Report: Lotus is satisfied
The “new” old Lotus team has just finished this Chinese Grand Prix with a sense of duty fulfilled. The general watchword being learning, the encouraging 14th place achieved by Heikki Kovalainen should be noted, as he managed to outpace the Williams of young Nico Hülkenberg. For Jarno Trulli, the race ended on the 27th lap […]
The “new” old Lotus team has just finished this Chinese Grand Prix with a sense of duty fulfilled. The general watchword being learning, the encouraging 14th place achieved by Heikki Kovalainen should be noted, as he managed to outpace the Williams of young Nico Hülkenberg. For Jarno Trulli, the race ended on the 27th lap due to a mechanical issue.
**Heikki Kovalainen – 14th:** This was an excellent way to cap our first four races. I think we had the right strategy today considering the fairly difficult conditions. The pace was good, we were ahead of the other new teams again, and this time, we had a nice battle with Williams.
The decision to keep the dry tires early on was a joint decision made with the team. There wasn’t enough moisture and as soon as the race started, I could see that the rain had subsided. So we decided it made sense to stick to the plan.
The other cars on rain tires were obviously struggling, so it worked really well for us. It’s true that this isn’t often the case for us, but today this race proved that we are a good team making good decisions, so I’m really happy for everyone at Lotus Racing and for all our fans.
Tony Fernandes – Technical Director: « I am very happy today with what we have accomplished because it is what we said we would do. We wanted to see at least one car cross the finish line for the first four races, and we did it, but it’s the kind of bittersweet day. It’s obviously a great result for Heikki, but a real shame for Jarno, as he seems to be the target of many questions. It’s a bit strange that it’s only the car. With the conditions today, the race was very tense, but it’s very satisfying, and it shows that we are making progress since we raced with Williams, which we beat. »
For Lotus, the combination of experienced drivers and an experienced technical director is likely the foundation for building the future. The sponsors and capital provided by Tony Fernandes can also ensure that this team with a legendary name has a future as close as possible to the Top Teams.
