Team happy with car despite home Grand Prix disappointment
SEPANG: Lotus Racing were happy that their car showed its reliability once again despite the disappointment of coming last of the finishers at their home Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.
A HEAVIER CAR THAN MOST: Lotus-Cosworth driver Jarno Trulli of Italy powers into the pits during the third practice session. — AFP photo
Hopes were high amongst the Malaysian fans of a possible first points finish after Heikki Kovalainen managed to qualify in a season’s best 15th place ahead of both Ferraris and McLarens on Saturday.
But the Finn was unclassified, finishing the race 10 laps behind winner Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull and his Lotus teammate Jarno Trulli finished 17th, five laps behind the winner.
“The beauty of sport is that you have highs and lows,” said Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer for the Malaysian team.
“After the high of yesterday, with Heikki in Q2, it was a bit of a low today.
“It was disappointing, but at least we managed to get two cars to the flag. We’ve learned a lot and are looking to move on and be on good form for China.”
Kovalianen had two early unscheduled pitstops, first suffering a puncture after challenging with Virgin Racing’s Lucas Di Grassi and then was forced back in with a hydraulics problem but the Finn was positive about his chances in China in a fortnight.
“Compared to the other new teams our times are very competitive indeed, so I’m not going to let this race trouble me.”
The Lotus team have built a heavier car than most on the grid, hoping it would be more reliable and that they can finish races but their lack of speed meant they ended up behind their rival new team Hispania (HRT) and Virgin’s Di Grassi.
Other than Trulli’s failure to start the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne last, Lotus have managed to complete the first three races this year, a better record than their two rival new teams.
Trulli, who recovered from a spin on the opening laps after colliding with Virgin’s Timo Glock, was pleased with the team’s focus.
“Despite that (the spin) I got the car home to the end and that shows our focus on reliability has been worth the effort.” — Reuters