Lotus disappointed by Pirelli’s tyre tweak news - Formula 1 news
The Formula 1 Lotus team has expressed disappointment over the tyre changes that have been announced by Pirelli because of the complaints registered by some of
the top outfits like Red Bull and Mercedes.
Lotus boss Eric Boullier said, “Unlike Red Bull, who have a policy of developing the car based solely on aerodynamics, we are among the teams like Ferrari, who
took into account the Pirelli factor when designing the car. So we're actually a little disappointed by this change.”
Over the past few years, the results have been dependent on tyres more than anything else, which has allowed some of the midfielders to shine on a few occasions
despite the fact that they don’t have a strong car.
Last year, Sauber’s Sergio Perez was one of the beneficiaries of the tyre situation, as he enjoyed a very good time and finished on the podium more than once for
his team. He also came close to winning the Malaysian GP in 2012, but a small mistake towards the end of the race cost him a chance to make history.
However, he was still able to impress the top teams and was hired by McLaren as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton, who decided to make a move to Mercedes because
of some issues with his former team.
This year, the tyre situation has been the same and the divers have found it extremely difficult to push hard on race day. As a result, they have not been enjoying
the competition anymore and have demanded some tweaks in the Pirelli compounds.
Pirelli’s test driver Jaime Alguersuari does not see a major problem though and said, “What is happening now is that a few understand the tyres while others do
not. So there is Alonso with Ferrari, and also Raikkonen and Lotus (who understand). It happened to me in 2011. I had a horrible start to the year, but from mid-season we began to understand the behaviour of the compounds.”
At the moment, Lotus and Ferrari seem to have an edge over the other teams, so they would not like any changes, which could possibly help their rivals become stronger
toward the final half of the season.
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