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Formula 1
F1: Lotus Team Off To Strong Start
Lotus F1 has been surprisingly strong so far in 2012, but even better things could be in store...
Kimi Raikkonen and Lotus could continue to surprise some folks this season. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Written by Negative Camber for F1B
The first two races of the season have shed some light on the pace of the cars, and yet the street circuit in Melbourne and the changeable conditions in Malaysia still leave lingering questions as to just whom among the teams is the quickest. Conventional wisdom would say that McLaren is still the team to beat although it experienced a tough weekend in Malaysia with both drivers suggesting that the car just didn’t have the pace in the wet-turned-dry race circuit.
Mercedes AMG Petronas has reversed its qualifying fortunes and, while many took this as a sign of Mercedes' arrival among the top teams, the team's race pace has suffered as much as its rear tires and sent the cars backwards during the first two races.
Red Bull Racing has also seen a change of fortunes with no clear domination such as the performance it enjoyed over the last two seasons. And then there is Ferrari’s “complex” car, as described by driver Fernando Alonso.
This leaves one team many observers are seriously considering a threat for podium positions in 2012, and with good reason. Lotus F1 has been a welcome sight in the points so far this season, and the feat is made even better with Kimi Raikkonen’s return to Formula One in the Lotus.
The big question that has always remained for non-manufacturer supported or full manufacturer teams is the amount of in-season development they can muster with the limited resources they have. In 2011, Lotus F1 struggled with a car that was not easy to develop and had limited resources in which to do so, but this year the team is talking a different story.
“We’ll still be working flat out, and we’ve got plenty of upgrades on the way for China to help extract some more pace from the car," technical boss James Allison told Sky Sports.
“When you look at how tight the field is, the sort of developments we will bring would gain us quite a few places on the grid if nobody else were doing the same thing; unfortunately, for us of course, they all are all working just as furiously as we are!
“We’ll just have to hope our development slope is steeper theirs’ to allow us to inch forward in China. This year more than ever, mounting a sustained development program will be the key to success.”
This is a very big win for Lotus F1 because the real battle in F1 is the in-season car development. No one excels better at this than McLaren and Ferrari, and with their resources, they are a tough act to follow.
It is a great sign that the team has a clear desire to develop the car as much as possible in the coming months. Lotus has been been the cat among pigeons so far, and the team is moving full steam to remain so.
The big advancement in performance and the arrival of 2007 World Champion Raikkonen is something the team needs to get behind and, if it does have the resources, there is every reason to believe (based on the performance in the first two races) that Lotus could be a real contender in the 2012 season.
The first two races of the season have shed some light on the pace of the cars, and yet the street circuit in Melbourne and the changeable conditions in Malaysia still leave lingering questions as to just whom among the teams is the quickest. Conventional wisdom would say that McLaren is still the team to beat although it experienced a tough weekend in Malaysia with both drivers suggesting that the car just didn’t have the pace in the wet-turned-dry race circuit.
Mercedes AMG Petronas has reversed its qualifying fortunes and, while many took this as a sign of Mercedes' arrival among the top teams, the team's race pace has suffered as much as its rear tires and sent the cars backwards during the first two races.
Red Bull Racing has also seen a change of fortunes with no clear domination such as the performance it enjoyed over the last two seasons. And then there is Ferrari’s “complex” car, as described by driver Fernando Alonso.
This leaves one team many observers are seriously considering a threat for podium positions in 2012, and with good reason. Lotus F1 has been a welcome sight in the points so far this season, and the feat is made even better with Kimi Raikkonen’s return to Formula One in the Lotus.
The big question that has always remained for non-manufacturer supported or full manufacturer teams is the amount of in-season development they can muster with the limited resources they have. In 2011, Lotus F1 struggled with a car that was not easy to develop and had limited resources in which to do so, but this year the team is talking a different story.
“We’ll still be working flat out, and we’ve got plenty of upgrades on the way for China to help extract some more pace from the car," technical boss James Allison told Sky Sports.
“When you look at how tight the field is, the sort of developments we will bring would gain us quite a few places on the grid if nobody else were doing the same thing; unfortunately, for us of course, they all are all working just as furiously as we are!
“We’ll just have to hope our development slope is steeper theirs’ to allow us to inch forward in China. This year more than ever, mounting a sustained development program will be the key to success.”
This is a very big win for Lotus F1 because the real battle in F1 is the in-season car development. No one excels better at this than McLaren and Ferrari, and with their resources, they are a tough act to follow.
It is a great sign that the team has a clear desire to develop the car as much as possible in the coming months. Lotus has been been the cat among pigeons so far, and the team is moving full steam to remain so.
The big advancement in performance and the arrival of 2007 World Champion Raikkonen is something the team needs to get behind and, if it does have the resources, there is every reason to believe (based on the performance in the first two races) that Lotus could be a real contender in the 2012 season.
Spanish Grand Prix
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