I was browsing through the papers when I stumbled on an article about the return of the Formula 1 season in yesterday’s business section of The Star (12 March). In the piece, the writer expressed his hopes that Malaysian owned Lotus Racing “may just spoil it for the big boys”. He also mentioned “podium finish” and “national anthem” in the following paragraph. Well, let’s hope that Malaysians tuning in this weekend won’t have the same expectations, because they will be sorely disappointed. Take this not from us, but Lotus T127 pilot Jarno Trulli.
The Italian, in an interview with Autosport, shared about the ups, downs and burdens driving for Lotus. When asked if there’s any possible strategic move to get ahead of the established teams given the lack of outright pace, Trulli answered: “No. We will be four seconds off the top, and we will be three seconds off the last car from the top group which is too much. The aim is to finish the race with both cars and to get experience.”
When quizzed whether Lotus is “expecting” to finish the race or merely “hoping” to do so, he chose the former. “We are expecting to finish the race. But in Formula 1 even top teams can stop because of little gremlins and a team like ours has more chance to stop especially as at the moment we haven’t had the chance to design every little bit on the car. This is our biggest issue. We are looking to change it, but at the moment the team is not running fully in every area. We are working on many things, but we have to take things step by step”.
The ex-Toyota driver also gave insight on the differences between driving for an established team and a start up, explaining that he’s happy with the high level of driver influence on the technical direction of the car as opposed to merely turning up to drive. “I jump in the car, say this is right, this is wrong and then in one day we gain a second. It is kind of satisfying to work in this way, even though it is not satisfying being four seconds off”.
I enjoyed reading the interview as Trulli came off as honest, as opposed to merely repeating the official PR script. Read it in full by heading to the source link below!
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AI-generated Summary ✨
Comments reflect skepticism about Lotus F1 team's recent performance, criticizing their slow pace and lack of competitiveness compared to established teams. Many emphasize the team's short development time of just six months, viewing it as insufficient to achieve top results, and point out that Lotus is using Cosworth engines, not their own. Despite these challenges, some express hope, citing Brawn GP's success as an example of overcoming initial setbacks. Several comments highlight frustrations over resource spending and question the team's genuine effort, with a few supportive voices encouraging Lotus to focus on finishing races and improving steadily. Overall, sentiments are mixed but lean towards skepticism, with a core desire for patience and improvement over immediate success.