Eric Boullier says the pioneering exhaust layout by Lotus Renault GP has paid off – Formula 1
Lotus Renault GP’s boss, Eric Boullier, has recently stated that Vitaly Petrov’s podium position finishing run at the season opening race in Australia is a proof that the team’s new car R31’s pioneer new exhaust layout has paid off and it has benefited the team in terms of performance.
Boullier said that, “The podium today is a huge relief and a big reward for all the work which has been done by all the team, and obviously I am very happy. It shows that the decision we took to be aggressive with the design of the car was the right call, and it's something we can build on going forward.”
Renault’s Vitaly Petrov stunned the crowd at the Australian Grand Prix with a surprisingly amazing performance as he drove superbly ahead of the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso during the final quarter of the season opening race.
Ironically, both of them began the 2011 Formula 1 season exactly where they left the 2010 season. At the grand finale of the 2010 Formula 1 season, Vitaly finished right ahead of a frustrated Spaniard which obstructed him from scoring enough points to maintain his lead.
Nevertheless, this time the young Russian proved that the new Renault has what it takes to challenge Ferrari, McLaren and even Red Bull this year after finishing on the podium. Renault started to look pretty strong when their new exhaust system became quite prominent as the exhausts were exiting from the front of the sidepods rather than the conservative position at the rear of the car.
The main idea behind this new exhaust system is to energize the flow of air under the R31’s floor with hot gases which helps to feed the diffuser and creates more downforce.
The team admitted that it was a risky development because of the danger of overheating issues but when the system proved to be a success after testing it Eric admitted that it was a major “relief” to see that it worked pretty well in the first race of the season.
Other than that, the team’s technical director James Allison revealed that the R31 is going to be even quicker at the Malaysian Grand Prix. “We thought we were in with a shout of a good fight with the Ferraris, and we did exactly that. Going forward we will have more aero updates for the car in Malaysia, which are worth a few extra tenths. It should allow us to build on our strong showing today,” said James.
The only bad news for the team is that Nick Heidfeld was unable to score a single point at the season opener but the German claims that he will give a much better performance in Malaysia and probably score some good points for his team.
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