Räikkönen a fan of podiums in Bahrain, Grosjean wants points

Kimi Räikkönen thinks the Lotus E20 should be competitive in Bahrain, as the cold doesn’t seem to be an ally so the Finnish driver hopes the heat will be one: I don’t think we’ll have any particular issues. It should be hot, and our car didn’t really like the cool conditions when we were in China, so maybe the heat will suit us better. The track has different corners and it’s fun to race there. There are some overtaking opportunities, so we’ll see what happens.

Iceman has an interesting record in Bahrain, even though he has never won; he finished on the podium four times between 2005 and 2008: I secured a second place and three third places in Bahrain, which is great. It’s always nice to race there. We don’t know how competitive the car will be until we’re there. Maybe we’ll have some updates on the car and be able to go faster than in China. We will see.

The Lotus is competitive and even if it is not yet perfect, it has enough qualities. And Kimi Räikkönen thinks a podium is possible on the Sakhir circuit: The E20 seems good to drive, but we need to find a bit more top speed. Hopefully, we can find it in Bahrain. A podium should be possible and I think that has been the case in all the races so far. We do not know exactly how good our car will be until we’re there, but we don’t expect to encounter any problems.

Romain Grosjean does not know the Bahrain track as well, but the Frenchman will not be discovering the circuit for the first time, as he raced there in GP2 in 2008 and with Pirelli during private tests. He is therefore hoping for a quick learning curve: « I raced (in Bahrain) with the ART Grand Prix team and we took pole position, the fastest lap, and the victory (in GP2 Asia in 2008). I also had an experience in 2010 when I was a test driver for Pirelli, so hopefully that will allow me to quickly find a good rhythm with the E20.»

When asked if he enjoyed the Bahrain circuit, Grosjean admitted that it depended on the car, but nevertheless, the track had interesting turns: Enjoying driving on a circuit depends on the car. With a good car, you enjoy the circuit; with a bad one, you don’t! Bahrain is a good circuit. There are big braking zones, which I appreciate, and a few interesting direction changes like the double left in the middle of the lap… I think the E20 would be pleasant to drive. Our balance is quite good, and I am convinced that we can achieve a great performance.

The Lotus driver’s objective will be to have a full weekend in Bahrain, like in China, with a good place on the grid and a good performance in the race to finish in the points again: « I want to be able to have a good qualifying session followed by a good race. I think the car will be good in Bahrain. The weather should stay the same throughout the weekend – hopefully! We will see what we can do. »

James Allison, the technical director of the Lotus F1 team, hopes that with the consistent conditions expected in Bahrain, his team can continue working on the new developments introduced in China: « We are going to Bahrain knowing that we will have more consistent temperatures with the tires. This should allow us to properly test the new developments brought to China. We will test them as much as possible to prove that the package is good. We will also have more time to test the parts brought to China but not used for the race.»

The Sakhir circuit will be a test for the E20, notably for its brakes, as it’s the hardest track for brakes of the season, but this doesn’t worry James Allison: “We will be racing again on the track used in 2009. This will be the first real test for our braking system this year. We do not expect to encounter any issues, but we will be paying a bit more attention to wear and temperatures (of the brakes).”

Bahrain will also be an opportunity to see how the Lotus performs with what is one of its weaknesses a priori, slow corners: «It’s also a circuit where you need good traction – at turns 1 and 10 in particular, because they are very slow. We have identified this as an area where the E20 needs to improve, so it will be interesting to see how we perform.»

Like his drivers, Eric Boullier, the director of the Enstone team, is quite confident for this weekend. He hopes that his drivers can both finish in the points in Bahrain, which hasn’t happened yet this season: “I must say that our expectations are the same as for China. Our goal is to have a trouble-free weekend and show what we can do with the E20. That’s the minimum, and unlike what happened in the first three races, we shouldn’t have rain in Bahrain! Having both our cars in the top 10 would be a great success.”