F1: Boullier Not Frustrated By Lack Of Lotus Race Win

Formula 1

F1: Boullier Not Frustrated By Lack Of Lotus Race Win

Team boss Eric Boullier believes a Lotus race victory will come...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted June 28, 2012 Balen (BEL)

Team boss Eric Boullier is not upset that Lotus hasn't won this season. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier says he’s not frustrated that a first 2012 win continues to elude his team, despite some close calls in recent races.

In Valencia, Romain Grosjean was behind Fernando Alonso and potentially in a position to challenge the Ferrari when he retired with an alternator problem.

Meanwhile, Kimi Raikkonen finished second having been overtaken by Lewis Hamilton at the restart. He then spent much of the rest of the race behind the McLaren, before finally getting by in the closing laps.

“Not winning is not frustrating; it was more frustrating to have a DNF with Romain,” Boullier told SPEED.com. “But at the same time, we had a second place with Kimi.

“We are reasonably happy, obviously. If everything was normal, (Sebastian) Vettel would have won, because he was too far from everybody. And Romain would have finished second and Kimi fourth, which would have been a very good result for the team. Obviously, with the cars breaking down at the front, it was good for the team to at least have a nice podium.”

Regarding Raikkonen’s drive, he added: “It was good, better. He took all the opportunities that he could. If you don’t have clear laps, it’s a problem. You have to deal with the traffic.”
Boullier is hopeful that the E20 will be suited to Silverstone.

“It should be good for us normally,” he said. “The car likes fast corners. The only issue is maybe the weather or the track temperature, so we will see.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.