Alan Permane says Lotus qualifying pace is perfect this season – Formula 1 news
Lotus trackside operations director, Alan Permane has said that their qualifying pace is perfect in the 2013 Formula 1 season as they have made some essential step-ups to improve it.
The Enstone-based squad struggled a lot with their qualifying pace during the last season due to which their drivers, Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean faced difficulties in attaining competitive results in quite a few races.
Nevertheless, Raikkonen took a great start to this season and claimed an incredible victory in the Australian Grand Prix. Furthermore, he showed an amazing qualifying pace at Shanghai International Circuit and secured second grid slot for the race. Additionally,
he qualified for fourth grid position in Spain and managed to secure an impressive second podium finish in the race.
Permane said that they have made some considerable developments in their car because of which they were able to secure competitive grid positions for the races in China and Spain.
“It's no secret that this is an area we've been looking to improve and we haven't done a bad job in this regard,” Permane said. “We took a front row slot in China and - disregarding Mercedes - we were less than a tenth from the front runner in Spain.”
Besides, he said that they are looking forward to make some significant improvements in their tyre management and are aiming to balance their car’s setup for qualifying and race pace.
“I wouldn't go as far as to say our qualifying pace is perfect as it's clear there are still gains to be made, but we've certainly made significant inroads into understanding how to get the most out of tyres over single lap, in addition to balancing setup
for both qualifying and race pace,” he added.
In addition, he said that they are targeting to introduce some major updates in the Monaco GP which is to be held at Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo on May 26, 2013.
Presently, the British team is standing at third place in the constructors’ championship with 111 points. Moreover, they are ahead of Mercedes and behind their major opponent, Ferrari. Let’s see how they perform in the season ahead.
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