13 February 2011

Jerez Test 10-14 February 2011, Team Lotus comments

Day 1, 10 February 2011

JARNO TRULLI: "The car does feel pretty good, but the problem this afternoon did limit our total time on track. Despite that we are still where we want to be - close to the midfield and in a car that we still have a lot more to add to. I think there is still a lot more to come from the car so I'm very positive and looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow."

DIETER GASS, SPORTING DIRECTOR: "We started the day well and had a good morning session. For the first time we were able to do meaningful setup work and start being able to understand the aerodynamics of the car. Unfortunately we had a small problem this afternoon which limited our running, but the team worked well to rectify it and we managed to give Jarno another 45 minutes at the end of the session. We will take another look at the problem tonight and will make sure it does not affect us tomorrow."

Day 2, 11 february 2011

JARNO TRULLI: "The morning went well for us. We managed to do a decent number of laps and put in a couple of quite long runs but then we had to stop with a mechanical issue which could not be fixed in time for me to go out again today. I would have liked to have had more running today but this is all part of testing a brand new car - we need to iron out the problems now so when the races start we have ironed out all the problems. Hopefully Heikki can put in some decent mileage over the next couple of days and really start to push the development of the car."

DIETER GASS, SPORTING DIRECTOR: "We had a promising start to the day. We found some interesting results from the setup work we did and have continued to learn more about the Pirelli tyres and how to maximise their grip levels on the car. Overnight we were able to fix the issues we had yesterday but unfortunately we had a mechnical problem at the front of the car that we were not able to fix in time today, but the spare parts we need are arriving from the factory tonight so we will be in good shape for Heikki to get into the car tomorrow."

Day 3, 12 february 2011

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN: "Today was very encouraging and I really enjoyed driving the car. I still have the same feeling that I had in Valencia - it's fundamentally a good car and there's a lot more to come from it. We managed to make very good progress today, even though we had a problem with the exhaust we still managed to get through most of the programme. The guys worked well to fix the problem, and by the end of the day we had made a number of setup changes, run through all the tyre compounds and had run on a variety of fuel loads. This morning we tried the DRS in race mode and even though I had thought the procedure to initiate it might be pretty complicated it actually all worked easily. Once you get used to it the system is pretty simple. I used it in both race and practice mode and it returns to position well so I have no problems under braking and am very happy with how it all works. By the time the day eneded we finished right in the mix so we're all pretty happy with the day's work."

DIETER GASS, SPORTING DIRECTOR: "I think we are all quite pleased with how the day went. The morning and late afternoon sessions were good and even though we lost some time on track around the middle of the day with the exhaust problem we were still able to learn a lot more about the car and complete most of the programme. One of the key learnings from today is with the tyres. I think there we have a lot more work to do to really understand how to get the best out of the tyres but we have definitely taken a step forward with Pirelli today. We also tested the DRS in race conditions today and it was our first chance to try the proximity sensor - that worked very well and it was good to see that in action as it will be used in race scenarios."

Day 4, 13 February 2011

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN: "The combination of a number of small issues throughout the day and different weather conditions than the last three days meant we had a bit of a disrupted day but we did manage to take another step forward with the setup options and that lap at the end proves there is good pace in the car. We spent quite a lot of time looking at how to find the best balance settings with the tyres and it looks like we keep moving forward in that area. It's a little unfortunate that we had a stop / start day but this is what testing is about. We have a few days now to work on ironing out the issues and look to Barcelona to start working on long runs so I leave Jerez in a positive frame of mind and am already looking to get back in the car next week."

DIETER GASS, SPORTING DIRECTOR: "Firstly I think we're all pleased to see Heikki put in such a good lap at the end of the day in tricky weather conditions. Both he and Jarno have performed really well over the last few days and I want to thank them for their efforts. Today was affected by a few issues on the car and the obvious change in the weather but the team has worked extremely hard over the whole test to give both Jarno and Heikki a chance to show what the car can do and our thanks go to them and everyone back in the factory for working so hard. Even with these problems the car does look quick and we have a very good platform to work on in Barcelona and at the final test in Bahrain."