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Last weekend we did see Lotus cars winning in
different races, here is what happened:
FORMULA ONE – BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
“#Wheresmypodium” tweeted the Lotus F1 Team
throughout the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.
Having come close in each of the opening rounds,
the obvious pace of the Lotus E20 and the
unquestionable skills of Kimi Raikkonen and
young hotshoe Romain Grosjean, it was only a
matter of time. Finally, in the Middle East, it
came together.
It was the first time two Lotus drivers have
been on the F1 podium together since Carlos
Reutemann and Mario Andretti followed Patrick
Depailler’s Liger home at Jarama, Spain, in
April 1979.
Kimi qualified 11th, and in missing out on the
Q3 cut-off he saved a set of Pirellis which
would come in handy. Romain qualified seventh.
The start was scintillating from both Lotus
drivers. Grosjean shot up to third, Raikkonen up
to sixth. Then they set about picking off more
rivals, and emerged from the pitstops second and
third respectively. On soft tyres, Kimi was the
faster of the pair and was allowed to overtake
on Lap 24. Let of the leash, he began hunting
down race leader Sebastian Vettel. Having
reigned him in with DRS, and had a stab at the
end of the straight, Seb and Kimi pitted
together on Lap 39, the German maintaining his
lead and slowly pulling away.
The Lotus is kinder to its tyres than the Red
Bull but on this occasion Vettel’s RB8 was able
to keep a gap to the fired-up Finn. They crossed
the finish line a few seconds apart, with Romain
taking his first F1 podium further down the
road.
Lotus now leaps from sixth to third in the
Constructors’ Championship, sandwiched between
McLaren and Ferrari.
Kimi Raikkonen: “It’s a bit disappointing that I
didn’t manage to win, but at least we got a
podium with both cars. We’ve not been 100
percent happy with how the weekends have been so
far, but finally we’ve got some proper results,
so it’s an important step. I got one chance on
Sebastian but I chose the wrong side under
braking. In the end, there were no other chances
to try. I don’t like to finish second, but I’m
pretty happy to be up here.”
Romain Grosjean: “I’m delighted and very proud
of the team. We knew we had a quick car but at
the beginning I think we were surprised by how
quick we were. Our car is very competitive in
what is a tight season so far. I think we can be
very happy with what we did. Last week I earned
my first points, this week I get my first
podium. I’m looking forward to what comes next.”
GP2 – BAHRAIN
Round 2 of the 2012 F1 feeder series, GP2,
saw the black and gold Lotus cars reach the
podium three times in the weekend’s two races.
Esteban Gutierrez started on the front row for
Race 1, just behind Davide Valsecchi, while
team-mate James Calado started seventh. The
Englishman suffered mysterious handling issues
which dogged his weekend, but his pace was still
clear to see. In the race, he got up to P2 while
Esteban had a slow pitstop and slid down the
field only to recover in style. Taking Johnny
Cecotto for P5, the Mexican was forced off the
track and across the sand, but still made his
thrilling move stick. Battling with tyre
degradation, James was passed by Luiz Razia and
then Esteban for fourth. While Calado had to
accept fifth position, Gutierrez set off after
Max Chilton’s Carlin and, on the final lap at
the last opportunity, he nailed him and slammed
the door shut. Third place, and a very happy
Mexican.
The results meant Calado started Race 2 in
fourth and Gutierrez sixth. And what a start it
was. Down into Turn 1 the Englishman stole the
lead while Esteban chased in third. Fabio Leimer
was sandwiched between them and on Lap 2 was
mugged by Esteban on the main straight. The two
Lotus team-mates fought each other hard for the
lead, a slight contact snapping off a small but
not insignificant part of Gutierrez’ front wing.
Calado locked up into Turn 1, they touched, and
Leimer came between them again. Struggling at
the front, the chasing pair managed to slip
passed Calado who would finish in third. Then
Leimer was given a drive-through for ignoring
yellow flags, and that promoted Gutierrez to the
lead. Behind him, though, Valsecchi had been
nursing his tyres and was ready to pounce. On
the final lap the Italian DAMS racer took the
position, with Gutierrez and Calado crossing the
line to seal a double-podium for Lotus – the
first of the day, but not the last.
Esteban Gutierrez: “It was a very positive
weekend for me, with two podium finishes. I hope
we can build on this consistency for the rest of
the season and make a small step forward so we
can fight for wins every time.”
James Calado: “Around right-hand corners the car
understeered terribly. It was like the front
left wheel was off the ground. So this is
something we need to look into. We made some
changes after Race 1 but they only made the
problem worse. It led to the tyres overheating,
and that made it extremely difficult. So given
that, I think we can feel very fortunate to
finish where we did.”
BRITCAR BRITISH ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP –
DONINGTON
Team Bullrun’s Evora GT4 crossed the line first
in their class at the Donington Park endurance
race and is leading the way at the top of the
table after the second round.
David Green: “We are delighted with the win at
Donington in difficult weather conditions and
against strong opposition. The Evora performed
very well with the constantly changing levels of
grip and gave us added flexibility to adjust our
race strategy accordingly. With a quarter of the
season already gone we are exactly where we want
to be - leading both the Class and Overall
Championship."
Claudio Berro, director of Lotus Racing: “A
fantastic weekend for Lotus Racing and well done
to all the teams involved – the Lotus F1 Team,
Lotus GP and Team Bullrun. It’s such a thrill to
see a pair of Lotus drivers back on the podium.
It’s been 33 years since we’ve had two F1
drivers up there, in their black and gold suits,
and we’re all very proud. There’s plenty more to
come from Kimi, Romain, and the Lotus E20 so
stay tuned. Congratulations to our GP2 drivers,
we saw some really spirited racing there. And
it’s wonderful to see our Evora GT4 show the
rest how it’s done in the Britcar series.”
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