Lotus launch the E20, as they continue the trend of a step in the nose.
Lotus F1 team have launched the car they will be giving to Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean in 2012, named the E20. The car is named the E20 as it is the 20th car to come out of the Enstone factory. Like the Caterham, Ferrari and Force India, the car features the step in the nose. Only McLaren don't feature it so far. The team formerly known as Renault were known to be developing a reactive ride height system, which they tested on the R31 in Abu Dhabi, only for the FIA to ban it.
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| The Lotus E20, as launched today |
Grosjean thinks he is in a good position for this season: “It’s difficult to say how I should view this season. For sure I did seven Grands Prix alongside Fernando Alonso and the experience I gained from that was helpful – and is still helpful today. On the other hand there are still some circuits that I don’t know. But I don’t think we can say I’m a rookie, just because of the experience I have. Let’s say that I am a young driver who still has plenty of things to learn in Formula One, but we are all expecting a good season. I don’t know Albert Park, I don’t know Shanghai, I don’t know Canada, America nobody knows, India I don’t know and Korea I don’t know. So in the early stages of the season I know all the tracks except Albert Park and Shanghai. I know Sepang and Bahrain. We will see what happens.” Raikkonen added that he was motivated for the following season “There’s always talk about my motivation, written by people who don’t know me and couldn’t have an idea on how strong my motivation is. If I didn’t feel I had the motivation, I would stop. My feeling is that I probably drove some of my best races in my last season in Formula 1 and I was very happy with my performance. I’ve never had any issues with motivation.”
The car will be tested first by Kimi Raikkonen in Jerez testing this week, which begins on Tuesday. Raikkonen, who tested a 2010 car last week in preparation for his return, will drive on Tuesday and Wednesday, while Grosjean will complete the test on Thursday and Friday. Marussia are not participating in the test, while HRT and Mercedes will be using their 2011 cars. Sauber, Red Bull and Toro Rosso launch tomorrow, while Williams launch on Tuesday.
2011 Season Review: Renault
Keep with my blog for all the opinions, launches and testing updates throughout the winter, as we count down to the Australian Grand Prix.
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