Team Lotus introduce floor and tyre diffuser for 2011 Singapore Grand Prix – Formula 1 news
Team Lotus has announced that it will be using a new floor and tyre diffuser on its car in the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix scheduled for Sunday, September 25, 2011 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
The Singapore racetrack is still very bumpy, particularly at turns 13 and 14, even after undergoing a massive re-structuring in 2010. It is a high downforce circuit with braking stability and traction being the major issues faced by the cars.
Lotus’ chief technical engineer Mike Gascoyne said, “We approach Singapore in much the same way we do Monaco. We will be running with a maximum downforce package with a new floor and diffuser and bigger front brake ducts to cope with the brake cooling demands.”
The weather conditions forecasted for this night race, as of now, show that it might be excessively humid on the raceday.
The Hingham-based team has thus come up with a revised strategy to tackle with the issues they might have to deal with at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, which runs through public roads in the city’s centre.
Heikki Kovalainen said, “Physically I have felt good all season and while it's obviously more challenging in the humidity and heat of Singapore, it's a good challenge and it's what F1 should be all about.”
The team has had three 13th place finishes in this season which puts them ahead of Virgin Racing Team and Hispania Racing Team at 10th place on the constructors’ championship. Team Lotus are
striving hard to have a stable 10th position and finish off the season ahead of its potential competitors.
Team owner Tony Fernandes and Gascoyne are both quite confident and seem very pleased at the way their team has progressed over the last few races. They are pretty optimistic about the team’s performance in the coming races considering the hard work the
teammates have been putting in.
Especially with the new floor and tyre diffusers, Team Lotus are aiming to outperform new teams like the Toro Rosso, Virgin Racing and Williams.
With just 6 races remaining in the 2011 Formula 1 season, let’s see how the teams perform in the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix.
Tags: