Caterham F1 Era End

maocheng

Japanese Grand Prix View
Added: Fri 30 Sep, 2011
2010 Timing
Qualifying  Result
P1  VET 1.30.785 Q3  
P2  WEB 1.30.853 Q3  
P3  HAM 1.31.169 Q3  
TL best  P19 TRU 1.35.346 Q1
Race Result
P1  VET 1.33.653 L51   
P2  WEB 1.33.474 L53   
P3  ALO 133.823 L53   
TL best  P12 KOV 1.37.620 L51               

Quick description     
Very high percentage of medium & high speed corners
Extremely lateral track
Ability to ride kerbs is not a priority
Multiple altitude changes and very narrow track make overtaking difficult
Very easy on brakes
Low front ride height possible (track very smooth)
Wind often changes between Fri & Sun (changed 180° in '09 & '10)

Typical balance issue
Need good balance for S1 and high speed S2 section

Gear ratios (1st gear/others)
1st gear not used on track

Circuit particularity
Bumpiness: Low  
Overtaking chance: Low  
Kerbs: Smooth  
RH setting particularity: Low RH   

Sensitivities   
Engine severity: High   
GBX severity: Low   
Lat/Long grip: Lateral   
Aero eff ratio: High               

Track and base set-up
Track grip evo during WE: High
Aero settings: Medium / high
Brake wear severity: Very low
Brake cooling necessity: Low

Team Lotus Partners   
Pirelli tyre compounds in Japan: Medium / Soft   

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 11th 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, Team Principal: "2010 in Japan was our best race of the season - we finished 12th and 13th 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."

maocheng

Friday at Suzuka
Added: Fri 7 Oct, 2011
Weather

Dry, sunny

Min / max air temperature: 25˚ / 27˚

Min / max track temperature: 30˚ / 34˚



Fastest laps / positions

FP1

TRU 19th, 1.39.168 (lap 9) / CHA 20th, 1.39.946 (lap 10)

FP2

KOV 17th, 1.36.225 (lap 17) / TRU 23rd 1.39.800 (lap 6)



Total laps

FP1

TRU: 10 / CHA: 22

FP2

KOV: 35 / TRU: 24



Runplan

Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03   

FP1: all runs on medium tyres

1002 - 1004: Installation, 1 lap

1004 - 1029: System checks

1029 - 1041: Run 2, 6 laps

1041 - 1056: Adjustments - baseline exhaust deflectors

1056 - 1102: Run 3, 3 laps

End of session - setup change



FP2

1400 - 1414: Run 1, 7 laps (medium tyres)

1414 - 1420: Adjustments - front brake blanking

1420 - 1447: Run 2, 15 laps (medium tyres)

1447 - 1456: Adjustments - front wing flap angle, front / rear brake blanking

1456 - 1502: Run 3, 2 laps (soft tyres)

Electrical issue - end of session



Runplan

FP1 - Karun Chandhok

FP2 - Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-04   

FP1: Karun Chandhok - all runs on medium tyres

1000 - 1002: Installation, 1 lap

1002 - 1032: System checks

1032 - 1045: Run 2, 7 laps

1045 - 1053: Adjustments - Rear wing flap, front brake blanking

1053 - 1104: Run 3, 6 laps

1104 - 1110: Adjustments - brake blanking

1110 - 1125: Run 4, 8 laps



FP2: Heikki Kovalainen

1359 - 1412: Run 1, 7 laps (medium tyres)

1412 - 1420: Adjustments - Front wing flap angle

1420 - 1434: Run 2, 8 laps (medium tyres)

1434 - 1450: Adjustments - front wing flap, front brake blanking

1450 - 1456: Run 3, 3 laps (soft tyres)

1456 - 1502: Adjustments - front wing flap angle

1502 - 1524: Run 4, 12 laps (soft tyres)

1524 - 1526: Adjustments - refuel

1526 - 1535: Run 5, 5 laps (medium tyres)

   
Karun Chandhok, Car 20 - Chassis T128-4: "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, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "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, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "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 programs 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."

maocheng

Saturday at Suzuka
Added: Sat 8 Oct, 2011
Weather
Dry, sunny
Min / max air temperature: 25˚ / 26˚
Min / max track temperature: 32˚ / 35˚

Positions / fastest laps
FP3
TRU 19th, 1.36.327 (lap 13) / KOV 20th, 1.36.912 (lap 13)
QUALIFYING
Q1
KOV 18th, 1.35.454 (lap 2) / TRU 19th, 1.35.514 (lap 5)

Total laps
FP3
TRU: 16 / KOV: 14
QUALIFYING
Q1
KOV: 3 / TRU: 6

Runplan
Driver: Jarno Trulli
Chassis: T128-03   
FP3
1059 - 1102 Installation, 1 lap (medium tyres)
1102 - 1120: System checks
1120 - 1122: Run 2, 1 laps (medium tyres) run aborted / red flag
1122 - 1131: Adjustments - front wing flap angle
1131 - 1144: Run 3, 7 laps (medium tyres)
1144 - 1150: Adjustments - front wing flap angle, front torsion bar
1150 - 1205: Run 4, 7 laps (soft tyres)

Qualifying
Q1
1359 - 1405: Run 1, 3 laps (medium tyres)
1405 - 1410: Refuel / Adjustments - front wing flap angle
1410 - 1416: Run 2, 3 laps (soft tyres)
Finished: 19th

Runplan
Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-04     
FP3
1100 - 1103: Installation, 1 lap (medium tyres)
1103 - 1121: System checks
1121 - 1123: Run 2, 1 lap - not counted (medium tyres) run aborted / red flag
1123 - 1135: Adjustments - front wing flap angle, brake blanking
1135 - 1149: Run 3, 8 laps (medium tyres)
1149 - 1152: Adjustments - front wing flap angle
1152 - 1204: Run 4, 5 laps (soft tyres)

Qualifying
Q1
1410 - 1415: Run 1, 3 laps (soft tyres)
Finished: 18th


Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "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, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "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."

maocheng

Sunday at Suzuka                                                   

• Added: Sun 9 Oct, 2011

   
                        

Number of @myteamlotus Twitter followers:43,067

Hours between finishing garage pack-up in Japan andgarage set-up in Korea:34   

Total weight of freight to go from Japan to Korea: 29,000kgs




Weather   

Dry, sunny

Min / max air temp: 26˚ / 28˚

Min / max track temp: 35˚ / 38˚




Runplan

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis:T128-03   

1432: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps (1 throughpitlane)

1445: Pitlane closes

1459: Fire up

1501: Lights out - start on soft tyres

Lap 11: Pitstop 1 (soft tyres)

Lap 25: Pitstop 2 (soft tyres)

Lap 39: Pitstop 3 (medium tyres)

Finished 19th




Runplan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis:T128-04   

1430: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps (1 throughpitlane)

1445: Pitlane closes

1459: Fire up

1501: Lights out - start on soft tyres

Lap 10: Pitstop 1 (soft tyres)

Lap 23: Pitstop 2 (soft tyres)

Lap 38: Pitstop 3 (medium tyres)

Finished 19th




Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "What a greatrace for the whole team! I made an incredible start, no wheelspin,the perfect clutch slip and was suddenly past a load of cars and upinto 14th. It looked like everyone else went intoreverse and I even heard one of the engineers laugh andaccidentally telling someone else how brilliant the start was, andI thought 'no! Don't mention it now, I need to get on with the restof the race!' After that the first couple of stints were great. Thecar was working really well on the soft tyres and the stops weremega, and then the safety car came out and bunched everyone up sofrom there it was a race to the flag with Jarno and I stayed aheaduntil the last lap. The car has felt balanced all weekend so on theharder compound I was still able to push all afternoon, and eventhough I was held up a bit by the Virgins and the HRTs when theywere being shown blue flags, I was still able to keep ahead ofJarno and as he's always been quick here that feels prettygood.


"Also - the fact that this is the first time this seasonwe didn't see any blue flags is very satisfying. Every time youhave to let someone pass you are artificially slowing up your ownrace, 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 rightplace to take advantage of whatever happens on track, and today wedid just that. A great day."


Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01: "For me that was agood day. It didn't start too well - for once my start wasn'tperfect but once we got under way I was able to put in a few goodpasses and was making up ground. After a few laps it felt like Ihad a problem with the gearbox that slowed me down, but it cameback and almost immediately the safety car came out and I was ableto 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. Wecompleted every lap of the race, and while that might not seem allthat important when there are guys winning championships up ahead,it still shows we keep on improving, and I'm really pleased foreveryone, here at the track and back at the factory, that we canleave Japan on a high again and head to the next race inKorea."


Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We aredelighted for the whole team today. For Renault Sport F1 this is anhistoric day - Sebastian's won his second title, so congratulationsto him for that, and for Team Lotus we have been in the very happyposition, for the first time this year, where we have had to managethe fuel consumption levels right to the flag. We have been workinghard all weekend on giving the drivers the best balance we can withthe blown floor, and they are both reporting that they have hadwell balanced cars all afternoon, so we have definitely done ourpart in helping the team take another step forward today.Congratulations to everyone!"


Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "That was a reallypleasing race weekend for the whole team. For the first time bothcars finished on the lead lap and even though we were helped by thesafety car our level of performance was still the best we have everseen relative to cars around us. Both drivers pushed throughout thewhole race, right up until the last lap and I think we managed toextract every ounce of performance we could from the cars. Heikkimade an amazing start, by some way the best of the year and thatmade a three stop strategy the obvious choice, running the optionfor the first three stints, and that worked out pretty well. WithJarno we managed an issue he had in the first stint, and to see himpushing Heikki hard at the end of the race was exactly what wewanted from him and his team mate. They were also both helped bysome tremendous pitstops from the guys in the garage so all in allthis was a very professional job right across the board and I wantto thank the whole team for the work they have put in here, andgive my congratulations to everyone."


Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Firstly I'd like to wishSebastian and all our friends at Red Bull Racing hugecongratulations for an incredible job this season. They still havea job to do, and I know from firsthand experience that they willnot let up in their pursuit of the constructors' title this year,and many more titles in the future. They set the standards that wemust aspire to and I am very proud that we are part of theirextended 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 thisreally was the best race we have ever had. As soon as I came inthis morning I had a feeling that everything in the team isbeginning to come together as we had planned, and to finish on thesame lap as the world champion is a huge step forward for us. Thedrivers both drove their hearts out today and the pitstops wereexcellent all afternoon. Our race pace was strong and we were boldwith the strategies on both cars and that gave us the reward of notseeing a blue flag throughout the whole race. A great teameffort.  



"I think that this is a turning point for us. Suzuka is a quickcircuit, not an easy place to take steps forward, so to haveperformed as well as we have done all weekend means I leave hereabsolutely thrilled, knowing our hard work is starting to pay off.The strategy that we have employed, of being patient and notrushing into the wrong decisions is paying dividends, and this is aclear sign that next year, and especially the year after, weare going to see more big steps forwards from our team."

maocheng

Korean Grand Prix View                                                   

• Added: Sun 9 Oct, 2011

   
                        

2011 KOREAN GRAND PRIX VIEW

2010 Timing
Qualify Result
P1  ALO 1.45.390Q3  
P2  VET 1.45.457Q3  
P3  HAM 1.45.571Q3  
TL best  P19 KOV 1.50.915Q1


Race Result
P1  ALO 1.47.976L58   
P2  VET 1.48.141L59   
P3  WEB 1.49.706L54   
TL best  P16 KOV 1.53.051L53               


Quickdescription   
Straight line speed is important
Track is very dusty & low grip in P1 creates Very hardfront tyre graining
Pit lane very slippery
Track grip evolution is very high
FR tyre is the most damaged overall
T10 - T17 very hard on rear tyres
Very high rear tyre degradation on option tyre longrun
Bumpy through the HS section T7-T8
Riding kerbs is not a priority
Three high power braking points but low coolingdemand
Wind direction is effective for the top speed
Very low grip leads drivers to setup cars towardsundersteer


Typical balance issue
Lack of overall grip is the main problem


Gears ratio (1st gear/others)
1st gear twice per lap, in T3 and T10

   
Circuit particularity
Bumpiness: T7 and T8
Overtaking chance: T3
Kerbs: Medium  
RH setting particularity: None (quite low atfront)


Sensitivities   
GBX severity: LowLat/Longgrip         
Track and base setup
Track grip evo during WE:Medium
Aero settings:High   
Brake wear severityow   
Brake cooling necessity: Medium / low


Team LotusPartners   
Pirelli tyre compounds in Korea: Soft / SuperSoft   


Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "Last yearwas obviously the first race in Korea and while we had a prettyinteresting race day, it was good to be in another new country andkeep taking our sport to new places. This year I'm sure the wholeevent will step up another level and be even better and I'm lookingforward 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 fightin the race. The circuit itself is interesting - it has the classiclong straight with a tight turn at the end that gives a good chanceto overtake, and Pirelli's tyre choice of the softs and thesupersofts and the high degradation levels we expect to see willmake strategy even more important."


Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "Having Japan andKorea back to back is pretty tough on the whole team, but as adriver we train to deal with this sort of schedule, so physicallyit's not too hard. Korea is one of the few track that runanti-clockwise and while that doesn't really affect the set-up itcan have an effect in the cockpit by pushing muscles that aren'talways stressed at other races, but as I say, we just get on withit and you get used to it pretty quickly. The track is a bitstop-start - you don't really get a chance to build up a properrhythm, not like you do at somewhere like Suzuka, but I stillenjoyed myself there last year, even though my race came to apretty early end, so this year I want to make sure we get to theend and keep pushing towards the end of the season."


Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "This is oursecond visit to Korea but if it stays dry on Sunday it will be abit of a leap into the unknown as last year's race was run in suchwet conditions. The tyre choice there and the strategies we deployto manage the degradation levels, particularly on the options, willdetermine how our qualifying and race will run, but we have alreadycompleted a good deal of work back at the factory runningsimulations so despite what happened in 2010 we still have a goodidea 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 straightout of T2 leading to a very tight right-hander at T3 that presentsan obvious overtaking opportunity, so we have to set the cars upwith the right balance to suit the differing needs of each sector.The long straight means top speed is important but even though thetrack evolves over the weekend, it is still relatively low grip, sothe cars tend to be set up more for understeer, to help deal thedrivers deal with that lack of grip."


Tony Fernandes, Group CEO: "The whole team is lookingforward to going back to Korea, and while I will not be at the raceitself this year, I will be watching every session from Europe andI am sure the team will keep fighting to secure that all importanttenth place in this year's championship.


"I was delighted when I first heard that Korea had beenawarded its own race - it is an important location for AirAsia andlast year we were given a very warm welcome, despite the weather! Iam sure that as Formula 1 keeps breaking new ground, especially inparts of the world like Asia where there is so much passion for oursport, and so much talent for us to unearth, that we will be seeingmore new venues following Korea's lead and establishing themselveson the F1 map and the fact that our team is part of that is asource of great pride for me, and the whole team."

maocheng

Friday in Mokpo
Added: Fri 14 Oct, 2011
FP1 / FP2

Team Lotus Information

Number of F1 circuits that run anti-clockwise: Five

Total Team Lotus Facebook fans: 115,111

Minimimum operating temperature of F1 brakes: 500°               



Weather   

Rain (am) / Overcast (pm)

Min / max air temperature: 17˚ / 18˚

Min / max track temperature: 17˚ / 20˚



Fastest laps / positions

FP1

CHD: 11th, 2.06.350 (lap 10)

KOV: n/a



FP2

KOV: 19th, 1.56.669 (lap 10)

TRU: 20th, 1.57.173 (lap 10)



Total laps

FP1

CHD: 11 / KOV: 1

FP2

KOV: 20 / TRU: 19



Runplan

FP1: Karun Chandhok

FP2: Jarno Trulli

Chassis: T128-03   

FP1- Karun Chandhok: all runs on wet tyres

1003 - 1005: Installation, 1 lap

1005 - 1049: System checks, front / rear brake discs changed

1049 - 1052: Installation lap 2, 1 lap

1052 - 1113: Adjustments - front / rear brake blanking

1113 - 1133: Run 3, 9 laps



FP2 - Jarno Trulli

1400 - 1423: Run 1, 11 laps (intermediate tyres)

1423 - 1442: Adjustments - increase front wing flap angle & reduce rear brake blanking

1442 - 1457: Run 2, 7 laps (intermediate tyres)

1457 - 1525: Adjustments - front wing flap angle, brake balance

1525 - 1529: Run 3, 1 lap (supersoft tyres)



Runplan

Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-04   

FP1: all runs on wet tyres

1006 - 1009: Installation, 1 lap

1009 - 1130: System checks, front / rear brake blanking increased

End of session



FP2

1400 - 1422: Run 1, 11 laps (intermediate tyres)

1422 - 1442: Adjustments - brake balance

1442 - 1457: Run 2, 7 laps (intermediate tyres)

1457 - 1525: Adjustments - front wing flap angle

1525 - 1530: Run 3, 2 laps (supersoft tyres)



Karun Chandhok, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "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."


Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "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, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "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."

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."

maocheng

Saturday in Mokpo
Added: Sat 15 Oct, 2011
Amount of rubber lost in an F1 race: up to 8 kgs
 
Number of laps completed under safety car in 2010 Korean GP: 26    
 
Go to www.teamdellracing.com to see how Team Lotus has the power to do more with Dell                
 
 
 
Weather   
 
Dry, overcast
 
Min / max air temperature: 21˚ / 24˚
 
Min / max track temperature: 25˚ / 28˚
 
 
 
Positions / fastest laps
 
FP3
 
KOV 19th, 1.41.909 (lap 10) / TRU 20th, 1.41.945 (lap 7)
 
QUALIFYING
 
Q1
 
KOV 19th, 1.40.522 (lap 5) / TRU 20th, 1.41.101 (lap 5)
 
 
 
Total laps
 
FP3
 
KOV: 18 / TRU: 13
 
QUALIFYING
 
Q1
 
KOV: 6 / TRU: 6
 
 
 
Runplan
 
Driver: Jarno Trulli
 
Chassis: T128-03    
 
FP3
 
1100 - 1102: Installation, 1 lap
 
1102 - 1108: System checks
 
1108 - 1121: Run 2, 7 laps
 
1121 - 1150: Adjustments - front wing flap, brake blanking
 
1150 - 1201: Run 3, 5 laps
 
Qualifying
 
Q1
 
1409 - 1413: Run 1, 3 laps
 
1413 - 1418: Refuel
 
1418 - 1423: Run 2, 3 laps
 
Finished: 20th
 
 
 
Runplan
 
Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
 
Chassis: T128-04     
 
FP3
 
1100 - 1102: Installation, 1 lap
 
1102 - 1113: System checks
 
1113 - 1122: Run 2, 6 laps
 
1122 - 1132: Adjustments - brake balance
 
1132 - 1141: Run 3, 6 laps
 
1141 - 1152: Adjustments - front brake blanking
 
1152 - 1159: Run 4, 5 laps
 
 
 
Qualifying
 
Q1
 
1410 - 1414: Run 1, 3 laps
 
1413 - 1418: Refuel
 
1418 - 1423 Run 2, 3 laps
 
Finished: 19th
 
 
 
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "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, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "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."

maocheng

Korean Grand Prix 2011                                                   

• Added: Sun 16 Oct, 2011

   
                        

Team Lotus Information

Distance from South Korea to Delhi (approx.): 4,700kms

Length of the main straight at Korea InternationalCircuit: 1050 mtrs

Average time to pack up whole garage and hospitality atflyaway races: 5.75 hours




Weather   

Mixed: sunshine / overcast

Min / max air temp: 20˚ / 22˚

Min / max track temp: 26˚ / 28˚




Runplan

Driver: Jarno Trulli

Chassis:T128-03   

1430: Car leaves for grid / 1 lap

Start on supersoft tyres

Lap 13: Pitstop 1 (soft tyres)

Lap 37: Pitstop 2 (soft tyres)

Finished 17th




Runplan

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis:T128-04   

1431: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps (1 through thepitlane)

Start on supersoft tyres

Lap 14: Pitstop 1 (soft tyres)

Lap 39: Pitstop 2 (soft tyres)

Finished 14th




Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "After thefantastic performance last weekend in Japan this is another bigstep forward for us - finishing 14th today, ahead of both Saubersand within touching distance of Senna on the final lap is for sureour strongest ever race and it's a great feeling for me and thewhole team to see us fighting with a big group of cars right fromthe very first lap. I had another amazing start, passing a bunch ofcars 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 tolook after them well enough to stay out for an extra couple of lapsthat really helped in the first stop. We went onto the primes, andmy pace on them was just fantastic, good enough to help me matchthe times of the cars ahead right up to about tenth. The second setof primes we put on were exactly the same - the wear rates weretotally manageable and I could really push on every lap. We knewthere 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 forsure. As it was we finished ahead of both Saubers on pace andstrategy and that's a very good feeling. We've been strong allweekend and it's great for the whole team that we're headingtowards the end of the season with a car that is giving us a chanceto really show what we can do. Honestly, I'd like to get straightback in now and do it all over again - now I can't wait forIndia!"

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "That was a reallystrong race for us, definitely the best of the season, and I wantto congratulate the whole team for the work they've done here andback at the factory for giving me and Heikki a car that we canreally race with. For me, the start wasn't so good - I lost a fewplaces into the first corner but I made them back up again quicklyon the first set of tyres, and when we changed to the primes mytimes were great. Heikki and I were keeping pace with the midfieldand easily pulling away from the cars behind, but then in my secondstop I had a bit of an issue with traffic in the pitlane which lostme a bit of time and brought me out just behind where we wanted tobe. As soon as the blue flags started coming out late in the race Ihad to slow up, and if I hadn't had those problems I'm sure I couldhave finished with Heikki ahead of Kamui and Sergio. Despite thatit's been a good weekend, and now we have another three races tobuild on today's performance and finish the season as well aspossible."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We canall be delighted with where we finished today. From the engineperspective we definitely got as much performance out of the car aswe could, and seeing both drivers matching the times of the carsahead shows we keep making improvements right across the car. Thedrivers have given their all today, and it is good that we can helpprovide them with the right package to extract as much performanceas possible, particularly around a track like this that demandshigh top speed and good traction - we were not losing any time toour nearest rivals in either the high or the low speed sectors, soI think we leave here feeling very pleased with how we haveperformed."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A reallyexcellent race and a great performance from the whole team. I knowwe said that last week in Japan was our strongest ever race but wehave managed to improve once again and to beat both Saubers andmatch the pace of a group of teams ahead is very satisfying indeed.We started both cars on options and then switched onto the primesfor the second stint and it was immediately obvious that they weregoing to degrade much less than we had thought which made the twostop strategy work. Jarno had a very strong middle stint but wasunlucky to be held up, dropping him back into the traffic thatultimately meant he finished further back than he could have done.Heikki had a very good start and then drove well throughout thewhole race. Towards the end we could see that the Renault's tyreshad given up and we kept telling Heikki to push. He was making upabout six seconds a lap over the last two laps and with one lapmore I am sure he would have passed him as well, but that does nottake anything away from the job we have done today. We are having avery strong end to the season and now we need to make sure wecontinue this run in the last three races."

Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "What a race! We are allthrilled with how we have performed today, right across the team.Our strategy was good, our pace was strong and the pitstops wereexcellent. We keep on improving, and to do so as we near the end ofthe season shows how serious we are about building on thefoundations we have laid for future success. We could have settledfor where we were - well ahead of the two teams behind us and justabout keeping contact with the teams ahead, but today we showedthat we can really race. It feels good, right across the wholeteam, to know that we can mix it with teams whose combinedexperience and budgets far exceeds what we can work with, and itshows enormous promise for next year and beyond. We want to do thisagain in India, and in the last two races, and show that we havereally joined the fight. After today, I am sure wecan."

maocheng

Indian Grand Prix View
Added: Tue 25 Oct, 2011
2011 INDIAN GRAND PRIX VIEW

Karun Chandhok to drive in FP1 in India

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."

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "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, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "I've obviously been to a lot of new circuits throughout my F1 career but 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."

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, Team Principal: "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."

maocheng

Friday at Buddh
Added: Fri 28 Oct, 2011
Indian Grand Prix 2011 - FP1 / FP2


Team Lotus Information
Number of passengers flown so far in 2011 on AirAsia: 16 million

Maximum acceleration at the surface of an F1 tyre: 2,500g

Distance jumped by the USA's John Guetter on a BRP Can Am DS 450 X, a
new Guinness World Record: 176ft, 11"


Weather
Dry, hazy (am), sunny (pm)
Min / max air temperature: 20° / 30°
Min / max track temperature: 25° / 40°


Fastest laps / positions
FP1
TRU: 18th, 1.30.818 (lap 15)
CHD: 19th, 1.32.487 (lap 18)
FP2
TRU: 17th, 1.29.332 (lap 31)
KOV: 18th, 1.30.241 (lap 29)


Total laps
FP1
TRU: 22 / CHD: 24
FP2
TRU: 39 / KOV: 41


Runplan
Jarno Trulli
Chassis: T128-03

FP1 (all runs on soft tyres)
1002 - 1005: Installation, 1 lap
1005 - 1039: System checks
1039 - 1054: Run 2, 8 laps
1054 - 1102: Adjustments - rear brake blanking, brake balance, front wing flap
1102 - 1113: Run 3, 7 laps
1113 - 1121: Adjustments - brake blanking
1121 - 1133: Run 4, 6 laps

FP2
1401 - 1413: Run 1, 7 laps (hard tyres)
1413 - 1426: Adjustments - front brake blanking
1426 - 1451: Run 2, 15 laps (soft tyres)
1451 - 1458: Adjustments - front wing flap angle
1458 - 1515: Run 3, 10 laps (soft tyres)
1515 - 1521: Adjustments - brake balance
1521 - 1532: Run 4, 7 laps (soft tyres)


Runplan
FP1: Karun Chandhok
FP2: Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-01

FP1 - Karun Chandhok (all runs on soft tyres)
0959 - 1006: Installation, 3 laps (first ever timed lap of BIC)
1006 - 1030: System checks / brake material change
1030 - 1044: Run 2, 8 laps
1044 - 1101: Adjustments - brake blanking, brake balance
1101 - 1114: Run 3, 8 laps
1114 - 1120: Adjustments - front wing flap, rear brake blanking
1120 - 1123: Run 4, 1 lap (run aborted due to yellow flags)
1123 - 1125: Refuel
1125 - 1133: Run 5, 4 laps

FP2 - Heikki Kovalainen
1401 - 1414: Run 1, 8 laps (soft tyres)
1414 - 1423: Adjustments - brake balance
1423 - 1438: Run 2, 9 laps (soft tyres)
1438 - 1441: Refuel
1441 - 1451: Run 3, 6 laps (hard tyres)
1451 - 1457: Adjustments - front wing flap angle
1457 - 1508: Run 4, 7 laps (soft tyres)
1508 - 1514: Adjustments - brake balance
1514 - 1532: Run 5, 9 laps (soft tyres)


Karun Chandhok, Car 20 - Chassis T128-01: "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."

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-01: "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, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "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."

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."

maocheng

Saturday at Buddh
Added: Sat 29 Oct, 2011
Team Lotus Information
Approximate weight of a Renault Sport F1 piston under full acceleration: 2 tonnes
Total number of @myteamlotus Twitter followers: 44,680
Go to www.teamdellracing.com to see how Team Lotus has the power to do more with Dell

Weather
Hazy, sunny
Min / max air temperature: 28˚ / 31˚
Min / max track temperature: 33˚ / 37˚

Positions / fastest laps
FP3
TRU 19th, 1.29.355 (lap 20) / KOV 20th, 1.29.750 (lap 18)
QUALIFYING
Q1
KOV 19th, 1.28.565 (lap 11) / TRU 20th, 1.28.752 (lap 12)

Total laps
FP3
TRU: 21 / KOV: 19
QUALIFYING
Q1
KOV: 13 / TRU: 13

Runplan
Driver: Jarno Trulli
Chassis: T128-03
FP3
1100 - 1103: Installation, 1 lap (hard tyres)
1103 - 1116: System checks
1116 - 1139: Run 2, 13 laps (hard tyres)
1139 - 1150: Adjustments - front wing flap angle
1150 - 1202: Run 3, 7 laps (soft tyres)
Qualifying
Q1
1359 - 1409: Run 1, 6 laps (hard tyres)
1409 - 1411: Refuel
1411 - 1422: Run 2, 7 laps (soft tyres)
Finished: 20th

Runplan
Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-01
FP3
1100 - 1103: Installation, 1 lap (hard tyres)
1103 - 1117: System checks
1117 - 1138: Run 2, 12 laps (hard tyres)
1138 - 1150: Adjustments - front wing flap angle, brake balance
1150 - 1202: Run 3, 6 laps (soft tyres)
Qualifying
Q1
1359 - 1409: Run 1, 6 laps (hard tyres)
1409 - 1411: Refuel, front wing flap adjusted
1411 - 1422: Run 2, 7 laps (soft tyres)
Finished: 19th

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-01: "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, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "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."

maocheng

Indian Grand Prix                                                   

• Added: Sun 30 Oct, 2011

   
                        

Team Lotus Information

Distance from Delhi to Abu Dhabi (approx.): 2,312 kms
Total number of Team Lotus Facebook fans: 116,215
Approx. number of AirAsia crew at work in the air on a typicalday across total route network: 550

Weather
Dry, sunny
Min / max air temp: 28˚ / 31˚
Min / max track temp: 35˚ / 37˚

Runplan
Driver: Jarno Trulli
Chassis: T128-03
1432: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps
Start on soft tyres
Lap 1: Pitstop 1 (soft tyres)
Lap 27: Pitstop 2 (soft tyres)
Lap 56: Pitstop 3 (hard tyres)
Finished 19th

Runplan
Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-04
1430: Car leaves for grid / 2 laps
Start on soft tyres
Lap 22: Pitstop 1 (soft tyres)
Lap 42: Pitstop 2 (hard tyres)
Finished 14th

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-01: "I had another goodstart, maybe not quite up there with the last two races, butavoided the problems in turn 1 and 3 and from there I had a reallystrong race. At one point I was running 10th and the carfelt great all afternoon. I was still in it after the first stopsand as the fuel level dropped I was able to keep pace with Sennaahead, and keep a gap to the cars behind, but when I went onto thehards it was much harder to keep up the pace. I was also seriouslyheld up by the HRTs when they had blue flags shown to them. I thinkthey held up Lewis as well and they definitely cost me quite a lotof time. I probably wouldn't have finished any higher, even withoutthem holding me up, but when we're pushing as hard as we are, andfighting with midfield cars, it's a good feeling, for me and thewhole team."

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "The bad luck struckagain. I had a pretty good start but then one of the HRT's hit mefrom behind as we came out of turn three and that was basically theend of my race. I had a puncture and had to do almost a full lap toget me back to the pit, so from that position there wasn't anythingI could do. I think the car suffered some damage to the floor whenI was hit as the balance had completely gone for the rest of therace and I just couldn't put any decent times in. Despite that thishas been another good weekend for the team. Our reliability hasbeen strong, Heikki's pace in the race was good so I just hope Ihave better luck in the last two races and help make sure we securetenth in this year's championship."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "For us that wasanother strong performance from the whole team on a track thatpushed the engines pretty hard. Obviously it was a shame thatJarno's race was compromised so early on but with Heikki he wasable to race as high as tenth up to the halfway point which is veryencouraging. It looks like we found balance we were working on,with good top speed for the first half of the lap and maximisingthe driveability and responsiveness of the engines for the secondpart of the lap, so we leave India feeling pretty satisfied withthe job we have done on this new track."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A mixed result todayfor us. Unfortunately Jarno's race was effectively ended on thefirst lap when an HRT crashed into the back of him, causing a rearpuncture and causing damage to the rear floor, so all he could dotoday was make sure he brought the car home. Heikki drove a verystrong race on a two stop strategy, running the soft tyre for thefirst two stints and then going on to the hard to the end of therace. He was fighting with the midfield all the way through andbrought the car home to record another strong finish. Yet again weshowed the progress the team has made throughout the season and weare continuing our strong end to 2011. Now we have two more racesto look forward to - two more chances for us possibly to score ourfirst point, but, more importantly, to finish tenth."

Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "First I want to say on behalf of thewhole team what a great job the Jaypee Group and everyone here hasdone to put on a truly spectacular first Indian Grand Prix. Fromour perspective we leave here reasonably pleased with how the racewent - Heikki had another fantastic drive today and made the mostof the opportunity to race with the cars around him. Jarno wasunlucky to be hit by the HRT after he had made a good start, butthe main thing for us this weekend is that we have crossed offanother race and are a step closer to finishing tenth. That is theprimary goal for us this season and we are nearly there."

maocheng

Rossi to test for Team Lotus in Abu Dhabi
Added: Thu 3 Nov, 2011
Alexander Rossi to contest GP2 finale in Abu Dhabi with Caterham Team AirAsia & take part in F1 young driver test with Team Lotus

Hingham, UK - 3rd November 2011

Alexander Rossi will have a busy end to the 2011 season, competing for Caterham Team AirAsia in the forthcoming GP2 finale in Abu Dhabi and then taking part in the F1 young driver test for the GP2 team's senior counterparts Team Lotus.

The GP2 Series newcomer showed great pace in both recent GP2 tests at Barcelona and Jerez and finished the final test session P2 after just three days in the new car. The team have high hopes for the young American who adapted very quickly, proving he will be a strong contender in the GP2 2011 finale in Abu Dhabi, from 11th - 13th November. He will also be given the chance to take the next step up to F1 with one full day in the post-F1 race at the Yas Marina Circuit, taking place from 15th - 17th November.

Team Principal Riad Asmat: "We are very excited to have Alexander Rossi back onboard for the Abu Dhabi GP2 race and the subsequent F1 test. He worked very well with the GP2 team during the tests in Spain and it will be great to continue that working relationship in addition to giving him more exposure to the F1 environment with Team Lotus. He has shown maturity and confidence on track so the decision to put him in the car for the GP2 finale was a simple one to make and we want to give him the chance to experience the pressure of an F1 environment so the young driver test is the natural place to give him that chance. We are all looking forward to both events and I am sure he will perform to the best of his ability whenever he is on track."

Caterham Team AirAsia Team Manager Phill Spencer: "I am very happy Alexander will be joining our GP2 team again in Abu Dhabi. He has shown great potential in the car and built up a good rapport with the team and especially his engineer during the post season tests. We have come a long way since the beginning of this year, it has been a roller coaster season with some highs and lows but I feel confident that with Alexander we can finish 2011 on a positive note."

Alexander Rossi: "I am very excited to finally announce I will be competing in Abu Dhabi with Caterham Team AirAsia and will have the chance to put more F1 miles on my CV with Team Lotus. After the positive GP2 tests in Jerez and Barcelona I feel we have a good chance of a strong result in the GP2 races and I will definitely be going into the weekend fully focused and motivated for a race win - looking at the team's past results I see no reason why we can't achieve that. For the F1 test I will be looking to learn as much as possible, do the best job I can and soak up every minute, in and out of the car.

"The Yas Marina circuit is really pretty impressive. The track itself has some quite slow corners and not a great deal of overtaking opportunities, but it seems to combine a road course with a circuit course. In the first two sectors you can be quite brave with what you're doing but in the marina section there's very little run-off area as the walls are really close, so you have to restrain yourself somewhat. Every lap requires two different driving styles and that in itself makes it fun and very interesting to race for both the drivers and the engineers."


GP2 Schedule 11th - 13th November:
Friday:     1015 - 1100hrs Free practice / 1455 - 1525hrs Qualifying
Saturday: 1100 - 1205hrs Race 1 (1045 - 1050 pit lane open)
Sunday:   1330hrs Race 2 (1315 - 1320 pit lane open)

F1 young driver test
15th - 17th November

maocheng

Razia to test for Team Lotus in Abu Dhabi
Added: Fri 4 Nov, 2011
LUIZ RAZIA CONFIRMED FOR ABU DHABI GP2 RACE AND F1 YOUNG DRIVER TEST

Hingham, UK - 4th November 2011

Caterham Team AirAsia is delighted to announce that Luiz Razia will complete the team's strong driver line-up for the forthcoming GP2 finale in Abu Dhabi next week before taking part in the F1 young driver test for the GP2 team's senior counterparts Team Lotus.

The popular Brazilian was the first driver to sign for the brand new GP2 team in 2011, competing in its debut race in February as part of the GP2 Asia Series. Luiz will return to Abu Dhabi where it all began next week following a positive season, pairing up with Alexander Rossi to fight for a race win at the Yas Marina Circuit in the GP2 2011 finale race Abu Dhabi, from 11th - 13th November. Reprising his role of the Team Lotus Third Driver he will then take part in one full day of the F1 test at the Yas Marina Circuit, taking place from 15th - 17th November.

Team Principal Riad Asmat: "Luiz has been a key player in the 2011 season in helping grow our GP2 team from a starting point of an empty factory in late 2010 to finishing sixth in our first championship. Throughout the season he has also been involved in the F1 operation, both on track where he took part in FP1 for us in China and did a very solid job there, and in sitting in on briefings with the engineers at various races to grow his experience of the F1 environment and help increase his knowledge of the way we work so he can jump straight into the F1 seat when he has his chance. I am sure he will perform extremely well for us in both the GP2 event and in the F1 car and we are all looking forward to seeing him successfully complete this next stage of his development."

Caterham Team AirAsia Team Manager Phill Spencer:  "I am very pleased to be welcoming Luiz back into the team for the Abu Dhabi GP2 Finale. He has been here from the start and had a positive season with us this year. He is a team player through and through and it has been a pleasure working with him in 2011. I am confident we can have a strong race and finish this special season on a high with both Luiz and Alexander behind the wheel."

Luiz Razia "I believe this is confirmation of all the good progress we have made this year and I am very pleased to be working with the team again. We had a great relationship throughout our first season and it will be good to continue that in Abu Dhabi. The test in F1 is a very big deal for me - it is a full day behind the wheel so I will be able to get a lot from it and hopefully give the team some good feedback. They will have a lot to test ahead of 2012 and I am really looking forward to being involved in that.  The start of the 2011 season at the Yas Marina Circuit did not go well for me so we will not be repeating that again, but looking back I had a really good race there in 2010. I have been training very hard recently and I am focused and confident we can go out there and be really competitive next week. "

GP2 Schedule 11th - 13th November:

Friday:     1015 - 1100hrs Free practice / 1455 - 1525hrs Qualifying

Saturday: 1100 - 1205hrs Race 1 (1045 - 1050 pit lane open)

Sunday:   1330hrs Race 2 (1315 - 1320 pit lane open)

F1 Young Driver Test

15th - 17th November

maocheng

STEVE NIELSEN JOINS TEAM LOTUS AS SPORTING DIRECTOR

Hingham, UK - 8th November 2011

Team Lotus has today confirmed that Steve Nielsen will be joining the Anglo / Malaysian team as Sporting Director from December 12th 2011, replacing Dieter Gass who is moving on after playing an integral role in helping Team Lotus establish itself as a viable contender for long-term success in Formula One in its first two years.

Steve Nielsen is one of the most respected people in Formula One, having worked his way up through the ranks in a number of teams including Team Lotus, Tyrrell, Benetton and Arrows. In 2000 he rejoined Benetton as Sporting Manager and has led the race team through to its current incarnation as Renault ever since.

Mike Gascoyne, Team Lotus Chief Technical Officer, commenting on Steve’s appointment, said: “Firstly we are obviously sorry to say goodbye at the end of the season to Dieter Gass who was instrumental in helping us put our first car on the grid in 2010 and for bringing the team to such a high level in record time. He is returning to Germany and he goes with our thanks and with our wishes for every success in the future for him and his young family.

“It is excellent news for the team that Steve has accepted the offer to join us as Sporting Director. I have worked with him extensively in the past at both Tyrrell and Renault where we played our parts in helping to build Championship winning teams, which is what we are aiming to do with Team Lotus. I am sure he will integrate very quickly into our operation and will be made very welcome by everyone in Hingham and Malaysia. We have also had some more very good news with the confirmation that our Team Manager Graham Watson has signed a new contract after having played a vital role in the factory and the race team since the early days of Team Lotus. This gives us a trackside team with experience, vision and strength in depth and I am sure both Steve and Graham will help us keep pushing forward as we make our challenge for long-term honours.”

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “I first met Steve in Singapore 2010 and offered him a job then which he turned down, so I am delighted he has finally taken up the chance to join us. It is a good mark of our team that we can attract people of Steve’s calibre and I am thrilled that someone who is so well respected, and is coming from a team that is ahead of us in so many ways, shares our belief in our ability to grow and, in due course, challenge the midfield. I am also very pleased that we have been able to agree a new contract with Graham Watson as he has been one of the core pillars of our team, and has had a direct influence on our growth, both on and off track. There are more announcements to come over the next few weeks which will all help us achieve our long-term goals, and today’s news about Steve and Graham is another step forward for the whole team.”

maocheng

Abu Dhabi GP View
Added:
2010 Timing

2010 Qualify Result
P1  VET 1.39.394 Q3
P2  HAM 1.39.425 Q3
P3  ALO 1.39.792 Q3
TL best  P19 TRU 1.43.516 Q1

2010 Race Result
P1  VET 1.41.739 L50
P2  HAM 1.41.274 L47
P3  BUT 1.41.636 L48
TL best  P17 KOV 1.45.378 L52

Quick description
High percentage of low and medium speed corners
Similar to Budapest but with two long straights
Limited high speed corners (T2-T3 & T20)
High fuel effect
Medium-high brake energy
Braking stability is very important
Requires high power braking & cooling
No major bumps
No high kerbs but landing from kerb is very important for traction
Initially (FP1) track will be dusty and green but circuit evolves very quickly
Main observation is track temperature change
Early 2010 sessions in FP1 (it was wet in 2010) and FP3 have a ground temperature of around 50°C, while FP2, Qualy, and Race (17:00) is around 35°C - important consideration for tyre evaluation and setup work

Typical balance issue
Braking and traction stability are the main issues

Gears ratio (1st gear/others)
1st gear used in T7

Circuit particularity
Bumpiness: Low
Overtaking chance: T8, T11
Kerbs: Smooth
RH setting particularity: Low

Sensitivities
Engine severity: Medium
GBX severity: High
Lat/Long grip: Lateral
Aero eff ratio: High

Track and base setup
Track grip evo during WE: High
Aero settings: High
Brake wear severity: Medium / High
Brake cooling necessity: High


Team Lotus Partners
Pirelli tyre compounds in Abu Dhabi: Medium / Soft

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "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, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "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."

maocheng

Team Lotus / Group Lotus Statement
Added: Wed 9 Nov, 2011
Proton, Group Lotus, 1Malaysia Racing Team and its owner Tony Fernandes are delighted to announce that the legal dispute in the English Courts relating to the "LOTUS" and "TEAM LOTUS" brands has now ended amicably with the parties agreeing settlement terms earlier this month.

The terms of the settlement are confidential but the deal sees the "LOTUS" brand reunited under the sole ownership of Group Lotus. This includes the rights to the "LOTUS" and "TEAM LOTUS" names in Formula 1 motor racing.

1MRT will race in the 2012 Formula 1 season under the name "CATERHAM F1 TEAM" and will use a "CATERHAM" chassis.

The deal also sees a working relationship established between the parties and they will work together on future projects in the automotive field.

Group Lotus Chief Executive Officer Dany Bahar: "On behalf of Group Lotus and Proton I would like to express how pleased we are that this matter is finally closed and we can now focus on looking forward to the future.

"We understand that this has been a very difficult and confusing time for the fans of the sport and the Lotus brand so we are glad to have reached a clear resolution on this important matter - I would like to take this opportunity to thank our fans for their continued support, it means everything to us."

Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "We are proud of what we have achieved by bringing the Team Lotus name back to Formula One when many tried and although we are sad to say goodbye to Team Lotus we are excited about owning our own future and being in control of our own destiny. Now we have no one to be compared to. We make our own history and we will remain green and yellow.

"Now we look forward to an exciting future racing under our new team name of Caterham F1 Team. Please continue to support our very special spirit of never say die and support us on the track as we move up the field and demonstrate that the good do win."

maocheng

Friday at Yas Marina                                                   

• Added: Fri 11 Nov, 2011

   
                        

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - FP1 / FP2

Team Lotus Information
Number of F1 circuits that run anti-clockwise: Five
Total @myteamlotus Twitter followers: 45,341
Maximum width of an F1 brake disc: 28mm

Weather
Dry, sunny (FP1), twilight (FP2)
Min / max air temperature: 27° / 31°
Min / max track temperature: 30° / 41°

Fastest laps / positions
FP1
KOV: 18th, 1.44.565 (lap 16) / TRU: 19th, 1.44.898 (lap 16)
FP2
KOV: 18th, 1.43.562 (lap 22) /   TRU: 19th, 1.44.050 (lap24)

Total laps
FP1
KOV: 27 / TRU: 25
FP2
KOV: 36 / TRU: 38

Runplan
Jarno Trulli
Chassis: T128-03
FP1
1301 - 1303: Installation, 1 lap (soft tyres)
1303 - 1327: System checks,
1327 - 1342: Run 2, 7 laps (soft tyres)
1342 - 1352: Adjustments - rear brake blanking, front torsion bar,front wing flap
1352 - 1411: Run 3, 10 laps (soft tyres)
1411 - 1421: Adjustments - brake balance
1421 - 1436: Run 4, 7 laps (medium tyres)
FP2
1700 - 1713: Run 1, 7 laps (medium tyres)
1713 - 1719: Adjustments - front wing flap angle, rear rideheight
1719 - 1731: Run 2, 6 laps (medium tyres)
1731 - 1738: Adjustments - Refuel
1738 - 1746: Run 3, 4 laps (soft tyres)
1746 - 1748: Adjustments - Refuel
1748 - 1804: Run 4, 8 laps (soft tyres)
1804 - 1810: Adjustments - Refuel (high fuel load)
1810 - 1835: Run 5, 13 laps (soft tyres)

Runplan
Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-04
FP1
1301 - 1303: Installation, 1 lap (soft tyres)
1303 - 1319: System checks
1319 - 1338: Run 2, 9 laps (soft tyres)
1338 - 1356: Adjustments - brake balance
1356 - 1411: Run 3, 8 laps (soft tyres)
1411 - 1418: Adjustments - brake balance
1418 - 1435: Run 4, 9 laps (medium tyres)
FP2
1700 - 1716: Run 1, 8 laps (medium tyres)
1716 - 1725: Adjustments - front wing flap angle, rear ride height,front anti-roll bar
1725 - 1737: Run 2, 6 laps (medium tyres)
1737 - 1747: Adjustments -  front wing flap angle, rear rideheight, front anti-roll bar
1747 - 1804: Run 3, 9 laps (soft tyres)
1804 - 1810: Adjustments - Front wing flap angle, high fuelload
1810 - 1835: Run 4, 13 laps (soft tyres)

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04:"Not too bad at all. Both sessions were pretty straightforward andwe kept making improvements all day. The car felt good on both setsof tyres - the track here has really good grip levels and thedegradation on the softs was pretty low, certainly manageable, sothat looks good for Sunday. The main thing is that our Fridays arenow all solid, giving us the chance to really dial the cars in andthat means we can work on maximising our pace on Saturday andSundays, and you can see the evidence of that from our recentraces."

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "Thatwas a good Friday for us. The car felt pretty balanced all day andwe kept improving on each run, so I think we're looking ok for therest of the weekend. Both tyre compounds behaved pretty well here -the softs weren't going off too quickly at all so I think thatgives us good options for the race, and there's a bit ofperformance difference between the softs and the mediums so wemight be able to do something with that in qualifying - let'ssee."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A goodday for us here in Abu Dhabi - we completed the planned program onboth cars with no issues all day, keeping up the much improvedreliability record we have had in the latter part of the season.This morning the two drivers ran on the development tyres andHeikki was working on brake comparisons, so we have some usefuldata to look at from those. In the afternoon we worked on raceevaluations on both compounds and I think we look pretty good onboth the low and heavy fuel loads on both. All in all a goodFriday, 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 keyfor Fridays. We now have a lot of data to work on which we will usetonight to fine tune the engine performance for the driverstomorrow and on Sunday. This track puts the emphasis on theresponsiveness of the engines - driveability it not so importanthere as there are a number of relatively low-speed second and thirdgear corners and I think we are looking ok in those areas, as wellas in top speed which is obviously key for the long straights."

Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "Another solid Fridayfor us and we look like we have maintained the same sort of pace wehave been showing in the last few races. One of the key areas wehave been working on is making sure we run reliably all weekend, soto complete another Friday where we have run without any issues allday is good. Now the goal is to carry that through the rest of theweekend and make sure we keep up this level of performance to theend of the season."

maocheng

Saturday at Yas Marina                                                   

• Added: Sat 12 Nov, 2011

   
                        

FP3 & QUALIFYING

Team Lotus Information
Total number Team Lotus Facebook fans: 116,812
Number of Caterham racing series worldwide (now.....): 20
Go to www.teamdellracing.com tosee how Team Lotus has the power to do more with Dell

Weather
Dry
Min / max air temperature: 27˚   / 30˚
Min / max track temperature: 35˚ / 42˚

Positions / fastest laps
FP3
KOV 18th, 1.43.409 (lap 18) / TRU 24th n/a
QUALIFYING
Q1
KOV 18th, 1.42.979 (lap 8) / TRU 19th, 1.43.884 (lap 10)

Total laps
FP3
KOV: 22 / TRU: 1
QUALIFYING
Q1
KOV: 11 / TRU: 11

Runplan
Driver: Jarno Trulli
Chassis: T128-03
FP3
1400 - 1402: Installation, 1 lap
Gearbox issue ends session

Qualifying
Q1
1659 - 1709: Run 1, 5 laps (medium tyres)
1709 - 1711: Refuel
1711 - 1723: Run 2, 6 laps (soft tyres)
Finished: 19th

Runplan
Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-04
FP3
1400 - 1402: Installation, 1 lap (medium tyres)
1402 - 1410: System checks
1410 - 1423: Run 2, 7 laps (medium tyres)
1423 - 1430: Adjustments - front wing flap angle, rear winggurney flap
1430 - 1444: Run 3, 7 laps (medium tyres)
1444 - 1451: Adjustments - front wing flap angle
1451 - 1503: Run 4, 7 laps (soft tyres)

Qualifying
Q1
1659 - 1709: Run 1, 5 laps (medium tyres)
1709 - 1711: Refuel, front wing flap angle adjusted
1711 - 1723: Run 2, 6 laps (soft tyres)
Finished: 18th

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "I am reallypleased with that performance today. We definitely got as muchperformance as we could out of the car and to break into the 1.42sis very satisfying. I pretty much nailed the quick lap and I thinkwe know that where we are on race pace gives us another chance of astrong finish tomorrow. I'm also looking forward to Brazil where wehave an update to the rear wing coming - that should give us abetter chance of using the DRS more effectively around the wholelap in qualifying, helping us get much closer to our race pace onSaturday afternoons, so another quick lap like that in Brazil withthe update would be a great way to finish the qualifying sessionsthis season."

Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: "It's obviously been atricky Saturday for me, having had to sit out FP3 when we found anissue with the gearbox that couldn't be fixed in time for me to runin that session. Despite that, the team worked well to fix theproblem and gave me the chance to get out in qualifying withoutincurring any penalties, so putting together a lap that comfortablykeeps me ahead of the guys behind is, in the circumstances, prettygood."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We saw fromHeikki's fastest time that the work everyone put in last night andtoday gave us the performance we were looking for. With the changein track temperatures we do have to give the drivers differentengine maps to suit the ambient temperatures, as well as maximisingperformance for the specific characteristics of this track, and thetimes we put in on both cars, especially considering the lack ofrunning Jarno had earlier, puts this down as a good qualifyingsession for the team."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A reasonably satisfyingqualifying session for us. Obviously Jarno had some ground to makeup after losing this morning's session with a gearbox issue that wewere able to fix in time for qualifying. Heikki put in another verygood Q1 and extracted as much performance as he could out of thecar, so they both did well today. We put both cars on two runs inthe session, first on the medium compounds and then on the softs,and we finised the session closer to the pack ahead than we haveall season, so that points towards another strong Sunday for us.The key now is to maintain the pace we have shown since Singaporeand make sure we bring both cars to the chequered flag without anyproblems."

Riad Asmat, Group CEO: "I think we can be reasonably pleasedwith today's performance. Heikki put in another incredible lap,getting it just right in all three sectors to finish as close as hedid to Michael ahead, and Jarno had to perform in a car that he hadbarely 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 tomorrowand then the final race in Brazil in two weeks, and two more racesfor us to secure that all important tenth place. If the drivers andthe team can keep up the level of performance we have seen todayand for a good part of the whole season, I think we will beok."

maocheng

QPR, CATERHAM AND TEAM LOTUS
Abu Dhabi - 13th November 2011                                                                                                         Ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, QPR Manager Neil Warnock and Shaun Wright Phillips, Jay Bothroyd and Heidar Helguson unveiled the latest update to the Team Lotus T128 livery, the QPR Club crest that will now enjoy prominent branding on the F1 team’s race cars for the remaining two races of the 2011 season and beyond.                                                                                                                   In addition, Caterham branding will also soon be seen at Loftus Road, giving even more exposure to the brand across all global media platforms where the Barclays Premier League is broadcast and covered.                                                                                                                   Tony Fernandes, QPR Chairman and Team Lotus Team Principal, told www.qpr.co.uk: “Since we took over QPR, the teams at the Football Club, Caterham Cars and our F1 team have been working on a number of dual-brand initiatives that will create both brand and business value for the respective businesses, and will create exciting programmes for the fans and customers of each brand.                                                                                                                   "Today’s unveiling of the QPR logo on our F1 car is the first and most obvious sign of those partnerships, and more will be announced in due course.”                                                                                                                   QPR CEO, Philip Beard, added: “We are obviously very proud to see our Club’s crest on the F1 cars here in Abu Dhabi and it is great news for our team and our fans that QPR will be lining up with Team Lotus in the races here and in Brazil.                                                                                                                   "Exciting times lie ahead for our Football Club and all of Tony and his fellow shareholders’ interests in F1 and roadcars, and we are delighted to be able to show how closely we are working together here and at Loftus Road.”                                                                                                                 ENDS