Jarno Trulli: Lotus makes good progress with T128 car – Formula 1 Update
Formula 1 Lotus driver Jarno Trulli has expressed his confidence with the progress of the new T128 car, over the test sessions. He mentioned that the reliability of the 2011 car was less than perfect in testing, but the team put all their efforts on an upgrade
package and as a result, made good progress.
The Lotus 2010 chassis was not that much developed, as the simple and basic features were installed. However, for the T128, the team put their maximum efforts on car design and introduced the Renault engines into the mix. The engineers feel confident that
these improvements will help Lotus compete with some of the faster teams.
Other than a feature to switch to Renault engines, engineers have featured the car with the Red Bull transmission and a rear end package. But Trulli admitted after his working on the T128 car, that this new package had made a huge difference. He went on
to say, “we have one of the best rear ends you can have in the paddock, because the gearbox is amazing, as well as the engine. Everything fits perfectly. The car looks good, and it looks quick as well.”
With regards to 2010 package, he said that Lotus’ last year package was quite different than the 2011 one, as the team worked really hard to make improvements.
Trulli appreciated the team work and said, "Mike Gascoyne has been putting things together, and Tony Fernandes has managed to give us a really good rear end that will solve our troubles in terms of reliability and performance, everything. I think they've
done great things over the winter time, catching up with all the new rules, and with all the new bits."
He accepted that in the testing session, the Lotus run was cut short due to the various reliability issues with the car and posted late laps on the time-sheet as a result. While Trulli feels confident about the 2011 Formula 1 season and Lotus competing with
strong mid-field teams.
He told the media, "So it might be difficult at the beginning, but maybe then we can get on top. Looking at the lap times it's difficult to get a clear idea, but we can probably chase Force India and maybe Sauber. Obviously we are ahead of Virgin and HRT.
This at the moment is the picture that we have."
The team has finished all their testing, so they will start their 2011 season at the Australian Grand Prix, which is scheduled to start on 27 March, in Melbourne. It will be interesting to see how the Lotus competes in the new season, as most of the teams
have invested heavily on upgrades to their cars.
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