Team Lotus want to be among the top contenders of the 2012 season – Formula 1 news
Team Lotus are all set and ready to make an impact in the current season and become the leading contender for the drivers’ and constructors championship and challenge the leaders of the grid McLaren and Red Bull.
The camp feels that if both their drivers can finish the race without any crashes or technical difficulties hindering them they can have a very strong performance.
The new Lotus E20 has shown promise since the pre-season tests with good pace and reliability. The matter is to translate that potential in the races as well.
The season has been disappointing so far, although only two races have gone by, but Team Lotus believes that both the drivers have the machinery to improve those performances and become a strong force in the season.
“It would be nice to have a straightforward race with no penalties, and no crashes from Romain after the first couple of corners,” Permane told AUTOSPORT.
“I think it is McLaren and Red Bull Racing at the front, and then I think we are there. I know Mercedes were third on the grid in Malaysia, but their race pace is nothing special.”
“We saw Rosberg pit for some new inters in Malaysia when we were racing him, and I thought we were going to be in trouble there. But his pace was then the same, if not worse than ours. Mercedes will get on top of it, but at the moment their race pace isn't
a threat.”
The camp realises that Ferrari has done a good job, with Fernando Alonso winning the Malaysian Grand Prix but it is still evident that the team is going through a tough phase and may not be able to maintain the success they achieved in Malaysia.
Sauber has been the surprise package, with Sergio Perez stunning everyone to finish second at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Lotus might feel an added pressure from the Sauber camp now that the team has also shown good pace and reliability.
It will be interesting to see how the team fares as the season progresses. The next scheduled race is in China on April 15th 2012.
Tags: