Team Lotus’ stated aim this season is to catch the midfield teams, teams like Toro Rosso and Force India, and eventually bigger players like Lotus Renault. But while the former two were in the points in yesterday’s Australian GP, and Petrov scored a podium for LR, TL’s sole finisher Jarno Trulli was 13th and only ahead of Virgin. That’s the same place they were occupying for the best part of last season. But the boss sounds pleased though.
“I am happy. After a tense day to see Jarno have a strong finish in 15th (before the two Saubers were disqualified) and show good speed in the race is very pleasing. We knew we had a potential issue with the radiator on Heikki’s car so when he had to pull over it was not a surprise, but the main thing for me today is that the pace we showed in the pre-season tests is back,” said team principal Tony Fernandes.
“We were able to stay with the midfield teams and that has been the stated target for this year so now we know we have a base to build on for the season ahead and some time to fix the radiator issue before we go home to Malaysia for the next race,” he added.
Kovalainen, who retired due to a radiator leak on lap 20, gave an honest review. “Until the retirement I was very pleased with my own performance. I had a good start and was then staying with Alguersuari and Perez until the water leak brought my race to an end.
“I think this has been a bit of a tricky weekend for us, perhaps more difficult than we had anticipated, but we have some time now to analyse why the pace wasn’t quite where we had expected it to be and to work on the reliability before we get to Malaysia.”
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AI-generated Summary ✨
Comments reflect varying opinions on Team Lotus's performance, with some supporters optimistic about their race pace and progress, while others criticize their qualifying results and slow lap times. Many express pride in Malaysia's involvement in F1 and support Malaysian-backed teams like Lotus-Renault and Mercedes GP Petronas. Some skeptics argue that the team is still in development, needing more time and technological improvements, and question their competitiveness compared to established teams like Red Bull. There is also discussion about the management and funding, with debates around government support and the team's financial backing. Overall, sentiments are mixed but include encouragement for future improvements and pride in Malaysian participation in F1.