The 2012 FIA Formula One Championship concluded
in Brazil yesterday, in a thrilling battle
marking the end of another electrifying and
unpredictable F1 season. As the motorsport
menagerie prepares to return home, Lotus
celebrates what has been a prolific journey for
the team this year.
The Interlagos circuit in São Paulo was the
backdrop to a gritty and nail-biting last race,
which unfolded in spectacularly dramatic fashion.
Despite wet weather playing havoc with race
strategy, Lotus ace Kimi Räikkönen put in
another gutsy performance at the Brazilian track
where just 5 years previous he was crowned 2007
F1 World Champion. McLaren driver and 2008 F1
World Champion Lewis Hamilton went head to head
with Kimi as both battled furiously contending
for third position in the Drivers Championship.
A rain soaked and super slippery circuit caused
a collision with Force India’s Nico Hülkenberg
resulting in early retirement for Hamilton in
lap 55, securing Kimi the coveted spot. Lotus
stable mate Romain Grosjean also succumbed to a
greasy track forcing him to bow out
disappointingly in lap 6. Never-the-less Romain
finished a commendable 8th in the Driver’s
Championship.
Both results were indicative of Lotus’
achievements during this year’s competition,
where Lotus saw its 80th F1 win following Kimi’s
race to victory in Abu Dhabi, and first win with
the Enstone based team. Proof the team’s plan
for the Constructor’s Title is well-underway,
Lotus F1 edges closer to the top spot finishing
4th this year, up one place from 2011.
Eric Boullier, Team Principal
“The conclusion of the championship is good;
fourth was our target and we’ve achieved that by
a considerable margin. On top of that we’ve been
fighting with the leading teams right to the end
of the year. For Kimi to take third in the
Drivers’ Championship is a really great
achievement after being away for two years and a
testament not only to the car we gave him, but
to the team for their support. We scored our
first win with the Lotus name and achieved a
good number of podiums over the year, so overall
it’s been a very good season. I can only thank
everyone at Enstone and everyone at Renault; I’m
very proud to be a part of this effort. Our
progress is very promising for next year. With
the continuity and stability we have I’m sure
we’ll be fighting for podiums again in 2013.”
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director
“Looking at the season, we’re happy with P3
in the Drivers’ Championship for Kimi and P4 in
the Constructors’ Championship for the team. Our
target was fourth and we’ve easily achieved that,
but perhaps even more encouraging is that at one
stage it looked as if we could challenge for
third or maybe even higher. I’m sure Kimi would
have rather won the championship but it was
certainly a very respectable comeback.”
Kimi Räikkönen
“I didn’t really have any expectations for the
year, so I think it’s been a pretty good season.
We’ve had some good results and we’ve finished
every race. Certainly from a race reliability
perspective it’s been excellent. I just tried to
do my best and to score points of course you
have to finish the race. We had a good car and I
didn’t get involved in too many incidents with
other people. In terms of results, it could have
been better, but it could have been an awful lot
worse. Overall, I’m pretty happy.
It was a busy race and we didn’t have the pace
we wanted all the time. There was certainly a
lot going on. I went off at the last corner on
lap 52 as I couldn’t see well with my visor
being dirty and fogged up. Where I went off you
can get back on the track by going through the
support race pit lane, but you have to go
through a gate. I know this as I did the same
thing in 2001 and the gate was open that year.
Somebody closed it this time. Next year I’ll
make sure it’s open again.”
Romain Grosjean
“I think I started off the season very well in
terms of speed, but there were too many
incidents for sure. Some were due to bad luck,
but others were through a bit too much
aggression on my part; something we worked very
hard to put right at the end of the year which
has made a big difference. I’ve learned a lot
over this season – probably more than I would
have expected – and I’ve definitely come back as
a stronger driver because of that. Overall it’s
been a rollercoaster year, but a good one for
sure. Hopefully there will be many better days
to come.”
It was one of the biggest shunts of my career so
far – about 9.5g the engineers have told me – so
I’m a little bit shaken for sure but otherwise
not too bad. Everything was nicely under control
at the start of the race then it all ended very
suddenly at turn eleven. It was a strange one; I
could see it was raining a bit more so I was
taking it even easier than on the lap before,
then suddenly the car just went from underneath
me and that was it. I’ve not had much luck this
weekend and that’s definitely not the way I
wanted to end the season.” |
