15-Mar-10: Whitmarsh Believes McLaren Can Close the Gap

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It’s the 15th March 2010 and this is F1 Minute.

The immediate reaction following the season opener is… not good. Several drivers, including Webber and Kovalainen, have been tweeting about the race in Bahrain, both particularly worried about the lack of overtaking. Martin Whitmarsh has discussed the possibility of introducing a two mandatory pit stop rule.
Whitmarsh has also been talking about his team’s performance, though, and said: “We had two great pitstops and at both of them we overtook somebody, which was good for the team, and good for team morale. You want to be the best at that and we certainly proved that today. Then following the stop Lewis had good race pace. So after the shattering time difference on Saturday, to be there or thereabouts was good.”

More reaction came from Mike Gascoyne at Lotus who said: “This is the worst we will do. We know we have a reliable car now, we know we need to put bits on it to make it quicker.”

That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

Tweets of the Week – 14th March 2010

The first race of 2010 has been and gone, and given the volume of information coming out of Twitter, I’m narrowing this week’s Tweets of the Week down to solely drivers and teams. It was an amazing race, watching the teams be so open, and I hope they can keep it up all year.

• Great to get back to some sunshine, +25C 9am in bahrain! Gonna rush to the track after breakfast to check out the new circuit layout… Heikki Kovalainen
• Heikki off playing golf again. Don’t know where the course is but there are plenty of bunkers around Mike Gascoyne
• It’s like the first day of term here. But without anyone trying to steal your lunch money. Or at least not trying very hard… Red Bull F1 Spy
• This usually is the longest night of the race weekend: engineers and mechanics are working hard to prepare the cars for tomorrow and Sunday. Inside Ferrari
• Yesterday went pretty well, tried different fuel loads and compared the two compounds of tyres we have here.. It’s good to be back racing!! Jenson Button
• I’ve only just clocked the lack of firesuits for the crew in qualy. No wonder the boys don’t look so hot! Renault F1
• Objective was to get points in the first race of the season. Would have been nice if both our drivers made it to the top 10 though. Force India
• yiha!! we’ve done it!! Lotus Racing
• end of a crazy weekend…. need a couple days of peace and quiet to recover from the stress ! shame a bump in T12 just bounced me off track Karun Chandhok
• NEED TO SAVE BETTER THE REAR TYRES…A LOT¡¡ Jaime Alguersuari

A Dream Start for Lotus Racing

Six months of very hard work finally came to as successful a conclusion as the team could have hoped for on Sunday afternoon in Bahrain, with both Lotus Racing cars finishing the race, Heikki in 15th and Jarno in 17th (provisional positions) in the opening round of the 2010 Formula One™ World Championship.

Jarno Trulli (Lotus Racing chassis T127/3) “I made a good start and avoided the accident at the second corner but found myself in the gravel so at this stage I was nearly last, but then I started picking up pace and catching the people in front. The car was understeering quite a lot and I couldn’t really predict the balance so at the pitstop the team, who did a really good job, changed the front wing setting and I started pushing again and putting in some good laps. At the end of the race I had a hydraulic problem so I just had to get it to the end of the race. I’m really happy and proud for the team because in six months every single target we have fixed we have met so it’s really good, and, as Tony said, one day Lotus will win and I hope to be here when we do.”

Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus Racing chassis T127/1) “It was a good race for our team – to get both cars to the finish is a great achievement. My car didn’t have a single problem, I know Jarno did and managed to nurse his car to the end, but the primary goal was to get both cars to the end and we achieved that. So far the team has reached every goal we set ourselves so that is fantastic. In terms of my race, I had a good start and was battling with a lot of guys we didn’t think we’d be fighting with. My tyres were fine, and the pitstop was good, but I lost a bit of time whilst letting cars past, and we’ll look at the strategy for Australia to work around that better. I really enjoyed driving the car, it felt really good and it was good to push. Everybody in the team should be really happy but now the honeymoon is over and we need to start working on better results.”

Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne said “I’m very very proud of the whole team. Everyone here, and back in Hingham. Firstly I have to say thank you to both drivers. They drove great races – Jarno struggling early on but when he changed to the soft tyre he was much more competitive. Apologies to Heikki because he may have suffered from the strategy, and apologies to Jarno because he had a hydraulics problem and he had to slow down to get the car to the finish, but overall a great result.”

Happiest man of all was Team Principal Tony Fernandes who said “I’m completely over the moon! I cannot describe the feeling. Six months of work and to have both cars finish is just unbelievable. We’re thrilled, we’re happy and the spirit in the team is fantastic. I’m really proud of Jarno and of Heikki  and everyone here. It’s a great start and better than I could have dreamt of. We wanted to finish the race and to do so ahead of established teams is fantastic.

“From here we keep going. Before the race Clive Chapman gave me Colin Chapman’s old Lotus cap and said ‘when you win the first race you’ll be the man to throw this up in the air like my Dad used to.’ That meant a lot to me, it was a wonderful gesture and it’s like handing over the mantle of one of motor racing’s great dynasties”

Visitors to the Lotus Racing garage before the race included FIA President Jean Todt and Michelle Yeoh, but the day began with Tony Fernandes giving the team a stirring speech to thank everyone for the hard work so far, and lay out the challenge ahead, saying “The last six months have shown that if you dream you can achieve, but now it’s not about being the best of the new teams, it’s about making a serious challenge for the very top.” With a start like this, who could blame him for pushing for something truly amazing.

Lotus Racing Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying Report

Saturday in Bahrain saw Lotus Racing compete for the first time in qualifying with a host of famous faces dropping by and watching the action from the team’s pit and hospitality suite, among them former Lotus stars Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti and Nigel Mansell. Qualifying itself was much as the team had anticipated, with Jarno Trulli finishing 20^th on 1.59.852 and Heikki Kovalainen 21^st on 2.00.313.

Both drivers gave their thoughts after the session, with Jarno saying: “All in all not too bad considering the amount of running we had this morning. We had some bad luck this weekend but the team has operated very well, in a very professional way, and we just need a bit more time to make the step forward we need in terms of performance. Tomorrow we need to try and finish the race, collect some useful data to find out more about what is right and wrong with the way the car behaves, and make that our main aim – finishing.”

Heikki Kovalainen added “Pretty much what we expected. The car was very reliable, which is good, and the performance was roughly where we knew we’d be. I’m reasonably happy – it probably isn’t the best qualifying lap I’ve ever done, and maybe I didn’t get everything out of it I should have done, but we have a good base to work from tomorrow. In practice yesterday the car felt like it would be good over long runs, and with the good reliability we have had we’ll see what happens tomorrow. The most important thing is to finish the race, and then we’ll see where we are.”

Mike Gascoyne, Lotus Racing Chief Technical Officer commented: “It’s a little bit mixed emotions today – we wanted to be the best of the new teams, and we just missed out on that by a fraction, but as the last of the new teams to have been given an entry, only six months ago, it’s a fantastic effort by the whole team to have finished our first qualifying session. We now look forward to the race and with the strength of our reliability, and two very experienced race drivers, now it’s all about finishing.”

Having arrived yesterday, Team Principal Tony Fernandes was at the track and was very proud to see the incredible efforts of everyone in the team over the last six months finally taking shape, saying “I’m happy, very very happy. It was fantastic to see Lotus back on the grid after a 16 year absence, and with the potential for so many things to have gone wrong, it’s just great to have finished our first qualifying session. Jarno broke the two minute mark and that’s a great achievement in itself.”

Giving his thoughts on the motor racing giants that came by the Lotus Racing garage, he added “It was great to see Emerson, Mario and Nigel today. It shows we have credibility and it’s a great endorsement from these legends that they see what we’re doing and, in whatever way, want to be a part of it. The dream continues and long may it last!”

Formula 1 is Back, and 2010 is Go!

Whilst browsing through the available photographs for our required Free Practice schedule, we realised there are just too many good ones to narrow it down to one.

Instead, we’ve selected our ten favourite photographs from today in an F1 Minute special. Highlighting several moments that made the day fascinating, the photographs take you from posed portraits to raw speed out on track. Enjoy this F1 Big Picture – 2010 is Go Special.

1. The Class of 2010 – every single driver who will be on the grid on Sunday poses for a photo.
2. I’m Still Standing – Rubens prepares himself for the task ahead.
3. Bruno Meet Bahrain – Bruno Senna, and Hispania Racing, make their Formula One debut.
4. Let’s Get This Party Started – Lucas di Grassi is pleased to have got the weekend underway.
5. Grumpy Old Men – Michael Schumacher gets used to the way F1 is now.
6. Whole Lotta Laps for Liuzzi – Tonio gets plenty of running in for his first day of work in-season.
7. With Finland Behind Him – Heikki flys the flag for Finland and gets off to a good start with Lotus.
8. Glock ‘n Roll – Timo Glock holds off a Sauber. Probably not the last time he’ll have to do that.
9. Many Massa Returns – Felipe makes a welcome return to the cockpit of the red car.
10. The Boys are Back in Town – Smiling faces in the paddock, but how long will that last for?

I hope you enjoy this special set of Free Practice photos, look out for more F1 photo goodness as the season progresses.

With Finland Behind Him

A ten-part F1 Big Picture series celebrating the return of F1 in Bahrain. Heikki Kovalainen awaits the call to get in the car for Free Practice. The Lotus driver finished ahead of teammate Trulli in both sessions, and although the new team were quite a way off the pace, Heikki posted some of the better times of the new entrants.

Credit: Lotus Racing

An Historic Day For Lotus Racing

Friday at the Bahrain Grand Prix marked an historic day for Lotus Racing, exactly six months to the day since the team’s entry into the 2010 Formula One^TM World Championship was confirmed. Jarno Trulli was first car on track as the pit lane lights turned green, followed closely by Heikki Kovalainen, as the team saw their incredible efforts since September 12^th 2009 come to fruition in the desert heat.

The morning session saw the team complete 36 laps in total, with both Heikki (21 laps) and Jarno (15 laps) completing their planned programs and stepping out of their respective cars satisfied with their morning’s work. As track temperatures climbed to nearly 50° after lunch they both returned to work, Jarno notching up another 14 laps and Heikki 23 more and testing aero upgrades that had been fitted over the lunch break. Heikki’s best time of the afternoon session was 2.00.873 and Jarno 2.00.990.

Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne gave his thoughts on the team’s first outing of the race season, saying “A good day for the team after a very long night preparing the cars for today. Everyone worked very hard and it was satisfying to see us first out on track and then put in a solid performance throughout the day. We tried an aero upgrade this afternoon and we’ll look at the results of that in this afternoon’s debrief, but now we’re looking forward to putting in another professional performance tomorrow in qualifying.”

Thoughts now turn to tomorrow’s qualifying session and the forthcoming race, with Team Principal Tony Fernandes arriving in Bahrain to add his support to the Lotus Racing team’s efforts on track.

Lotus Racing Set for Bahrain

By 3am on Saturday morning Lotus Racing had finally finished packing up the six airfreight boxes needed for the journey to Bahrain and the beginning of the 2010 Formula One ^TM season.  Two cars and a 60-strong team have now made their way to the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Bahrain International Circuit for the first race of much anticipated 2010 season.

On 12^th September 2009 Lotus Racing gained entry onto the grid. As the team gears up for the first Grand Prix, the whole team, including the drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, remain upbeat and honest about their expectations for the first few races. Trulli commented, “It would be nice to score a point, but it is not going to be easy. We have to be realistic.”

Chief Technical Officer, Mike Gascoyne said, “Our test season was extremely productive - in general we’ve had very good reliability, and the team is in very good shape going to the first race.”

Lotus Racing remain confident of their continuing progress. Team Principle Tony Fernandes commented, “We are all looking forward to Bahrain; to have Lotus Racing on the grid will be a momentous occasion for all involved and, indeed, for our fans, whose support has been absolutely fantastic since we launched just under six months ago. Yes we are a little slower than the major leading teams, however we will get there, with passion, hard work and a clear vision – our aim for this first Grand Prix will be to finish and steadily but surely improve, race by race.”

Lotus Racing will spend the week preparing in Bahrain and look forward to hitting the track in anger for the first practice session on Friday, exactly six months to the day after gaining their entry place into 2010 Formula One^TM World Championship.

Tweets of the Week – 7th March 2010

Everyone is gearing up for the season to begin. The teams returned from Barcelona and got everything together to ship off to Bahrain. Plus, HRT became the newest team to launch a car.

• Everyone back from testing now (I think the boys are due a well deserved rest having had about 4 hrs sleep per night for the last month!) Claire Williams
• Seen some news from finnish media about lotus/minardi, comments taken out of context, not fair for our team, gonna combat it big time now! Heikki Kovalainen
• Hamilton thinks that we are going to be competitive this year. Flattering to be honest. We’re working towards fulfilling expectations. Force India
• had some regular check ups today and play bowling with the Barrichello’s…grandpa is 83 and still on big form…206 points today for him Rubens Barrichello
• freight leaves tomorrow midnight! 25t of equipment to go to Bahrain! boys are working hard! Lotus Racing
• Finally it’s official !! I am a Formula 1 driver !! Karun Chandhok
• In the middle of the press conference for the team’s presentation in Murcia! Will try to post pics of the car asap!! Bruno Senna
• Shame that fellow Oxford United supporter Ian Phillips has left Jordan (and subsequent incarnations). Don’t think he’ll be out of F1 long… James Roberts
• Maximum attack coding today. A week from now and the Bahrain GP will be in the record books. The off-season used to be much longer I’m sure! Geoff Creighton
• Sooo excited that a week today we’ll have our first race winner of 2010! Lots of extra live F1 stats available online during races this year Jake Humphrey

28-Feb-10: Hamilton Leads Final Day of Testing

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 28th February 2010 – a special edition to cover the fourth and final day of pre-season testing.

Lewis Hamilton was fastest on the last day in Barcelona, and he completed the most number of laps with 134. He was only a couple of hundredths faster than Webber in second though, and Massa and Sutil weren’t that far behind either. Further down the order, Kubica finished up tenth for Renault, whilst Kovalainen pipped di Grassi to finish Lotus ahead of Virgin by just under a second. Lotus had a good morning but had gearbox troubles in the afternoon, whilst Virgin were still struggling with hydraulic problems – but as mentioned previously, they’re hoping their pre-Bahrain upgrade will sort that out.

Massa has been talking about Ferrari’s progress so far and said: “I’m satisfied with the whole of testing, not just Barcelona. We did what we wanted to do, but it looks like it will be a very tough and competitive championship.” He also added: “I’m 100% sure that I will never have a problem with Fernando.” Just wanted to highlight that, in case it comes back to haunt him.

That’s all for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with your regular F1 Minute.

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