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Lotus F1 Team is proud to present its 2015 challenger; the E23 Hybrid.
Matthew Carter, Lotus F1 Team CEO:
"The E23 Hybrid represents a new era for Lotus F1 Team, not only in the
change to a Mercedes Benz Power Unit, but also it is the fruition of a
busy winter behind the scenes. Improvements within our Design, Aero and
Simulation departments have all contributed to the development of a car
which is a huge step forward. As a team we are confident that the new
car coupled with additions to the Race team will enable a huge leap
forward and we are full of optimism going into the new season. It is
time to put the disappointment of last season behind us and benefit from
12 months of hard work; we are ready to return to our rightful place at
the pinnacle of the sport."
Nick Chester, Lotus F1 Team Technical Director:
“The E23 Hybrid represents a massive step forward for us. It’s no secret
that we struggled with last year’s car so we’ve targeted every area that
caused us an issue. We’ve made strong progress in the wind tunnel as
well as in areas such as packaging and cooling. We expect the E23 to
perform far, far better than its predecessor. In terms of what’s new,
obviously a massive change for us is a new Power Unit supplier. We made
this change as it looked and looks to be the one area of the car which
could bring us the greatest performance gain. It’s not just performance,
but reliability and driveability as well as packaging and cooling too.
The E22 did deliver good figures in the wind tunnel, even if it was
difficult to unlock its potential, so we’ve paid more attention to
making the characteristics of the car more adaptable. In terms of the
suspension, we were delivered something of a blow last year when the
front-rear interconnected suspension was outlawed mid-season. The E23’s
suspension design is specific to the updated regulations so we’re not
trying to update a system originally intended to work a different way.
We learnt a lot in many areas of the car over the course of 2014 so
there are many lessons which have been applied. We know we’ve made a big
step. We won’t know how our car will fare in relative terms until we’re
out in action at a Grand Prix, but we certainly expect to be much more
competitive than last year.”
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