At Silverstone, the Lotus E20 encounters the sweeping curves… and the cold

Although leaving Valencia with a new podium in their pocket, the Lotus F1 Team nevertheless left with mixed feelings. Let me give you the “glass half full” version: it’s a good result for the team and for Kimi. His second place brought in a lot of points and we haven’t lost ground compared to the teams ahead of us in the championship. Now, here is the “glass half empty” version: it was a disappointment for Romain, he was in a strong position to at least reach the podium. We could have also placed both cars on the podium and gotten closer to McLaren. But that’s racing, and we will work very seriously with our partners to avoid a similar breakdown in the future, analyzed Eric Boullier, director of the British team, referencing the alternator failure that forced Romain Grosjean to retire.

Consequently, after being closer than ever to his first Formula One victory, Romain Grosjean approaches the British Grand Prix with confidence: “We understood new things about the car. It was good to enjoy a whole weekend in the heat at Valencia because we were able to work on the car and analyze things properly. Silverstone is a very high-speed circuit. I am confident in our excellent level of performance, and it should lead to a great race,” states the Franco-Swiss driver.

The native of Geneva, who has just tied the knot with Marion Jollès, believes that although his race ended prematurely, it allowed him to learn valuable lessons, particularly regarding restart management: « I experienced my baptism of the safety car in Formula 1 and it was a good experience. I am sure I will be able to use this lesson next time. My start was good and I was able to take advantage of that momentum. Many people say that I’m too aggressive sometimes, but I don’t think I have been this year. I have made mistakes and you can blame a lack of experience. But in Valencia, I showed that I was capable of being aggressive when necessary and leaving space when needed as well. When Fernando overtook me on the outside in turn two, I left him space. »

His teammate, the experienced Kimi Räikkönen, is starting to enjoy the podiums but would like victory to finally embrace him: « If you had asked me before the season started if I would be happy with podiums, I would have said yes. But now that I’ve achieved good results, I want more. In the last races, the results haven’t been as good as I wanted. I’ve finished well, but I’m disappointed not to have won a race yet. We just need to put everything together and I’m sure it will come. »

The Finn will therefore hope to seize his chance at Silverstone, a circuit where he finds it always so pleasant to come: It’s a fantastic place to race. I have a long history here. It was the first base of my international driving career, in Formula Renault, in 1999 and 2000. Since then, I have always enjoyed racing at Silverstone. I don’t know why. Maybe there’s a bit of nostalgia every time I set foot here. Whatever the weather, I’ll cope with it. In the past, we’ve seen a lot of different conditions here, and not always good ones! It often rains and there’s also wind. The track conditions change very quickly, which makes setting up the car more difficult to define. That’s part of the fun of racing in England. At least it’s the same for everyone.

But the native of Espoo has particularly good sensations in the English countryside and remembers winning the race there in 2007, the year of his championship: « When I started racing here, it was really my favorite circuit. It is so fast and demanding, which makes it very difficult. The corners come in quick succession, and they are all long, very fast curves with lots of grip. In some way, it’s been a good track for me from the very beginning. It will be interesting to see how the new section changes the lap, but I’m sure I’ll memorize it very quickly. When you win at Silverstone, it’s an extraordinary feeling. You need to have everything in order. I won here in Formula Renault and with Ferrari in 2007. It would be fantastic to win again, especially with the factory right next door. I’m sure the party would be fantastic. »

The men from Enstone will, in any case, aim to perform well as the team is based, like the vast majority of teams on the grid, in England: « It’s great for everyone to be close to the factory, our travel budget is really minimal on this occasion! We will have many visitors from Enstone, and it’s fantastic to feel the support of all those who work so hard all year. We will have to be wary of the weather at Silverstone, but whether it’s hot or cold, we must perform well anyway. We are back on a permanent circuit with a different layout and will need to see how we will perform. »

For Romain Grosjean, the objective will be to try to do as well as in 2011 and leave with the best trophy possible: « I won there last year in GP2, so I’m not too bad on this circuit! It’s the same for everyone. It is difficult, but it provides a good feeling. It’s one of the fastest tracks of the season, with legendary corners like the Maggots, Becketts, Chapel complex… What a feeling! It’s a special Grand Prix for the team since the factory is very close to the circuit. It will be very nice to see the team members. They all do a fantastic job, they invest so much! I’ll visit them after the race with, hopefully, a nice trophy to show them. »

For James Allison, technical director of Lotus, the E20 should find Silverstone a rather favorable ground: « It’s the first circuit in a while with large fast corners. Things didn’t go too badly for us at Mugello, Barcelona, Sepang, and Melbourne. So we hope the E20 will thrive at Silverstone. » However, as Eric Boullier points out, the weather is often quite gloomy at Silverstone, which naturally raises questions about Lotus’s chances of shining, as their car seems to particularly suffer in such conditions: « It seems the E20 generates less heat in its tires compared to some competitors’ cars. This means we can do well on a warmer track when some of our rivals start falling out of their optimal operating window. The downside occurs on a cold track or after a safety car. Fortunately, most races take place under summer conditions where it’s more about cooling the tires than warming them. […] The [Silverstone] circuit itself will induce a lot of energy into the tires thanks to its layout with large fast corners and the abrasiveness of its surface. We would be delighted if the UK offers us one of its occasional heatwaves, but the track temperature will probably be lower than in Valencia. This would only be a disadvantage in qualifying, and if we manage to fix it ourselves rather than hoping the track warms our tires, it will be perfect. »

One thing is certain, however, Lotus will not arrive at Silverstone with an armada of new features, as the parts recently added to the Lotus E20 have had mixed results: « Those implemented in Valencia worked quite well. Three or four small things certainly improved performance, and two others still need to make progress. Some modifications will be made to the car for Silverstone, but only the sharpest eyes might notice them. We hope, however, that they will allow us to take a step in the right direction. »