Lotus wants to compete with Williams in 2015
As its new car, the E23, was unveiled yesterday, Lotus is already displaying its ambitions for the upcoming season. Equipped with the Mercedes power unit, the team would like to follow the path of Williams and compete against them for a place in the top four of the Constructors' Championship.
The E23, the new single-seater presented yesterday by Lotus F1, is a great hope for the Enstone team. With a more conventional look than its predecessor, the E22 of 2014, which was rather poorly born, this new version equipped with the Mercedes hybrid engine should allow Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado to perform much better on the grid.
In any case, this is what Matthew Carter, the team’s general manager, wishes, as he told our colleagues at Autosport: “We hope we can fight and be at the level of the Williams. I don’t want to be too optimistic, as it’s important to be realistic, but finishing third or fourth in the Constructors’ Championship is clearly our goal.”
Of course, Carter nonetheless qualifies his remarks by considering potentially stronger competition than in 2014 against Mercedes: « All of this will obviously depend on several things: how Red Bull will fare with Renault, what Honda will do with McLaren, and where Ferrari will be positioned. »
One thing is certain at Lotus, the budget is stabilized, and the future of the team seems sustainable according to what Carter states: “Our budget for this year, although reduced compared to the 2013 season, is similar to that of last year. We have a few new sponsors who, even though they are not on the car today, will be visible during the first race. A large part of our groundwork has paid off, and we can say we are in a good financial position. It is also important to say that if we manage to bring in more funding, it will directly impact the improvement of the car’s performance. In previous years, it would have been used to cover our debts, but today it will go straight to the car.”
Internal restructuring, particularly in the aerodynamics department, has also enabled Lotus to make significant progress in the design of its new single-seater. The first insights will be visible at the beginning of February after the initial winter tests.
