Weather
Sunshine / Showers
Min / max air temperature: 16° / 18°
Min / max track temperature: 16° / 20°
Positions / fastest laps
FP3
KOV 19th, 1.35.225 (lap 16) / TRU 20th, 1.36.905 (lap 16)
QUALIFYING
Q1
KOV 16th, 1.34.923 (lap 3) / TRU 21st, 1.35.456 (lap 2)
Q2
KOV 17th, 1.34.821 (lap 3)
Total laps
FP3
KOV: 21 / TRU: 21
QUALIFYING
Q1
KOV: 5 / TRU: 4
Q2
KOV: 4
Runplan
Driver: Jarno Trulli
Chassis: T128-01
FP3
1000 - 1002: Installation, 1 lap (prime tyres)
1002 - 1008: System checks
1008 - 1024: Run 2, 8 laps (prime tyres)
1024 - 1035: Adjustment - front / rear brake blanking, frontwing flap
1035 - 1042: Run 3, 5 laps (prime tyres)
1042 - 1047: Adjustment - front brake blanking
1047 - 1100: Run 4, 7 laps (option tyres)
Qualifying
Q1 (option tyres)
1300 - 1305: Run 1, 3 laps
1305 - 1313: Refuel
1313 - 1317: Run 2, 1 lap
Finished 21st
Runplan
Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-04
FP3
1000 - 1002: Installation, 1 lap (prime tyres)
1002 - 1009: System checks
1009 - 1022: Run 2, 7 laps (prime tyres)
1022 - 1035: Adjustments - front / rear brake blanking, front wingflap
1035 - 1045: Run 3, 6 laps (prime tyres)
1045 - 1047: Adjustments - brake blanking
1047 - 1100: Run 4, 7 laps (option tyres)
Qualifying
Q1 (option tyres)
1300 - 1306: Run 1, 4 laps
1306 - 1313: Refuel
1313 - 1316: Run 2, 1 lap
Finished 16th
Q2
1331 - 1342: Run 1, 4 laps
Finished 17th
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "I'm very pleasedwith that. Before qualifying we knew it would be important to getas much as we could out of the dry tyres because the showers wereexpected - small showers, but we just didn't know when they weregoing to happen so we had to give it everything on the slicks. Atthe start of Q1 I managed to get a pretty decent lap in and goteverything out of the car almost immediately. Then when I went outfor the second run the rain started but having got it right when itwas dry we were already where we needed to be so the whole team canbe pleased about where we ended up.
"Hopefully I can put in a good race from 17th. I know the wholeteam is working very well together and even though the outrightperformance isn't quite there yet, we are still getting everythingout of the car and attacking the teams ahead - that's what we'rehere to do in our second season, so days like today are veryencouraging for me and everyone in Team Lotus."
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "The rain played its partinQ1 and the session unfortunately was cut short after I'd only hadone run. It wasn't quite good enough, which is a shame, but we haveone car in Q2 which shows we have the pace to take the fight to thecars ahead, so hopefully I can have a strong race tomorrow, as longas I can avoid any bad luck with the conditions!"
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "This morning inP3 we took a step forward compared to yesterday because we had muchimproved weather conditions and that definitely helped us inqualifying. We were able to finalise our engine mappingcomparisons and focus on the effect of the new regulations whichallowed us to make the right decisions for qualifying. That wasobviously the right strategy because when you look at Heikki's laptime 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 alwaysdifficult when the conditions change that quickly, but for thewhole team this has been a good day."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "I am delighted with ourperformance today, and especially pleased for Heikki. In conditionslike that it is a good result for the whole team to get thestrategy calls right and Heikki did exactly what he needed to do toget into Q2, and he gave it his best shot in that session as wellso full credit to him. On Jarno's side he has been struggling allday with the balance so I am obviously disappointed for him, buttomorrow in the race I am sure it will be different and he will beable to attack the group in front. Overall this has been a goodcouple of days for us. The team has reacted well to all the changeswe have had had to make with the amendments to the regulations andnow we need to round off this weekend with a strong two-car finishand take the fight to the teams immediately in front of us."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am very happy with today'sperformance. To run like this at Silverstone, where the Team Lotusdream began when I met Mike here, and put a car into Q2 in only oursecond year is a big achievement. Heikki gave it 100% and Q2 is adeserved reward for his efforts today. I am a bit disappointed forJarno - we'll have to find out what happened to him because therewas quite a big gap between him and Heikki, but now I am lookingforward to the race tomorrow. Our race pace has been good allseason, so the aim is to maintain our much improved reliabilityrecord and see what happens in the race itself."
Weight of lightest ever Caterham Seven: < 400 kgs
Number of patents filed by GE in 2010: > 2,900
Global page views on CNN.com in May 2011: 1.6 billion
Weather
Mixed - sunshine / showers
Max air temperature: 19°
Max track temperature: 20°
Runplan
Driver: Jarno Trulli
Chassis: T128-01
1239: Car leaves for grid / 1 lap
1245: Pitlane closes
1259: Fire up
1301: Lights out - start on intermediate tyres
Retired lap 10 - Instructed to stop due to engine oil leak
Runplan
Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-04
1238: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps (1 through pitlane)
1245: Pitlane closes
1259: Fire up
1301: Lights out - start on intermediate tyres
Retired lap 2 - gearbox issue caused by possible electricalproblem
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "I had a decent startand was getting set to pass Timo but then had the call to stop thecar 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 reliabilityrecord has improved dramatically this season and this is just oneof those blips. I'm sure we'll bounce back at the Nurburgring wherewe may well have similar weather conditions, so we'll move on andmake sure we learn the lessons from this weekend."
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "What a shame! Ihad a really good start but then lost fourth gear and had to retirethe car. The conditions out there were exactly what they should befor 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 havetaken advantage of. But these things happen so we'll move on toGermany and keep on pushing."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "After theexcellent result we had in qualifying yesterday we wereunfortunately unable translate that into a result today because ofthe mechanical issues we had on both cars. We were not lucky todayand that meant it was a short race for us on both sides of thegarage. However, I am sure we will find a solution for the problemsand make sure we get both cars across the finish line at the nextrace."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That is obviously adisappointing end to what had been a very encouraging weekend forthe team. It looks like Heikki suffered an electrical problem onhis gearbox which caused him to lose fourth gear so we had to pullhim in and retire him. It was definitely not a problem with thegearbox itself so we need to take a close look at what went wrongon our side and make sure it does not happen again. On Jarno's carwe instructed him to stop as he had an oil leak and lost pressureso we had to end his race early to ensure we did not damage theengine. Sometimes races end like this but we have been working veryhard to minimise these sorts of problems, so we will regroup andcome back stronger in Germany at the next race."Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "That is such a shame. Thisweekend held huge promise for us after we had performed well onFriday, and especially well on Saturday, and in conditions likethese we know both our drivers have the talent and experience totake whatever opportunities present themselves. We have worked veryhard on improving the reliability of the cars throughout the seasonbut you can never account for everything that might happenand unfortunately this just turned out to be one of thoseraces that we have to move on from. Despite that, the whole weekendhas been very encouraging, particularly for me seeing the hugesupport we have in the stands where there is a growing legion offans wearing green and yellow, so now we will do our best to givethem something to cheer for in Germany and Hungary before we headinto the summer break.
Team Lotus was in Russia on Sunday for the Moscow City Racing demonstration, taking Formula 1 to the masses on the streets of the nation's capital.
Reserve driver Karun Chandhok and third driver Luiz Razia wowed a bumper crowd with two stints each on the 4.5km street course around the Kremlin and Red Square.
There were burnouts, there were doughnuts and there were speeds of up to 240kph on the stretch in front of the Kremlin.
Karun Chandhok: "Russia has a grand prix coming up and there seems to be a lot of excitement among the public here, which is great - unless you can get a crowd, there's no point in having a race. But there seems to be a lot of interest for Formula 1 in this country. It's been an eye-opener for me, it's a beautiful city with amazing architecture. To drive down the long straight alongside the wall of the Kremlin was pretty mega."
Luiz Razia: "It was a really good day, we had so much fun with the crowd and the doughnuts - the tyres were nearly finished in the end! It was quite cool, the people were excited, we were excited to be here as well, and it was a great day."
We filmed an onboard lap of the course with Luiz Razia, which you can watch on our YouTube channel.
To access B-roll footage of the event for media use, please contact pr@teamlotus.co.uk
To see images from Moscow, go to our Facebook page, or for full high-resolution shots see our FlickR stream.
2009 Timing
2009 Qualify Result
P1 WEB 1.32.230 Q3
P2 BAR 1:32.357 Q3
P3 BUT 1:32.473 Q3
2009 Race Result
P1 WEB 1:34.003 L37
P2 VET 1:34.089 L42
P3 MAS 1:34.458 L53
Quick description
Like most tracks the circuit improves significantly over the weekend, however, lap time consistency in Friday practice is often poor
Predominantly low to medium speed corners
No real high speed corners, bar T5
Medium brake energy per lap time (Barcelona equivalent)
Relatively bumpy under heavy braking into T1 and T13
Air / track temperature could be either very high or very low
Weather changes very quickly
Typical balance issue: N/A
Gears ratio (1st gear/others): N/A
Circuit particularity
Bumpiness: Medium
Overtaking chance: Low
Kerbs: Medium
RH setting particularity: None
Sensitivities
Engine severity: Medium
GBX severity: Medium
Lat/Long grip: Longitudinal
Track and base setup
Track grip evo during WE: High
Aero settings: High
Brake wear severity: Medium
Brake cooling necessity: Medium
Team Lotus Partners
Pirelli tyre compounds in Germany: Medium (Prime) / Soft (Option)
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 talents 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 amapproaching 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 world 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!"
Track Guide: Turn 1 is one of the critical points of the whole lap, particularly at the start. It goes slightly downhill into a very tight right-hander and as the cars come in there side-by-side it is easy for the drivers to miss their braking points and compromise their opening laps. However, it looks like the pressure on the drivers to gain positions at the start may have diminished slightly this season so T1 in Germany may not be quite as exciting as it has been in years gone by. The drivers seem to be approaching the first corner of the races much more carefully than in previous seasons, perhaps because they know they can overtake in the race itself using DRS, so the pressure to make up places at the start is reduced, thereby minimising driver errors on the opening lap.
After the opening sequence of corners the pack heads onto T6 where the track is again downhill. Overtaking is not likely there, it may be from T2 - T4 as the track is very wide and there are a number of lines the drivers can take through that section, particularly in the wet, but until they reach T8 / T9 there is nothing hugely challenging for the drivers. T8 / T9 is the best part of the track from the drivers' perspective - it is flat out uphill and the only real high-speed corner on the track where they need to take the right line to make sure they do not lose any time on the lap. T10, T11 and T12 are all relatively easy and then it is the flat out blast down to the best overtaking spot on the circuit at T13.
Team Lotus Information
Number of people worldwide GE water technologies purify water for:39 million
Total number of German households CNN broadcasts to (nearly 1/4 oftotal distribution in Europe / Middle-East / Africa): 40million Small businesses served by Dell: 10million
Weather Dry, overcast
Min / max air temperature: 13° / 17°
Min / max track temperature: 16° / 23°
Total laps
FP1
KOV: 29 / CHD: 19
FP2
KOV: 42 / CHD: 33
Runplan
Driver: Karun Chandhok
Chassis: T128-01
FP1
1000 - 1002: Installation, 1 lap (aero data run)
1002 - 1009: System checks, wing mirror adjustment
1009 - 1012: Run 2, 1 lap (aero data run)
1012 - 1032: System checks, brake blanking adjusted
1032 - 1047: Run 3, 8 laps
1047 - 1106: Adjustments - front wing, brake balance
1106 - 1118: Run 4, 6 laps
1118 - 1125: Adjustment - front wing flap
1125 - 1132: Run 5, 3 laps
FP2
1400 - 1411: Run 1, 7 laps
1411 - 1420: Adjustments - brake balance
1420 - 1437: Run 2, 8 laps
1437 - 1445: Adjustments - front wing flap
1445 - 1455: Run 3, 5 laps
1455 - 1503: Adjustments - rear brake blanking
1504 - 1530: Run 4, 14 laps
Runplan
Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-04
FP1
0959 - 1002: Installation, 1 lap (aero data run)
1002 - 1012: System checks
1012 - 1014: Run 2, 1 lap (aero data run)
1014 - 1030: System checks, adjustments - brake blanking, throttlemap
1030 - 1044: Run 3, 8 laps
1044 - 1049: Adjustments - rear brake blanking, front wing
1049 - 1104: Run 4, 8 laps
1104 - 1113: Adjustments - rear ride height, front torsion bar,front anti-roll bar
1113 - 1133: Run 5, 11 laps
FP2
1400 - 1414: Run 1, 8 laps
1414 - 1420: Adjustments - front wing flap
1420 - 1441: Run 2, 12 laps
1441 - 1448: Adjustments - option tyres
1448 - 1457: Run 3, 4 laps
1457 - 1501: Adjustments - front wing flap angle
1503 - 1530: Run 4, 17 laps
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "I'm pleased withtoday's performance - that was one of the good Fridays. Wecompleted more laps than anyone else out there and the car has feltgood all day. I can feel that we have made a decent improvement tothe back of the car which helped us find a good balance prettyearly on and it was working well on both tyre compounds, so thisgoes down as a good day's work."
Karun Chandhok, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "That was good day oflearning. The main area I've been looking at is the brakes - we usea different material here to my previous team so I think that's whyI've maybe ended up with quite a lot of square tyres today! I had afew moments under braking, and a couple of lock-ups, but that'swhat today was about - getting used to the tyres and the brakes andeasing myself into a place where I can start to push. Over the dayI improved my time from this morning by over 1.5 seconds, so I'mpleased with that, and now I'll work with the engineers to findmore time and keep pushing forwards tomorrow."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "The mainchallenge here is to work on the driveability of the engines. Weneed to find a good top speed for the long straight and couple thatwith strong traction out of the slow and medium speed corners, andafter having completed so many laps we have a very decent amount ofdata to work on to give the drivers the best package we can. Wealso wanted to make sure Karun could run as much as possible ondifferent fuel loads and get used to the different engine maps, so the fact he completed so much mileage means this has beena good day all round."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A pretty useful first daywhere we were able to complete the programmes on both cars and makesure Karun completed a decent number of laps. He was obviously on asteep learning curve so we wanted to give him a chance to work onthe tyres, both over a single lap and on long runs and he acquittedhimself very well in both sessions. He and Heikki were strugglingto warm up the front tyres, especially on the harder compound, butwe can work on that and look forward to tomorrow."
Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "I am delighted with howtoday has gone, both in terms of the mileage we completed and thefact that both Karun and Heikki have performed so well. Karun hasdone exactly what we needed him to do - learn as much as possible,avoid any mistakes and ease himself into his race weekend. There isdefinitely more to come from him in pace and he can be pleased withhow well he has grabbed the opportunity he has here in Germany. Itis also good to see that the work that has been going on at thefactory to resolve the reliability issues that befell us at thelast race appears to have eradicated those problems, so now we haveto make sure we have another strong Saturday and look forward toseeing both cars cross the line on Sunday
Number of lives GE Healthcare helps Doctors saveevery day: 3,000
Individual parts in a Caterham 7 (depending onspec): 10,000
Go towww.teamdellracing.com to see how Team Lotus has thepower to do more withDell
Weather: Overcast
Min / max air temperature: 13˚ /16˚
Min / max track temperature: 16˚ / 21˚
Total laps
FP3
KOV: 13 / CHD: 16
QUALIFYING
Q1
KOV: 9 / CHD: 11
Runplan
Driver: Karun Chandhok
Chassis: T128-01
FP3
1059 - 1102: Installation, 1 lap
1102 - 1109: System checks / Adjustment - brakebalance
1109 - 1119: Run 2, 5 laps
1119 - 1134: Adjustment - brake balance, front brakeblanking
1134 - 1145: Run 3, 6 laps
1145 - 1152: Adjustment - front wing flap angle
1152 - 1200: Run 4, 3 laps
Qualifying
Q1 (option tyres)
1400 - 1409: Run 1, 5 laps
1409 - 1412: Refuel
1412 - 14X: Run 2, 6 laps
Finished 21st
Runplan
Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-04
FP3
1100 - 1134: Run 1, 7 laps
1134 - 1148: System checks
1148 - 1159: Run 2, 6 laps (option tyres)
Qualifying
Q1 (option tyres)
1401 - 1412: Run 1, 6 laps
1412 - 1414: Refuel
1414 - 1420: Run 2, 3 laps
Finished 19th
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "I'mrelatively pleased with the performance today but I think there wasstill more to come from the car. On the second run I was stillstruggling to get the front tyres working and I maybe pushed a bitmore than I should so couldn't improve on my first run. That runhad gone well and I was able to get a decent time in so all in allnot too bad."
Karun Chandhok, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "I've got to sayI'm pleased with how qualifying went today. Tony had said to methat if I could get within a second of Heikki he'd be proud, and Ifinished about 0.8 off him so that's a goal achieved. One of thechallenges today has been finding out how much grip there is on thesoft tyres on low fuel and that was always going to be a prettysteep learning curve in quali, but my times have been coming downall weekend so I'm getting there. As I've been saying, the lastcouple of days have been about learning the car, the tyres and howto get the best out of the DRS system, so to get as close as Ireasonably could expect to my teammate is pretty good progress."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "First Iwant to say that Karun has done a very good job today. That was hisfirst qualifying session for quite a long time and he has had a lotto take on board this weekend, so to see the improvement he madefrom his first run to the second is impressive. From the overallengine perspective I think we can still find more time in the setupand while our performance was ok, there is the potential for more,so overall I am reasonably satisfied, but with a bit more work todo."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A reasonablequalifying session. Karun has improved steadily all weekend and ifhe had put his ideal lap together I am sure he would finished justbehind Heikki. On his second set of tyres Heikki made a mistake butthat did not affect his overall position as he had put in a goodlap on his first run. With the rain that is forecast for tomorrow Ithink we can put in a strong performance and the aim is to pick upsome positions and have both cars cross the finishline."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am pretty pleased withwhere we have finished today. As soon as I walked out of my hotelthis morning and felt how cold it was I knew this would be a trickyday for us - our car really does not seem to like the cold so Ithink we have ended up about where we should be. I am also pleasedwith Karun's performance today, and in all the sessions so far. Hehas achieved exactly what we wanted him to and has maybe even endedup closer to Heikki than I thought he could after such limited timein the car, so the aim now is to repay the faith we have in him byputting in as strong a performance as he can in the racetomorrow.
"On the wider team front I have also been busy helpingpush forwards in 2012, in what will be a critical season for us. Ihave had a number of good meetings today about next year and beyondand am very happy with the way we are progressing, so now I amlooking forward to the race tomorrow to hopefully see both Karunand Heikki fight to the end of the race in what could be quitetricky conditions."
Followers of CNN's 'Breaking News' Twitter feed: > 4.5million
Number of conversations Dell has with customers each year:2 billion
Pressure an F1 driver applies to the brake pedal: 2,000psi
Weather
Mixed - overcast / light rain
Max air temperature: 13˚
Max track temperature: 16˚
Runplan
Driver: Karun Chandhok
Chassis: T128-01
1330: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps (1 throughpitlane)
1345: Pitlane closes
1359: Fire up
1401: Lights out, start on option tyres
Lap 9: pitstop 1, option tyres (new nose)
Lap 31: pitstop 2, option tyres
Lap 55: pitstop 3, prime tyres
Finished: 20th
Runplan
Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-04
1333: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps (1 throughpitlane)
1345: Pitlane closes
1359: Fire up
1401: Lights out - start on option tyres
Lap 28: pitstop 1, option tyres
Lap 52: pitstop 2, prime tyres
Finished: 16th
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "I think thatwas a pretty good race. For me everything was working well in thecar but honestly it was a bit lonely out there! We're not quitewith the guys ahead, and we're well clear of the teams behind, so Iwanted to make sure I could push as hard as possible over the fullrace distance, not make any mistakes and get the car home in onepiece. We are progressing in the right direction, and it will taketime to be able to really fight with the guys in front, but we'llget there."
Karun Chandhok, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "That's a fullrace distance completed and an awful lot of learning under mybelt. Honestly, that probably wasn't the race I wanted-I had a couple of high speed spins and I think I need more time toget used to the tyres. When they start to go off there's verylittle give compared to last year's rubber, but that's all part ofthe learning process and I'm glad I got the car home and did thebest job I could."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "From theengine perspective I think we are pretty pleased. The feedback wehave had from the drivers has been good - we wanted to maximise thedriveability of the engine, especially in the wet conditions, andaccording to the data we amassed we managed to achieve that. Karundid a good job in very tough conditions - it is not easy to jumpstraight into the car and be able to extract maximum performance,but he adapted well to the strategies we gave him and hasdefinitely taken a lot on board."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "Good to get bothcars home over the line. Heikki had good pace, particularly on theoptions and he was able to keep up with the cars ahead throughoutmost of the race. Karun acquitted himself pretty well, despitehaving a couple of moments he got on with the job and hasdefinitely 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 atwo car finish, so well done to them and now we can move straighton to Hungary where the aim will be the same - progress little bylittle and keep moving forward."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "The main aim today was tobring two cars home and to make sure Karun could learn as much aspossible over a full race distance. It is good that he finished thefull 60 laps and showed some reasonable pace and I am very pleasedwith Heikki's speed on the options - we obviously have a lot ofwork to do but this is another platform to build on, so overall Iam pretty happy."
2010 Qualify Result
P1 VET 1.18.773Q3
P2 WEB 1.19.184Q3
P3 ALO 1.19.987 Q3
TL best P20 KOV1.24.120
2010 Race Result
P1 WEB 1.22.651L46
P2 VET 1.23.195L67
P3 MAS 1.22.362 L70
TL best P14 Kov 1.27.457L64
Quick description
Track is laterally demanding but traction is also veryimportant due to high number of medium-slow corners
Minimum corner speed is approximately 95kph
Traditionally, overtaking ha been very difficult Sector 2is particularly important for lap time
Generally track is bumpy but no major issues, kerbs areonly significant in T7
Wind creates a very dusty track making setup workdifficult
In 2010, the increase of track grip was medium/high overthe weekend .
Typical balance issue
Traction instability is usually the main issue
Gears ratio (1st gear/others)
1st gear could be used in T1, usually 1st gear is long toincrease launch performance
Circuit particularity
Bumpiness: Medium / high
Overtaking chance: Low
Kerbs: High in T7
RH setting particularity:None
Track and base setup
Track grip evo during WE High
Aero settings: Very high(max)
Brake wear severity: Medium /high
Brake cooling necessity: High
Team Lotus Partners
Pirelli tyre compounds in Hungary: Soft (Prime) / SuperSoft (Option)
Jarno Trulli - car #21, chassis T128-01:"I'm obviously pleased to be back in the car and looking forward togetting on track in Hungary. The Hungarian Grand Prix is held onone 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 bigchallenge for the cars and the drivers but I do enjoy the racethere as it pushes the drivers physically, and getting a good laprequires concentration and focus.
"This year it's more difficult than any other season topredict how competitive we are going to be at any of the circuitswe race at, mainly because there are so many new factors to takeinto account that comparisons with previous seasons are largelyredundant. However, I think we can expect to be OK because we werecompetitive in Monaco, a circuit that's pretty similar to Hungary -relatively low speed with a need for good traction to push out ofthe slower corners and not so much reliance on aeroperformance.
"After the Hungarian race I'll go straight to my house inMiami and spend some time with my family out there. Whenever I'm inthe US I make sure I get as much sunshine as possible and I likegoing out cycling whenever I can. There's a few other drivers whoare usually around when I'm there, like Bruno Junqueira who I metthrough cycling and Juan Pablo [Montoya]. He's sometimes around tosay hello to and while he's not into cycling I'm sure I'll see himonce or twice. After that it'll be back for the next race in Spabut before then August is the three week break for everyone in theteam. They all deserve it because they've worked so hard all yearand it's a long season so I'm sure they'll all make the most of thetime off and come back ready for the last third of theyear."
Heikki Kovalainen - car #20, chassisT128-04: "After the cold weather in Germany it's back tothe heat and dust of Hungary, scene of my first victory in F1. Thisyear I think the Hungarian race will be similar to most otherplaces for us but as it's less dependent on aero efficiency I thinkwe are in with a shout of pushing the guys ahead a bit more thansomewhere like Silverstone. We need to get the tyres workingproperly and if we're clever with the strategy I think Saturdayafternoon could be interesting - we'll see.
Whatever happens I get a great reception when I'm inHungary - there's always a lot of Finnish fans there and I'vealways left Hungary with good memories so I'm looking forward togetting back there again.
"Once the race is done I'll head home and have a couple ofweeks catching up with family and friends in Finland, and keepingup my fitness levels. It might be a holiday but I never stoptraining so I'll do that without the distractions of any team orsponsor commitments and that's as important for me as it is foranyone in the team, to recharge the batteries for the next phase ofthe season."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:"Hungary has always been one of the circuits where all the teamsrun maximum downforce. While it is obviously not a street circuitit requires a similar setup to Monaco and Singapore as the track'scharacteristics do not place a large emphasis on aero efficiency,instead rewarding enhanced downforce throughout the restrictions ofthe tight and twisty track. In the past teams have tried veryinnovative additions to the cars in an attempt to generate as muchdownforce as possible, sacrificing aero performance in favour ofpoints of downforce, but now the rules are so tight there is noroom to add the odd bits and pieces that used to be seen sproutingfrom the cars in Hungary and Monaco.
"With that in mind we may see the differences between thefront of the grid and the back decrease slightly, and that couldplay into our hands. We showed at Silverstone that we can put ourcars into Q2 using the right strategy and that may be the same inHungary. We are definitely influencing the plans of the teams aheadas they cannot risk being behind us in Q1 using only the primetyres, so hopefully we can do that again in Hungary and keepfighting the midfield pack on Saturday, and pushing on in the raceon Sunday when our race pace comes into its own."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Hungaryis the last race before the whole team has a well-earned rest.Obviously I know just how hard everyone in our little team worksbut having helped out with pack-up in Germany on Sunday evening Ihad another insight into not only how physically tough it is totake down our whole trackside operation in a few hours, but alsohow quickly and efficiently everyone works to get it done, in somepretty grim conditions. The factory staff have also been flat outall year and their combined efforts helped us in Germany to curethe reliability issues that came back to haunt us in Silverstone.For Hungary the key is to keep up that record and focus on coveringas many kilometres as possible over the three days on track,minimise mistakes, and grab whatever opportunities that come ourway.
"Jarno will be back for that race and it will be hisfirst chance to try the new power steering system we have developedand tested over the last couple of months. We are not expectingmiracles 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 thecar to extract every ounce of performance he can. It will be goodto see him back in the pack and I am sure he will be pushing harderthan ever alongside Heikki on a track that rewards the best driversout there." TRACK GUIDE: The Hungaroring has alwaysbeen described as a track where overtaking is almostimpossible. It is usually very dusty, especially when thewind picks up and even though the main straight was lengthened in2003 that did not result in much more passing. However, it ispossible this year will change that - DRS will obviously play itspart and as Pirelli are bringing the Softs and the Super Softs tyremanagement will play a big role on a track with high evolutionlevels over the whole weekend. The section from T14 to T1 will nowencourage overtaking - one slow turn leading to a straight thatends in another slow turn is theoretically the perfect layout forpassing so there may be quite a bit of action at the end of themain straight - maybe the changes made in 2003 will finally paydividends for the spectators.
For the drivers T1 is critical, but then T2, 3 and 4 are abit stop start. From T4 - T11 it is important that the drivers makeno mistakes as losing time there has a ripple effect on the wholelap - lose time there and it compromises the entire laptime. Thisputs the onus on the drivers and engineers to find a balance thedriver is happy with through that section so they have theconfidence to push and not lose time that cannot be made up laterin the lap.
Balance is something the fans hear a lot about at everyrace, but what is a balanced car for one driver may not be balancedfor another. Some drivers find their perfect balance in a car thathas slight oversteer, others in a car that is totally neutral orone that pushes on in corners as understeer has been dialled in.The challenge for the engineers is to set up the cars for eachdriver to suit their own preferences, and that is the focus duringthe Friday practice sessions. In addition, Renault Sport F1 alsowork with the drivers to fine tune each of the engine maps that thedrivers will have available to them during qualifying and the race,aiming to give the drivers a car from which they can extractmaximum performance throughout the whole lap.
Assuming they have cleared T11 with no problems the nextchallenge is to get through the last few corners but the mostimportant is achieving good traction out of T14 and onto the mainstraight. As this is likely to be the main overtaking opportunityof the whole lap this is also where time will be won and lost asthe drivers cover moves being made on them from behind and positionthemselves as closely as possible to cars ahead to make their movesinto T1.
Team Lotus Information
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Weather
Overcast / sun
Min / max air temperature: 19° / 23°
Min / max track temperature: 20° / 26°
Fastest laps / positions
FP1
KOV 19th, 1.26.878 (lap 8) / TRU 20th, 1.27.352 (lap 9)
FP2
TRU 19th 1.24.994 (lap 20) / KOV 20th, 1.25.447 (lap 21)
Total laps
FP1
KOV: 26 / TRU: 21
FP2
KOV: 39 / TRU: 38
Runplan
Driver: Jarno Trulli
Chassis: T128-01
FP1 - all runs on prime tyres
1000 - 1004: Installation, 2 laps
1004 - 1028: System checks
1028 - 1031: Run 2, 2 laps, aero parts test
1031 - 1046: System checks, brake blanking adjusted
1046 - 1058: Run 3, 7 laps
1058 - 1103: Adjustments - brake blanking
1103 - 1113: Run 4, 6 laps
1113 - 1123: Adjustments - fornt wing flap
1123 - 1130: Run 5, 4 laps
FP2
1400 - 1414 Run 1, 9 laps
1414 - 1427: Adjustments - front wing flap / brake blanking frontand rear
1427 - 1439: Run 2, 7 laps
1439 - 1450: Adjustments - front wing flap 1450 - 1459: Run 3, 5laps
1459 - 1502: Adjustments - front wing flap
1502 - 1532: Run 4, 17 laps
Runplan
Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-04
FP1 - all runs on prime tyres
1000 - 1004: Installation, 2 laps
1004 - 1031: System checks
1031 - 1035: Run 2, 2 laps, aero parts test
1035 - 1045: System checks, brake blanking adjusted
1045 - 1101: Run 3, 10 laps
1101 - 1113: Adjustments - rear ride height, f/r brake blanking,front torsion bar
1113 - 1132: Run 4, 12 laps
FP2
1400 - 1410: Run 1, 6 laps
1410 - 1419: Adjustments - rear brake blanking
1419 - 1438: Run 2, 12 laps
1438 - 1447 Adjustments - front wing flap, rear brake blanking,front anti-roll bar
1447 - 1454: Run 3, 4 laps
1454 - 1502: Adjustments - front wing flap, rear brakeblanking
1502 - 1529: Run 4, 17 laps
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "I'm very happy today. Iwant to thank the whole team, everyone at the factory and in therace team because they have all been patient with me and haveworked hard to give me the new power steering system and a car thatI can really feel. As soon as I pulled out this morning it felt somuch better than before so today I've been able to start rebuildingmy confidence in the car, and working on all the little changes andimprovements that help me to find a setup I can really work with.It's been a really positive day and for that my thanks go toeveryone in the team."
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "It feels like wehave taken a step forward with the updates we've brought to theback end of the car but I still need to work on finding a balanceI'm happy with. We tried a few different setup options today but Icouldn't really find the best solution on either compounds, butwe've completed a lot of mileage so I'm sure we'll find the rightway forward tomorrow."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "A good Friday forthe team. We have completed a very decent number of laps and workedthrough all the engine maps we will need to use here. Driveabilityis the key to maximising engine performance at this circuit andwith the amount of data we have generated today on both cars I amsure we can find more time for qualification tomorrow for bothJarno and Heikki."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was one of the bestFridays we have had this year. We have made some modifications tothe diffuser and those changes have definitely worked, and withJarno immediately telling us the new power steering system isworking exactly as we wanted it to we have been able to push closerto the cars ahead than we have for a while. On Heikki's car we needto work on finding him a balance he is happy with and we will seehow we have got on with that tomorrow, but overall this has been avery positive Friday."
Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "I am very pleased withtoday's work across the whole team. Back at the factory we have putin a lot of hours on the updates we have brought here, both on thediffuser and the new steering system, and it is clear from bothdrivers' laptimes that those efforts have closed the gap to theteams ahead more than we have seen for several races. Jarno inparticular has been able to push today and he reported that as hisconfidence increases he will be able to find more time, so I thinkquali tomorrow could be very interesting."
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Weather
Sunshine
Min / max air temperature: 21˚ / 22
Min / max track temperature: 27˚ / 27˚
Positions / fastest laps
FP3
TRU 19th, 1.25.141 (lap 14) / KOV 20th, 1.25.501 (lap 18)QUALIFYING
Q1
KOV 19th, 1.24.362 (lap 7) / TRU 20th, 1.24.534 (lap6)
Total laps
FP3
TRU: 20 / KOV: 20
QUALIFYING
Q1
TRU: 7 / KOV: 8
Runplan
Driver: Jarno Trulli
Chassis: T128-01
FP3 - prime tyres unless indicated
1100 - 1101: Installation, 1 lap
1101 - 1108: System checks
1108 - 1121: Run 2, 6 laps
1121 - 1126: Adjustment - rear brake blanking
1126 - 1136: Run 3, 5 laps
1136 - 1146: Adjustment - front wing flap
1146 - 1153: Run 4, 5 laps (option tyres)
1153 - 1157: Adjustment - refuel
1157 - 1201: Run 5, 3 laps (option tyres)
Qualifying
Q1 (adjusted front wing flap and ride height)
1401 - 1412: Run 1, 4 laps
1412 - 1417: Refuel, front wing flap adjusted
1417 - 1422: Run 2, 3 laps
Finished 20th
Runplan
Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-04
FP3 - prime tyres unless indicated
1100 - 1101: Installation, 1 lap
1101 - 1108: System checks, front wing flapadjusted
1108 - 1123: Run 2, 8 laps
1123 - 1132: Adjustment - rear brake blanking
1132 - 1144: Run 3, 7 laps
1144 - 1150: Adjustment - front wing flap angle 1150 -1158: Run 4, 4 laps (option tyres)
Qualifying
Q1
1402 - 1412: Run 1, 5 laps
1412 - 1416: Refuel
1416 - 1421: Run 2, 3 laps
Finished 19th
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "After a bitof a tough weekend so far I'm really pleased with how qualifinished up. I've not been able to find a balance I'mhappy with all weekend and we made a couple of changes forqualifying that finally took us in the right direction. On thefirst run I couldn't get a clean lap together, but I was quietlyoptimistic we could hook it all up on the second run and that's howit ended up. I had to work pretty hard to get it all right and it'svery pleasing to see it come good in the last minutes of Q1. Theupdates we've brought here are working very well for us and itlooks like we've made a gain relative to the guys ahead, and withJarno clearly much more competitive here the mood is really goodacross the whole team."
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "This has been avery good day, even though in qualifying I didn't manage to geteverything I could out of the car. On the first run we went withthe prime and the car was oversteering a little. On the second runwe went onto the super softs and found more understeer than I'd hadall weekend so I wasn't really able to find the pace I'd hadyesterday and this morning. Despite that I am really pleased withhow this weekend's gone. The new power steering system hastransformed the car for me and I'm so much happier now - it'sreally like night and day, and I can't wait to get back in tomorrowand see what we can do in the race. The difference between the twotyre choices means strategy will come into play in a big way, solet's see what we can do."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We canall be pleased with the performance today. From the engine side wehave been working on giving the drivers the right engine maps forthis track, focusing on driveability which is key to maximising onthis type of twisty track and I think both drivers extracted asmuch as they could from the complete package today. Our race pacelooks pretty good for tomorrow as well so I think we are in a goodposition all round."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a prettygood qualifying for the team. We only ran one set of options onboth cars in Q1 to save them for the race which will put us in gooda position for the race tomorrow with the degradation levels we aregoing to see. Both drivers did a good job today. Jarno has beenmuch happier with the car all weekend but couldn't quite translatethat into his qualifying runs. He made a couple of small mistakeson his quickest lap which cost him a bit but it is good to see howwell he has responded to the updates we have brought. Heikki hasbeen less happy with the balance this weekend but he did anexcellent job to get the most out of the car, so well done to himand the whole team."
Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "Firstly I want tosay how pleased we all are with jarno's performance this weekend,in and out of the car. He has responded exactly as we would havehoped to the updates introduced here and has shown exactly why heis rightly considered one of the fastest drivers out there. On thequalifying session itself, I think we have to be reasonably pleasedwith how that went. Heikki put in a great final lap to edge justahead of Jarno, and to finish less than three tenths from Buemi andabout five tenths from Maldonado suggests that the changes we havemade here have paid dividends. Both drivers have said they probablycould not have found much more from the cars, but after very solidperformances in all three practice sessions, and with good pace inthe long runs yesterday, I think we are in good shape fortomorrow's race."
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Weather
Mixed - light rain / overcast
Min / max air temp: 16˚ / 18˚
Min / max track temp: 18˚ / 20˚
Runplan
Driver: Jarno Trulli
Chassis: T128-01
1331: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps
1345: Pitlane closes
1359: Fire up
1401: Lights out - start on intermediate tyres
Lap 14: Pitstop 1, option tyres
Lap 19: retirement, oil leak
DNF
Runplan
Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-04
1331: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps
1345: Pitlane closes
1359: Fire up
1401: Lights out - start on intermediate tyres
Lap 12: Pitstop 1, option tyres
Lap 24: Pitstop 2, option tyres
Lap 44: Pitstop 3, prime tyres
Lap 48: Pitstop 4, intermediate tyres
Lap 54: Pitstop 5, option tyres
Lap 56: Retirement due to water leak
DNF
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "A weekend ofreal ups and downs for me. I struggled to find a decent balance inthe practice sessions but then it all came good in quali where Iput in a really good lap after finally getting comfortable with thesetup. I started the race well and was keeping pace with Maldonado,Sutil, Perez and the guys around me, and right through the earlystops I was able to push them, and keep pulling away from the guysbehind. We came in for inters when the rain really started againabout two thirds of the way through the race, then back in prettyshortly afterwards for options again, but then I was given theinstruction to shut the engine off due to a water leak. Having seenhow 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 pickup where we left off in Belgium in a few weeks time."
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "My run of badluck in Hungary seems to have struck again! The car has been greatall weekend and even though I didn't have the best start I wasreally enjoying myself out there. I got past Timo pretty early onand then had a good first stop but it looks like a water leakbrought my race to an early end. Despite that, the steps forwardwe've taken here have been really positive, so after the break I'msure we'll be back fighting again at Spa."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "That wasa bit of a hard race for us. Heikki had a good start and was rightin the mix but reliability issues brought both his race and Jarno'sto an end. We obviously wanted to complete the fullrace distance so now we need to make sure that we do not see thissort of problem again."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A disappointingend to a strong race. Jarno stopped with a water leak and it lookslike the same problem also ended Heikki's race later on, but weneed to get the cars back and take a closer look before we can besure what the problems were. Until they stopped both Jarno andHeikki were having strong races, particularly Heikki in the middlestint when he was keeping a lot of cars behind him. So, overall itis disappointing to end like this, but we have definitely taken astep forward here so now we can go into the well deservedmid-season break which the whole team, here at the track and backat the factory, definitely deserve, and come back refreshed andready for an even better second half of the season when wereturn in Spa."
Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "What a shame ourweekend ended like that. Heikki had driven a fantastic race and hadbeen fighting right up until the end with the guys ahead - his pacewas better than we have seen all season so it is obviously verydisappointing that through no fault of his own he could not bringthe 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 welearn from it, build on the positives and keep on pushingforwards."
Qualifying
P1 WEB 1.45.778Q3
P2 HAM 1.45.863Q3
P3 ALO 1.46.100 Q3
TL best P16 KOV 1.50.980 Q2
Race
P1 HAM 1.49.069L32
P2 VET 1.49.395L32
P3 MAS 1.49.807L29 T
TL best P16 KOV 1.55.797L23
Quick description
Medium-low downforce track
Easy on brakes and cooling
Minimum RH is determined by T3
Longest circuit of the season
7th gear setting influenced by wind on the mainstraight
Tend to run on the limiter in 7th gear to allow higherrevs in Eau Rouge
Top speed can be reached towards T5 or T18 depending onwind direction
Top speed is important for good lap time in S1/S3 and forovertaking
S2 is a downforce dominant sector
No IN lap after the chequered flag
Typical balance issue
Braking and high speed stability are the mainissues
Gears ratio (1st gear/others)
1st gear not used on track
7th gear needs particular attention
Track and base setup
Track grip evo during WE:High
Aero settings: Medium /low
Brake wear severityow
Brake cooling necessity: Low
Team LotusPartners
Pirelli tyre compounds in Belgium: Medium (Prime) /Soft (Option)
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "After areally good break in Finland it'll be good to get back to work. I'mfeeling better than ever and it's always exciting heading to Spa.Eau Rouge is, of course, the corner everyone talks about and whileit is still flat-out it's actually not that hard for us now, butit's still a big thrill. Any corner you take at 300km is prettyquick so you hang on the wheel pretty hard so that you don't getany snap out of the corner, build up a good speed down then youfeel all that compression as the car bottoms out through the cornerand then you're up the hill. It's still veryexciting!
"It's been said so many times before but Spa is what aracetrack should be - hardcore corners, massive speed, overtakingopportunities and passionate fans, and, being Spa, anything canhappen 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 ahot and sunny weekend for once! I doubt it… it's almostcertain it will rain somewhere on the circuit at some point overthe weekend and that could well be an opportunity for our team. Wejust have to keep pushing and make sure we're in the hunt ifthere's an opportunity to be grabbed, work hard all weekend andkeep taking little steps forward."
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "Since HungaryI've been able to spend the last couple of weeks with my family inMiami - I've had a good rest and after we took such a step forwardfor 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 wasin the car from the very first laps in Budapest but it really waslike night and day. For the first time all season I could work onthe setup from a baseline I had confidence in, and that puts me andthe team in a really good position for the rest of theseason.
"It's also good that the next race is at Spa - it's prettymuch the total opposite of Hungary, so it'll be another good chanceto keep learning how to get the best out of the new system on amuch quicker track with more high speed corners. Enough's been saidover the years about what a great circuit Spa is, and for me it'sthe same as everyone else - it has some unique challenges and itbrings 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 thewhole lap and the mechanics have to be on it all weekend to dealwith the changing weather conditions, so while everyone talks aboutit being a drivers track, for me it's really a teamstrack."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "The whole team has had agood break and now they are all back and ready to get back to workin Belgium. We will do our best in Spa to keep takingmeasured steps forward and we need to make sure we have put thereliability issues that have affected some of our recentperformances behind us.
"Off track, while the team took a deserved rest the lastcouple of weeks have been as busy as ever for me. We announced thisweek that we have taken a significant stake in QPR and while thatis another new challenge it also opens up some very excitingopportunities for all the businesses I am involved with. One of themost interesting areas we will be looking at straight away is whatwe can learn in Team Lotus about the interaction between QPR andits fans - across the whole football industry there is a much moreintegrated day to day relationship with clubs' supporter bases thanF1 and its teams have with their fans and I think that we can learna huge amount very quickly about how we can be even more accessibleto our fans than we Team Lotus has been since day one.
"While QPR has obviously been a focus for the last fewmonths we are also progressing exactly as planned with the widerTeam Lotus and Caterham Cars group. We have already made a numberof very big announcements this year, about our racing, road car andfootball activities, let alone AirAsia and Tune Group, and there ismore to come over the next few months that will keep us movingforward in exactly the right direction."
Track guide: Spa is one of the classic Grand Prix venues,scene of some of the most exciting races in Formula 1 history andstill a real test for the drivers and the cars. Eau Rouge,Blanchimont, Pouhon - just some of the corners that wouldfigure highly in any fantasy F1 track layout and when those cornersare combined with the unpredictable weather that can see one halfof the track wet, the other dry, the end result is consistentlygreat racing. The Spa Francorchamps circuit is set amongst thehills and forests of the Ardennes and is by far the longest lap ofthe season at just over 7 km, with the race being run over a totalof 44 laps through the dips and dives of what is, for many of thedrivers, the greatest circuit on earth.
The layout of the Spa circuit has always promotedovertaking, and the introduction of DRS in 2011 will inevitably seemore moves being made in the race as the drivers slip-stream eachother through the long straights and into the tight corners. The track is very easy on brakes and the cars are run in medium-lowdownforce, not as low as Monza, but, unless a gamble is being madeon the weather, in low downforce configuration. The weather plays acritical role throughout the race weekend, almost more thananywhere else on the calendar and the changing conditions puts theonus on the engineers and drivers to make the right calls at theright time all weekend. The length of the lap and the possibilityof extreme weather can mean that if the rain starts falling and thedriver has just gone past the pit entry that could be the end ofhis race…. Added to that is T1 - a super tight right-hand hairpinwith a very wide exit as the first corner of the race which usuallysees some sort of mayhem as the cars come barrelling in from thestartline, jockeying for position for the run down to T3, EauRouge.
Arguably the most famous corner in F1, Eau Rouge is now aturn the drivers say is less of a challenge than it was when thecars had less downforce, but that does not diminish its importance.For the engineers the corner presents a unique problem - the carhas to be set up to deal with the huge compression it is put underat high speed through the bottom of the corner, but withoutcompromising the overall balance by running too stiff or too highin static ride height which would penalise the rest of the laptime.Throughout the race, and particularly at the start, the sight ofthe cars screaming down from T2 into Eau Rouge, twitching as theygo through the corner and then the invisible hand of downforcesqueezing them into the track as they come through T4 and onto theKemmel Straight is what is, for many fans, the essence ofF1.
Group CEO of Team Lotus, Caterham Team AirAsia, Caterham Cars, merchandising, engineering and all associated businesses 
Hingham, UK - 24th August 2011 
Tony Fernandes and fellow shareholders Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin have confirmed that with immediate effect Riad Asmat has been promoted Group CEO of Team Lotus, Caterham Cars, Caterham Team AirAsia, merchandising, engineering and all related interests.
Riad Asmat was a key player in the establishment of Team Lotus in 2009, combining his experience and knowledge of the Malaysian, ASEAN and global automotive and motorsport industries to help lay the foundations for a platform that would enable Team Lotus to compete at the highest level within a manageable timeframe. Under his tenure, Riad has overseen the growth of the F1 team, establishment of the GP2 team which has already recorded its first victory, the acquisition of Caterham Cars and establishment of a number of related businesses, including a growing merchandise division, all working to long-term plans to create success in each of their fields, and be positive forces for change in all their related industries.
Commenting on his promotion, Riad said: “I am very honoured to be given the chance to help lead such an exciting group of companies, and to be able to play my part in helping lead us on to the future successes that will come our way. Big challenges lie ahead of us, but with the inspiration and passion of Tony, Din and Nasa to call on, and the support of the talented, dedicated people we have in each of our group companies, I am excited about what lies ahead.
 
“In F1 the goal remains the same – grow over the long-term and achieve our goals in realistic timeframes. Next year we need to take another step up and we have the building blocks in place to enable us to do that. On the road, we will be producing cars that are efficient, light, technologically innovative and, crucially, cars 21st century consumers across the globe want to buy. We have a wealth of talent, knowledge and experience driving our core businesses forward every day and that ensures a very bright future for us across all our interests.”
Tony Fernandes, speaking on behalf of his fellow shareholders and the whole group, commented: “We are absolutely delighted Riad has taken on the role of Group CEO and could not have placed our faith in a better person to lead our businesses forward. We first met Riad in 2009 and we were immediately struck by his passion, hard work and determination to succeed and he will be an inspirational leader for a very talented group of people working across all our group companies. Riad is not alone in having a unique attitude to wanting to achieve great things - the same can be said for each and every person we have working across the group and that foundation gives us the best possible chance of achieving our long-term goals, whichever industry we are involved in.”
Team Lotus Information
Registered users of online Dell communities: 1.6million
Lives saved each day by doctors using GE Healthcaretechnology: 3,000
Date CNN launched: 01/06/1980
Weather
Mixed: Overcast, rain, sun
Min / max air temperature: 21˚ / 23˚
Min / max track temperature: 21˚ / 24˚
Fastest laps /positions
FP1
TRU 13th, 2.08.233 (lap 12) / CHA 21st, 2.13.090 (lap9)
FP2
TRU 18th 1.55.051 (lap 19) / KOV 20th, 1.56.202 (lap12)
Total laps
FP1
TRU: 14 / CHA: 11
FP2
TRU: 20 / KOV:15
Runplan
Drivers: Jarno Trulli
Chassis: T128-01
FP1
0959 - 1002: Installation, 1 lap
1002 - 1005: System checks, front wing flap & brakeblanking adjusted
1005 - 1011: Run 2, 1 lap
1011 - 1055: System checks, front wing flap, brakebalance, brake blanking
1055 - 1112: Run 3, 7 laps
1112 - 1123: Adjustments - brake blanking
1123 - 1137: Run 4, 5 laps
FP2
1400 - 1434: Run 1, 14 laps
1434 - 1438: Adjustments - front wing flap / brakeblanking, brake balance
1438 - 1451: Run 2, 6 laps
End of session
FP1 - Karun Chandhok
0959 - 1005: Installation, 1 lap
1005 - 1101: System checks, front wing, brakebalance
1101 - 1113: Run 2, 5 laps
1113 - 1121: Adjustments: front wing, brake blanking,brake balance
1121 - 1136: Run 3, 5 laps
FP2 - Heikki Kovalainen
1400 - 1411: Run 1, 4 laps
1411 - 1423: Adjustments - brake blanking, brakebalance
1423 - 1435: Run 2, 5 laps
1435 - 1438: Adjustments - front wing flap
1438 - 1447: Run 3, 4 laps
1447 - 1449: Adjustments - front wing flap
1449 - 1454: Run 4, 2 laps
End of session
Karun Chandhok, Chassis T128-04 (FP1): "It's good to havebeen back in the car and despite the weather I enjoyed my time outthere today. I had traffic on what would have been myquickest lap, but the chance to spend more time in the cockpit isalways useful and as it was a bit of a stop-start session foreveryone I pretty much did as much as I couldtoday."
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "It's alwaysdifficult in weather like this to get anything meaningful done, butwe did get out on both the mediums and the softs and have a bit ofdata from those runs that'll be useful for Sunday. Tomorrow shouldbe interesting - it looks like rain but we've always done prettywell in qualifying in the changeable conditions so let's see whatwe can do with strategy tomorrow afternoon - whatever happens I'msure it'll be a good session for thefans!"
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "Despite it beinga typical Spa day it was still pretty positive for me. We obviouslyknew what the conditions would be and had a plan to work aroundthat, so we managed to get through most of what we wanted on thetyres, engine and setup and I think we're ok for quali when itlooks like it'll be similar weather. One good point is that we weretrouble-free in all the runs today so I think it's important wekeep that up all weekend and give ourselves a chance to be in themix if anything happens in qualifying or therace."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "As Spa isone of the most demanding tracks of the season on the engines wealways have to achieve as much as we can here on Friday, whateverhappens with the weather. The drivers spend a lot of the lap atfull throttle, particularly on the run down to Eau Rouge and alongthe back straight, so we had a runplan for today that wasbased around the weather conditions that we had and we were able tocomplete most of the goals we had set ourselves for both sessions.Obviously we could not complete as much mileage as we would haveliked, but we were able to work on the wet setup we may well haveto use tomorrow, and the dry setup that hopefully we will be usingon Sunday so despite the rain it has been a pretty good day forus."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "An interestingday with fairly typical weather conditions for this track. Thismorning Karun did a solid job for us and ran some aero checks earlyon, but then the rain brought an end to any meaningful running inhis session. This afternoon, although Heikki wasn't able tocomplete his run on the softs we still managed to complete a run onthe mediums for him and Jarno did get through some laps on thesofts so at least we have banked some time on track on bothcompounds. Now we will have to see what the weather decides to doin qualifying and the goal for Saturday and Sunday is the same asit has been all season - see if we can push the cars directly aheadand make sure we have a problem free race."
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "It is good to be back racing andto see that the whole team has come back from the break raring togo. There is a good spirit in the garage and everybody isdetermined to make sure we work as hard as we can to consolidatetenth place and take whatever opportunities present themselves,particularly on a track like Spa where the weather conditions maymean we can use strategy and a bit of luck to take the fight to thecars ahead."
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