Did you enjoy yesterday’s Chinese GP? There was plenty of action in Shanghai and a some breakthroughs as well. For one, the season saw its first winner other than Sebastian Vettel in Lewis Hamilton. Another is Team Lotus joining the midfield, as declared by the team itself. Kovalainen’s T128 finished 16th, ahead of Sergio Perez (Sauber) and Pastor Maldonado (Williams), although the Sauber was competing higher up before he received a drive through penalty.
“That is our best ever performance,” the Finn said. “It’s not the highest place we’ve had but today we beat two midfield cars in a straight fight so I am very happy, with my performance and the performance of the whole team. We knew we would struggle in the cool conditions yesterday but today the temperatures rose and we expected to be able to put in the sort of race that would do justice to the pace that is in the car,” he added.
Tech chief Mike Gascoyne was equally happy. “That was an absolutely fantastic race from both drivers and from the pitcrew who performed brilliantly under huge pressure. It is very satisfying to have beaten two other midfield teams on track on pace and strategy and to be able to show that we have bridged the gap to the established teams.
“With the tyre degradation we were able to stick to two stops, which was always our plan and that allowed us to jump a couple of people, giving us our strongest race in F1. Additionally, we were only lapped once, right towards the end of the race, so I am very proud of the whole team today,” he beamed.
No statement from Tony Fernandes, but fellow Malaysian CEO Riad Asmat said: “I am actually lost for words. We were racing today, actually taking on teams who have been in the sport for many years, and even though there is a huge amount of work ahead of us, now we need to enjoy this moment, build on this feeling and keep moving forwards.”
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meh.
there’s a lot more to do la lotus..at least cut another second per lap from the current lap time than it is wiser to give statement like this..
Despite this is a good race for TL, they better don’t get carried away with it. First the 2 cars they defeated are rookies or second drivers from Williams and Sauber. Maldonado was miserable while Perez got a drive though penalty. Heikki has much better experience than the other two rookies. Unless Heikki defeats those team’s main drivers like Barrichello, then its fair to say they beaten an mid field team.
I still think their progress in mid field is fair and its possible to beat the Williams and hopefully Sauber. Torro Rosso and Force India are way ahead. All TL needs is a better aero package to make the car faster by at least half a second. Also to silence Tony;s big mouth and let the team progress though the race track.
i wished these guys were my bosses, so that anything I do at work gets called a success, no matter how lame it actually is.
they speak too much arent they?
last time it was mr-very-bad-PR tony
now riad has something to say as well
mike, it seems, he couldnt let this brief “momentous” moment pass
chuck it in as well
that chap alex yoong ended 7th in ozzie’02 grand prix
if we are to go along with riad’s and mike’s illogical logic
then we should have be very proud of alex because he was the 7th best driver
or he was the better driver than a certain schumacher, coulthard, button, etc etc
in that grandprix?
but we didnt, did we
because we knew for melbourne ’02, the grand prix was marred by
most number of DNFs
8 cars were taken out in collisions,
2 were disqualified
and 3 were out because of mechanical problems
now let me get it straight
alex yoong is a terrific guy
he understands the sport so well that i believe he would be a very good
team principal
what i got problem, massive problem
is that this thicker malaysian blood team
seems to get floated easily
everybody wants a piece of the limelight
everyone wants to say something no matter how ridiculous it is
errr… How long Minardi have been in F1 before alex yoong 7th place in aussie ’02 was achieved.
that Minardi is forever to be a backmarker that’s why alex yoong 7th place in ’02 is still seem ridiculous.
at least this team lotus is making an effort to reach the midfield and race’em on their 2nd year in formula 1.
yo dude did you own a F1 team ya?
that was just 8 cars left on the track after all others DNF…. thats why alex yoong on 7th… lol… did you really follow the race that time?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Australian_Grand_Prix
u mean that micheal shoe’ maker win coz…..8 cars were taken out in collisions,
2 were disqualified and 3 were out because of mechanical problems n oso beside top 3 other finisher that race either backmarker or midfield?…..
0 pts…currently. Best at #16 of 24. I thought no 12 is in the middle?
Every race is the best race – seriously…. I been watching f1 for ten years and no they r not midfield yet. So full of themselves
Oh man… and here come the bashers.
this is a joke of the day!
Tony has learnt his lesson and letting his underlings do all the silly talk.
why renault didn’t get podium at chinese GP?
fly kite
to say it can compete with the mid-position-team, they must prove in qualifying. As far as i concern, they are behind about 1 sec in qualifying from the mid-team (actually it shows improvement compared to the last two teams).
In racing, anything can happen.
Jarno Trulli fastest time faster than Alonso… lol
14. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus Renault 53 1:42.052
15 .Fernando Alonso Ferrari 41 1:42.070
its such an achievement for a young team to get a faster laptime comparing to an established team which is contending for the title. + ferrari got KERS while TL have only DRS
I’d say consistent performance and presence in the midfield are the outright indicators. To finish 16th is laudable but only multiple finishes at the mid-spot will do the justice for the claim.
Anyway, good luck and thanks TF for not BS-ing this time. ;)
Perez had an accident and the Williams’ cars aren’t exactly so hot to drive. Anything to shout about?
this is racing not charity racing
if other didn’t do well what-so-ever that’s their problem
in a race you don’t slow down just because your rival have problems
But I still wouldn’t call getting ahead of 2 problematic cars ‘great’, would you?
again as I said it’s race…
I don’t know if you wanna watch charity race or a pure race
in front of perez in sauber maybe luck but to be able to hold maldonado at bay in a race condition; I guess TL can be proud of that. Furthermore to be at 16th out of 23 running cars at the end of the race for 18th months old team.. yeah.. they can call it it “GREAT”
so what is your problem with TL?
In the world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. That is great.
yea yea….
self promotion..very easy one
Overall an good outing in Shanghai for TL but they better dont get carried away with it. Heikki has beaten the rookie drivers of Maldonado and Perez from Williams and Sauber respectfully but not their main drivers like Barrichello and Koyabashi. But still an ecouraging result but still more work needed to make the T128 quicker as it is still not impressed in qualifying.
All is needed is some decent upgrades on the aero package and then TL can deliver. There are still on midst of the mid field battle but there still a long way to go. At least they are in a way better shape compared to Virgin and HRT.
midfield my behind…
Are they living in lalaland ah? Those who know what went on during the race will know this is akin to saying Alex Yoong is so good got 7th place… When there were only 7 cars in the race.
Let see their performance when they start using KERS or even DRS. That is a big IF. If they still do not improve, then boo them till your heart content.
they have DRS but not KERS
there’ll be new diffuser coming up for spanish GP
Tony Fernandessss said: Yes!!! Half of the battles have been won…yeeehaaaa!
Muahahahahahaha….wat la…poor Tony.
still a lot of ‘self-motivational’ thought from this team..
perhaps they can just be silent first about whatever achievement they had.. be consistent in the next few races, only than give a statement whether they are really in midfield yet or not..
i’ll put my respect to this team if they can qualify in Q2 and finish in top 12, then only i can agree that they are in midfielder group already.
please stand in firm ground, might be now they were the best among the newcomer and they are really proud they achieve this within 18 months or so.. for my self, i give them 3 years to be in midfield or front runner.. being ambitious and having vision is good, but sometimes need to face reality also..
IMHO, Sauber team is a good example, love to see how the humble Peter Sauber built the team and good to see them running this season
DREAM ON ! You will lose your fortunes made in AirAsia before you ever see a podium finish .
Tony Stop Dreaming. Not everything you touch turns to gold.
Dare to talk big big mouth, at the end still ZERO “0”.
Still will support them rather than some gold team whose owners are double crossers and back stabbers. Malaysia only need one team…… it should be green and yellow and not other wise…. Boo to Petronas too…..
dude,im love your comment..
bro, did u get free air asia ticket everyday?
bro, and do you get a free proton or lotus car everyday?obviously what beamerfreak said were true about the backstabbing and double crossing part. TF was played out by them.
TF is a great marketing man, if you buy a team for a paltry sum and expect to sell it at 1000% more than its worth, that’s being opportunist, we all know that and rather than being a great statesmen and have an amicable solution, he chose to fight.
As for Riad, his dad is Tan Sri Asmat CEO of UMW and of three dozen over company. So he can talk all he wants, he’s daddy’s boy.
TF is always about the branding and feel good factor rather than actual performace. Its always about money, when I was breifed on Air Asia and Air Asia X all they talk about is lowest cost mile when we’re talking about flight safety audit.
All the best to them, it really doesnt matter, at the end of the day, the goverment will stop to bank roll mediocre teams. It is just a matter of time.
Riad, I’m also lost for words
I have to congratulate team lotus for the progress they have made this year. They are now 2 seconds per lap from the ultimate pace as opposed to 4 seconds per lap last year. However, to be a true consistent point contender they still have to shave off a second per lap.
Since the car is still quite basic without the bells and whistles that the other modern F1 cars have (such as KERS and blown exhaust) I believe they can shave off the second from their lap times as they add on all these features. To survive in F1 they need to have good development and updates throughout the season to stay competitive.
Looking forward to the progress they will make when they implement the blown diffuser at the race in Spain.
i believe this year TL do have blown diffuser, just not the latest version from RedBull that everyone wants to copy nowadays.