Lotus will not be in Jerez

Appointed Technical Director of Lotus F1 Team in replacement of James Allison, Nick Chester, relayed by the team’s official website, had the opportunity to discuss the development of the next car from the Enstone team: the Lotus E22. It was an opportunity for him to be optimistic while noting that the black and gold single-seater would not be present in Jerez from January 28 to 31.

« We are going to keep our car under wraps a little longer than other teams. We have decided that being present at the Jerez tests is not ideal for our development and construction program. We will probably unveil the car before being at the Bahrain tests and, in Bahrain, we should really be able to put the car through its paces in representative conditions, » he indicated.

Regarding the first impressions of the car, the Briton seems quite optimistic about the choices made by his team: From our point of view, the data looks promising and the development has been positive. That being said, we’re working a lot with little idea of what the other teams are doing. It’s the first year of a radically different regulation which means all the teams are developing their cars quite differently. It’s fascinating for us, the engineers, and I hope it will be fascinating for the fans as well. We believe we have a very good solution to the challenge and I hope this will be visible when the E22 hits the track.

Regarding the car’s homologation, the technical director explains that it is almost complete: « We have made good progress with the various homologation tests that took place before Christmas, including the chassis compression and the side impact tests as well as the rear crash structure, which means we just have the nose test left to pass to complete the car’s homologation. We have initiated the adaptation of the chassis for Romain and Pastor. Our partners who have seen the car have said they themselves were very impressed by the setup and the different solutions to new technical challenges. »

Are there lessons for Nick Chester to learn from the E21, the predecessor of the E22, which allowed Lotus to win a race and climb 14 podiums? « Yes, and I think we can always remember how good the E21 was because it finished the season still very competitive, and it was the only one capable of being close to the Red Bull. There are certain concepts of the E21 that are still applicable to the E22, but in particular, our development methodology and synchronization with our different simulations are especially relevant and promising. »

« Our development program has been on track for over two years and it has been enlightening to see it grow. The backbone of Enstone is strong and we relish the challenge of the upcoming new season. »