[F1] Grand Prix Barcelona (Spanje)

[Frederik]

Kovalainen wary of Force India's KERS
Saturday, May 21st 2011

Heikki Kovalainen fears that he will fall behind both Force Indias on the run to the first corner of the Spanish Grand Prix because Team Lotus is not running KERS.

Lotus is one of only three teams, along with Virgin and HRT, not running the hybrid system, which offers an 80bhp power boost for 6.7s per lap.

After earning a 15th place start - the team's best qualifying performance in a dry session and equal to their best showing in Malaysia last year – the Finn expects to be on the defensive at the start despite outqualifying both Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta.

"They will have passed before the braking, if we all do the same starts," said Kovalainen when asked by AUTOSPORT where he will be at the first corner.

"The power of KERS is a lot and their straightline speed advantage is quite high anyway. That's one area where we are losing a lot because our aero efficiency is not very good here."

Kovalainen added that he is hopeful of being able to keep the Force Indias behind him in the early laps if he does make it to the first corner ahead. But once the DRS is enabled, he will struggle to do so.

"I am on the clean side and starts have been very good for us, so if I can get to the exit of the corner ahead I can stay ahead.

"But once they start using the DRS after a couple of laps, it will be difficult to keep them behind because their straightline speed advantage is 15-20km/h."

Bron: autosport.com

[Frederik]

Trulli positive about new diffuser
May 20th 2011

Lotus driver Jarno Trulli described the team's first day running its new exhaust blown diffuser as "positive".

The Italian continued to struggle with the power steering problems that have blighted Lotus since the start of testing, but despite having a hard time to find the right balance, the Italian is confident that the upgrades, which also include aerodynamic tweaks, are a major step forward.

"It was pretty positive as a first day," Trulli told AUTOSPORT. "There is some work to do to get the best out of the new aerodynamic package, so today was all about collecting data.

"We didn't have any problems with it, so it was a good day."

The Italian added that the team's main focus has been on adapting the car's set-up to work best with the new blown diffuser in order too maximise the effect of the new design.

"It's all about trying to find the right ride height to run the car in the spot where the aero works. We need to learn the car and then use the engine properly to blow the diffuser."

Trulli's team-mate, Heikki Kovalainen, ended today's running just three tenths off the midfield pack. It is hoped that the upgrade will be worth a second per lap, allowing Lotus to break into the midfield on raw pace for the first time.

Bron : autosport.com

[Frederik]

Ben benieuwd naar de wedstrijd ...

Wie durft er een pronostiek maken?

[co-driver]

Lotus Renault GP op het podium en eerste puntje voor Team Lotus .

[Frederik]

Uitslag ...

Pos. Rijder Team Tijd
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:39:03.301
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren +0.630
3. Jenson Button McLaren +35.697
4. Mark Webber Red Bull +47.966
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +1 Ronde
6. Michael Schumacher Mercedes Grand Prix +1 Ronde
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes Grand Prix +1 Ronde
8. Nick Heidfeld Renault +1 Ronde
9. Sergio Perez Sauber +1 Ronde
10. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber +1 Ronde
11. Vitaly Petrov Renault +1 Ronde
12. Paul di Resta Force India F1 +1 Ronde
13. Adrian Sutil Force India F1 +1 Ronde
14. Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso +1 Ronde
15. Pastor Maldonado Williams +1 Ronde
16. Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso +2 Ronden
17. Rubens Barrichello Williams +2 Ronden
18. Jarno Trulli Lotus F1 +2 Ronden
19. Timo Glock Virgin Racing +3 Ronden
20. Jerome d` Ambrosio Virgin Racing +4 Ronden
21. Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1 Team +5 Ronden

Niet gefinisht
22. Felipe Massa Ferrari +8 Ronden
23. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus F1 +18 Ronden
24. Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT F1 Team +38 Ronden

[Frederik]

Lotus kan goede kwalificatie niet verzilveren
22 mei 2011

Het veelbelovende weekend van Lotus kreeg geen vervolg op zondag. Heikki Kovalainen kwalificeerde zich op een uitstekende vijftiende plaats, maar crashte uit de race, terwijl Jarno Trulli als achttiende finishte.

"Mijn race was erg goed", zei Trulli. "Ik had opnieuw een goede start en kon wat posities pakken. Met de zachte banden konden we een paar goede eerste stints rijden. Helaas kreeg ik in het midden van de race problemen met mijn uitlaat, waardoor de auto het niet meer zo goed deed. Ons pakket is goed en we zullen blijven ontwikkelen."

Kovalainen: "Zonde dat mijn middag zo eindigde. Ik maakte een fout in Bocht 4 en ging eraf. Tot op dat moment had ik een goede race. Jarno en ik konden goed het gevecht aangaan. We hebben veel geleerd en Monaco zal voor iedereen interessant worden."

Bron : GPUpdate.net