There are five remaining Grand Prixs in the 2014 Formula 1 season. Tremendous changes have swept the landscape of Formula 1 and every team, including Lotus, have felt the magnitude of the changes. The Grand Prix of Singapore, while not providing the end result they had hoped for, did provide insight for Team Lotus in the form of aerodynamic improvements. Moreover, it allowed the team to further tweak the car to make it easier for both Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado to handle. Now the team heads to the Japanese Grand Prix with more knowledge, and more importantly, more optimism.
The track at Suzuka is a challenging one. The corners are high speed corners, however, maximum downforce can’t be run on the Suzuka circuit due to the fact that it makes the car too slow on the straights. According to Technical Director Nick Chester, they will need to “give the drivers sufficient downforce to give confidence in the fast twisty bits whilst not clipping their wings down the straights.” Romain Grosjean expressed his appreciation for this type of track, saying that Suzuka is “probably my favorite track in the world.” The track allows the drivers to drive the car to the limit without being limited by maximum downforce. Nick Chester also mentioned that suspension would play a key role at the circuit and that getting it “spot on” would be of the utmost importance. Chester also mentioned that he felt, “Looking at the E22, we think that it should be reasonably matched to all of these challenges.”
The challenges the team faced in Singapore have also been addressed upon the arrival in Suzuka. Both Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado experienced turbo wastegate issues while at the track at Marina Bay. The issues, while being of similar in name, were actually separate in nature. Grosjean’s issue required the wastegate to be changed and the engine hydraulic manifold to be fixed as well. Pastor Maldonado’s issue, while also dealing with the wastegate, was different. All parts have been put through rigorous testing before the race in Japan in an effort to make sure everything has been taken care of. Renault Sport F1 are working with Lotus in order to investigate the situation and ensure that it will not occur again.
Heading into the Japanese Grand Prix, Team Lotus remain cautiously optimistic. They garnered a great deal of information from the race in Singapore, information that will hopefully help them take a large step toward the front of the grid this weekend. The track is uniquely suited to driving cars at their limits and both Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado are ready to do just that, push themselves and their cars to the limit in what is sure to be a race as breathtaking as Japan itself.
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