Lotus believe Spanish Grand Prix updates will make their car one second quicker – Formula 1
Lotus-Renault technical chief Mike Gascoyne believes that the new updates, which will be introduced in upcoming Barcelona Grand Prix this weekend, will make their car one second quicker on the grid.
The Norfolk-based outfit delivered new components, which included a new aero package and a different exhaust system in its 2011 car. These major updates will make their debut in the Spanish Grand Prix. However, the team is hopeful that these upgrades will
allow the drivers to take a positive step towards its success into the mid-field.
Gascoyne expects Lotus updates to be significant in Barcelona race.
He said, “It might take us a couple of races to fully exploit it, as I think it is going to depend on the blown floor and engine strategies and some people have more experience than us with that. We think our update is going to allow us to take a clear step
into the midfield.”
In the recent Turkish Grand Prix, both drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen failed again to deliver their best run against their stronger rivals after the first three races of the 2011 season.
Due to their worst performance regularly in the ongoing season, the team decided to bring some updates to improve their track performance. Lotus are hopeful that Spanish GP updates will bring good results for them over the weekend.
Lotus technical chief said that in addition to the planned updates for the Spanish GP, they are planning to introduce a blown diffuser feature in the upcoming races, despite the International Automobile Federation’s (FIA) plan to ban the system.
He said, “We didn't implement a blown diffuser last year, so we had one for the start of this year, but we were only able to really evaluate that in the wind tunnel from Christmas onwards, so we were playing catch-up in that area.”
The fifth race of the season will take place on May 22, 2011 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
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