tyres as well so you need to look after them. It's a difficult track to overtake on and whether we get an opportunity to make the moveable wing really work for us there is still open to question. Whatever happens I'm really excited about getting back to racingand with the steps forward we have taken this year I think we're going to have a really good year."
Jarno Trulli (chassis T128-03) on the DRS (Drag Reduction System, aka the moveable rear wing): "People sometimes ask me what the acceleration of a Formula One car is like, and the only way I can describe it is that it's like driving a rocket– now we have a rocket that suddenly takes another leap forward when it's already at full speed! It was a strange feeling the first time we used the moveable rear wing, because you suddenly have about 15% less dragand therefore a lot more speed. The more you use the wing the more you get used to it and its effect on the car's behaviour. We can use it wherever we like in practice and qualifying but in the races it'll only be when we're within one second of the car ahead and in the designated area so I think it will have a big part to play strategically. We'll see how it improves the actual racing, but I hope it will make a difference."
11 th March 2011
BarcelonaTest
Needless to say, the T128 ran perfectly for Heikki on the last day of Lotus testing and he did 137 laps, finishing 9 th fastest on a day when Schumacher’s Mercedes was quickest. It’s going to be very wet on Saturday so no point in staying on.
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN: "That is obviously a fantastic end to the tests. Everyone in the team has put in a lot of hard work and days like today are the reward. Completing a double-race distance has given us the chance to make a lot of progress on track and we have accumulated a huge amount of data that will be very helpful in Australia, Malaysia and China. I'm not only pleased with the mileage we've done today, i'm also pleased with the pace we've shown. It's too early to make predictions but I think we'll go to Melbourne and have a good chance to taking the step forward we want to. A good day!"
MIKE GASCOYNE, CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER: "An excellent last day of the test, and a very good way to finish the four pre-season tests. We completed our full programme today, worked through a lot of set-up options and also completed two race distance runs which is very satisfying. To have finished with a double-race distance is a great effort from the team who have worked extremely hard. It is clear that compared to this time last year we have made a huge step forward so this a great way to finish and now we can look forward to the action in Melbourne."
10 th March 2011
BarcelonaTest
Same rubbish, different day: Jarno had the WRONG session again. He got the morning when the new gearbox, fitted overnight, had a problem and another had to be fitted. Then the car had a water leak, so Jarno got only 6 slow laps of running. Naturally, in the afternoon when Heikki took over the car, everything behaved perfectly (except for a small water leak on the radiator – have they not heard of Radseal or whatever it’s called?). Heikki was able to 40 normal laps of course and was 7 th quickest of 12. Strangely, Sauber’s Sergio Perez was quickest, on a low fuel run. Looks like that’s it for Team Lotus testing. At least they are better off than HRT who were planning to finally test their 2011 car tomorrow, last chance before Melbourne, but their dampers are stuck in customs!!
JARNO TRULLI: “Obviously it's a bit frustrating that the gearbox issue cut short my time on track this morning, but we've now got some time back in the factory to fix the problems so I'm looking forward to heading to Australia and begin the fight with the midfield teams."
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN: "That was a pretty good afternoon for me. Jarno had some problems this morning with one of those things that's hard to predict but the team managed to get it sorted for the afternoon and we were able to work through the whole plan. I can feel it coming together well - we'll sort out the reliability and I think we are just where we want to be.
9 th March 2011
Drivers keen to help Pirelli react
Jarno: "We are not disappointed, we are only pointing out that degradation is high. What I said - and it is largely shared by everyone in the paddock – is that Pirelli has lacked a little bit of experience in F1.
"But the fact that now we are going to test for them during the season a few times can only be good for us and good for them. I am sure they will catch up, but at the moment, we will have to deal with a lot of degradation – and we will not have less thanthree stops during the races.”
9 th March 2011
BarcelonaTest
After the Air Asia GP2 drivers had a go in the Lotus yesterday, today it was Jarno’s turn again. Lotus managed a good 98 laps, finishing 9 th fastest. Williams were slower, having a problem with KERS and having to turn it off in the end. Lots of reliability issues, notably for McLaren, Force India and Virgin. HRT have still not turned up with their new car, should be Friday now they say. That’s the last day, isn’t it? Not too many problems for Red Bull though as they are top and Buemi’s Toro Rosso is second quickest.
JARNO TRULLI: “We're pretty happy with how the day went - completing 98 laps gave us a chance to work through a number of setup options and we collected a lot of useful data on the tyre degradation. They're behaving pretty much how we expected them to and the changes we made to the car gave us the results we wanted so we'll look through all the information we've gathered and see if we can take another step forward tomorrow."
MIKE GASCOYNE, CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER: "Today was a very good day for us, much more productive than a couple of the days we have had in testing so far. It is good to complete 98 laps with no real problems on the car. We concentrated on long runs, looking at tyre degradation and setup options, and the pitcrew worked through a number of pitstop practices in advance of the first race so we ran through the entire plan and everyone is happy with the work that has been done today."
22 nd February 2011
Jarno talks about the drawbacks of Pirelli tyres
21 st February 2011
BarcelonaTest
Unfortunately Jarno’s day was cut short by a car failure which caused an accident. This left him at the bottom of the times. Massa was quickest from Webber.
JARNO TRULLI: “It's obviously disappointing to have the test cut short like this but these things happen in motor racing. We started the day well and until the accident happened I had picked up where I left off yesterday - the car has good balance, pace we can build on and has the potential to help us take the fight to the midfield, so I'm leaving here feeling confident about the season ahead and am looking forward to the next test, wherever that will be."
MIKE GASCOYNE, CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER: "Unfortunately the day was cut short due to the accident Jarno suffered this morning at turn 9. It was not his fault - it was caused by a car failure and we were missing a part we needed to put the car back together which meant we had to cut day four short. Despite this I still think there are a great deal of positives to take from the test in terms of the pace of the car and the fact that we are on top of the reliability issues. With that in mind we leave here with work to do but still on target for where we want to be. We will wait to see where the next test will be held* and with the time we now have back at the factory we will be working hard to make sure we run through our complete programme at that test."
The next test is now back at Barcelona on 8 th – 11 th March. This is due to the cancellation announced today of the Bahrain GP, as Bahrainis are protesting and rioting in the streets there. Serves the greedy b******s in F1 right. It means that the Australian GP returns to its rightful place as first GP of the season.
20 th February 2011
BarcelonaTest
The session began wet, not drying until after lunch. Rosberg was quickest , and Jarno was an encouraging 6 th, with a Ferrari, a Sauber, a Force India amd the Toro Rossos behind him, as well as a Virgin and the HRTs.
JARNO TRULLI: “Despite some mechanical gremlins which cut short my running time today we managed to collect some good data and overall I have a good feeling about the car. It’s good to see that without doing many miles, and it being my first day in the car today on the new tyres in Barcelona, I managed to do some consistently good lap times throughout the end of the afternoon session. This morning we were running on wet and intermediate tyres and evaluating them, and working on some setup changes. All in all it’s been a very positive day and it’s great to see we’re getting closer to the top. It gives me a lot of confidence and gives the whole team encouragement to keep pushing forward. Tomorrow we want to carry out more setup evaluation as today I didn’t run that much and didn’t get the chance to explore the car as I would have liked. We had a number of small problems which eventually we solved but I want to get some more mileage done as there is definitely more potential to come from the car."
MIKE GASCOYNE, CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER: "A slightly frustrating day as our running was limited by a problem with a cracking water pipe this afternoon. We knew about the problem but did not have spare parts for it so we had to use parts repaired at the circuit. The team did a good job today to make sure Jarno could get more laps done in the dry conditions and he was fairly happy with the car by the end of the day. We also managed to do a reasonable amount of running in the wet so although it was one of those quite tough days we managed to make fairly decent progress and with new parts available tomorrow we will look to complete some more significant mileage."
Trulli delighted with Lotus potential
19 th February 2011
BarcelonaTest
Vettel was quickest again. Heikki was 10 th and still ahead of Petrov’s Renault. Heikki shared the car with Ricardo Texeira, who was slowest. Liuzzi appeared in an HRT and managed to beat Glock, although Virgin were messing about with systems and aero checks while waiting for new parts to arrive.
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN: “I think the positive feeling with this car is growing even though we have had a couple more reliability issues today. They're all teething problems and we are patient while we fix them one by one. We'll get through this and put the reliability issues behind us as we have experienced people in the right positions who know how to deal with them. We still managed to complete a lot of work today and I can't wait to get back in the car."
RICARDO TEIXEIRA: "First I want to thank the whole team for the chance to drive again today. It was really good to be able to get some more laps done and everyone worked really hard to make me feel comfortable in and out of the car. I enjoyed myself out on track and by the third run I was able to start pushing a bit more so I think I did what I was asked to today and have taken another step forward in my development as a driver."
MIKE GASCOYNE, CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER: "That was a much more encouraging day today with 84 laps in total on the car. We did have a couple of minor issues with the fuel pressure and a water leak but overall it was a better day for reliability. We were able to give Ricardo his first proper run in an F1 car after he had helped us out in Valencia with our filming and he did just the job we wanted him to. He made no mistakes and consistently brought his lap times down on the medium tyre which I think all the teams have said is probably the slowest tyre we have. With Heikki we wanted to do a race distance which was slightly hindered by the water leak but overall we definitely made progress today."
18 th February 2011
BarcelonaTest
Vettel was quickest in Barcelona, Heikki was 10 th, losing some time with a water leak. These reliability issues are so tiresome. But McLaren and other teams have them as well. The track took till lunchtime to dry out. Kobayashi’s Sauber caused a red flag due to running dry during a fuel consumption evaluation. Maybe they need a new calculator. Renault had Heidfeld and Petrov at the bottom of the timesheets due to a KERS problem. Oh dear, never mind.
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN: “It was good to start the day with some runs on the intermediates in proper damp conditions. There wasn't a lot of standing water on the track but it was pretty damp all round - we needed to try out the inters in these conditions so we've now amassed some very useful data on those. After that we wanted to do a race distance but the gearbox problem meant we couldn't complete that part of the plan. Despite this I'm still finding that the car has good balance and is basically a decent package - we'll sort out the problems and tomorrow we'll try the race distance again and see where we are after that."
MIKE GASCOYNE, CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER: "It was a reasonably productive day although we had to stop slightly earlier than planned due to a gearbox lubrication issue. This morning we were able to run on the inters on a damp track for the first time and we have obtained some useful data from those runs. We worked through the rest of the compound choices throughout the day on high fuel loads which is helping us learn more about how to maximise the performance of the Pirellis with the car."
13 th February 2011
Jerez Test
Despite a few annoying issues, it was another decent day for Team Lotus, with Heikki finishing 6 th fastest. Barrichello set the fastest time for Williams. There were a few red flags and enough rain for intermediate tyres in the afternoon.
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN: “The combination of a number of small issues throughout the day and different weather conditions than the last three days meant we had a bit of a disrupted day but we did manage to take another step forward with the setup options and that lap at the end proves there is good pace in the car. We spent quite a lot of time looking at how to find the best balance settings with the tyres and it looks like we keep moving forward in that area. It's a little unfortunate that we had a stop / start day but this is what testing is about. We have a few days now to work on ironing out the issues and look to Barcelona to start working on long runs so I leave Jerez in a positive frame of mind and am already looking to get back in the car next week."
DIETER GASS, SPORTING DIRECTOR: "Firstly I think we're all pleased to see Heikki put in such a good lap at the end of the day in tricky weather conditions - both he and Jarno have performed really well over the last couple of days and I want to thank them both for their efforts. Today was affected by a few issues on the car and the obvious change in the weather but the team has worked extremely hard over the whole test to give both Jarno and Heikki a chance to show what the car can do and our thanks go to them and everyone back in the factory for working so hard. Even with these problems the car does look quick and we have a very good platform to work on in Barcelona and at the final test in Bahrain."
12 th February 2011
Jerez Test
Team Lotus had an encouraging day when Heikki finished just 1.5 seconds off the fastest car, which amazingly was the Renault driven by Nick Heidfeld, on his audition. He’s bound to get the seat now! There were only two red flags, both for mechanical problems for Kobayashi’s Sauber and Buemi’s Toro Rosso. McLaren had delays due to a lack of spare parts today.
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN: “Today was very encouraging and I really enjoyed driving the car. I still have the same feeling that I had in Valencia - it's fundamentally a good car and there's a lot more to come from it. We managed to make very good progress today, even though we had a problem with the exhaust we still managed to get through most of the programme. The guys worked well to fix the problem, and by the end of the day we had made a number of setup changes, run through all the tyre compounds and had run on a variety of fuel loads. This morning we tried the DRS in race mode and even though I had thought the procedure to initiate it might be pretty complicated it actually all worked easily. Once you get used to it the system is pretty simple. I used it in both race and practice mode and it returns to position well so I have no problems under braking and am very happy with how it all works. By the time the day ended we finished right in the mix so we're all pretty happy with the day's work.
DIETER GASS, SPORTING DIRECTOR: "I think we are all quite pleased with how the day went. The morning and late afternoon sessions were good and even though we lost some time on track around the middle of the day with the exhaust problem we were still able to learn a lot more about the car and complete most of the programme. One of the key learnings from today is with the tyres. I think there we have a lot more work to do to really understand how to get the best out of the tyres but we have definitely taken a step forward with Pirelli today. We also tested the DRS in race conditions today and it was our first chance to try the proximity system - that worked very well and it was good to see that in action as it will be used in race scenarios."
11 th February 2011
Jerez Test
There were a few more dramas on track today with red flags caused by Alguersuari, Perez, Petrov and Maldonado christening his Williams both ends by crashing into barriers after travelling through a gravel trap. Jarno had an unexpected afternoon off when the team found the spare parts they needed were back at the factory. Hence, Jarno was bottom of the time sheets, even beaten by the crashed Williams. Michael Schumacher happened to be quickest.
JARNO TRULLI: “The morning went well for us. We managed to do a decent number of laps and put in a couple of quite long runs but then we had to stop with a mechanical issue which could not be fixed in time for me to go out again today. I would have liked to have had more running today but this is all part of testing a brand new car - we need to iron out the problems now so when the races start we have ironed out all the problems. Hopefully Heikki can put in some decent mileage over the next couple of days and really start to push the development of the car.”
DIETER GASS, SPORTING DIRECTOR: "We had a promising start to the day. We found some interesting results from the setup work we did and have continued to learn more about the Pirelli tyres and how to maximise their grip levels on the car. Overnight we were able to fix the issues we had yesterday but unfortunately we had a mechnical problem at the front of the car that we were not able to fix in time today, but the spare parts we need are arriving from the factory tonight so we will be in good shape for Heikki to get into the car tomorrow."
10 th February 2011
Jerez Test
Testing moves on to Jerez, and Massa was fastest. No one knows where we are though because Sergio Perez, Sauber’s new driver, was second. Daniel Ricciardo was 4 th fastest, for Toro Rosso, quicker than the actual race driver Jaime Alguersuari, who was 6 th! Jarno drove for Lotus and was 10 th of 12, ahead of Glock and Pastor Maldonado, who was testing for Williams.
JARNO TRULLI:“The car does feel pretty good, but the problem this afternoon limited our total time on track. Despite that we are still where we want to be - close to the midfield and in a car that we still have a lot more to add to. I think there is still a lot more to come from the car so I'm very positive and looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow.”
DIETER GASS, SPORTING DIRECTOR: "We started the day well and had a good morning session. For the first time we were able to do meaningful setup work and start being able to understand the aerodynamics of the car. Unfortunately we had a small problem this afternoon which limited our running, but the team worked well to rectify it and we managed to give Jarno another 45 minutes at the end of the session. We will take another look at the problem tonight and will make sure it does not affect us tomorrow."
4 th February 2011
Valencia Test
Team Lotus stayed at the track for an extra day to do some promotional filming and complete 91 proper laps, Heikki and Jarno taking turns with the car. Both drivers are still happy!
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN: “Valencia was an excellent test for me. Even though we had some issues with the power steering on the first couple of days you have to remember we weren’t even at the first two tests last year. Now we have a car that was ready to go with everyone else at the first test and to be able to run today without any problems is great. We have been able to start looking at the balance of the car in much more detail and I’ve had the same feeling that I did on day one – I think we have a good car for this year and as we continue to work on it here and at the other pre-season tests we can put some proper mileage on it without the reliability worries we had last year. On the car itself one of the most tangible improvements from last year is the lower centre of gravity we have this year. It’s a smaller chassis and we can place ballast under it much more effectively, which means the whole car feels balanced in a way we didn’t experience last year. Now, I can turn in without having to constantly correct oversteer or understeer and as the whole rear end has been designed with the Renault engine and Red Bull gearbox in mind, it is aerodynamically much more efficient. It’s basically a very good platform for us to develop, and to be able to feel that immediately is a very positive sign for me and the whole team for the season ahead.”
JARNO TRULLI: “It was a great day for the whole team. We completed 91 laps with basically no problems and we’ve been able to start to get a feel for the car which was really what this test was about. I agree with Heikki about the balance – it feels like we have a good car to work on in the next few tests and I think that we can pretty quickly get it to a point where it will give us a chance to fight with the teams ahead. The next test is only a few days away but I think there will be a lot more to come there in performance terms, and it will be good to get back in the car in Jerez and get more mileage under our belts.”
MIKE GASCOYNE:"An extremely productive day. It was good to get the power steering fixed and back on the car for today so well done to everyone at the factory for turning that around so quickly. We completed 91 laps today with no real problems and both drivers managed to get a good feel for the car and the tyres. We weren’t able to do any set up work – that will wait for Jerez, but it was an excellent day and we achieved the main goal of completing a decent mileage today. We also managed to complete our filming runs this morning and that work was done by Ricardo Teixeira who did an excellent job in difficult conditions, but he acquitted himself well and that was exactly what we needed him to do."
3 rd February 2011
Valencia Test
Heikki was out on track yesterday but had problems with the power steering so could only do 15 installation type laps and take up bottom place on the timesheets. It was Jarno’s turn to take up that position today, completing 38 laps but not setting a time. The team has done quite a lot of system checks though and both drivers say they are happy with the feel of the car.
Trulli ‘impressed’ by new Lotus
JARNO TRULLI: "It has been a very positive first day, despite the fact we deliberately didn't set any meaningful laptimes as the car is missing a few parts that will be with us tomorrow. Nevertheless, the car feels great – it has good grip and today we were able to concentrate on carrying out work on the systems which we were going to have to do at some point anyway. Now we can concentrate on building up the performance levels tomorrow and in the next tests, so while it's a shame I couldn't have a full taste of the car, it was still a very positive first day in the new car."
MIKE GASCOYNE: "We had a limited programme today due to the lack of power steering on the car. Under those circumstances 38 laps was the full programme and I want to say well done to Jarno for completing the plan in a car that was clearly hard work to drive. On the positive side we have now completed the systems checks on fuel, aerodynamics and cooling and were able to do start simulations, so with the fact we have another full day of testing tomorrow with both race drivers and the power steering we are aiming to step up to focusing on performance on our third day in Valencia."
31 st January 2011
It’s Launch Time!
Trulli expects to score from the start
18 th January 2010
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88960 Trulli: Lotus dispute has motivated team
10 th January 2011
Happy New Year!
Jarno and family are currently on holiday in USA.
Trulli Demands Progress from Lotus
F1 has gone back 20 years
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. |
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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. 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 a new idea to run a team in the Ginetta Cup, support race to the British Touring Cars. Then Fulvio Mussi drove in the Renault Clio Cup, sponsored by fans. Now the team are in the BTCC championship. 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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