Saturday: Räikkönen takes advantage of the Coanda effect at Lotus
Last team to successfully introduce exhausts using the Coanda effect, Lotus plans to capitalize on this innovation in the E20. While for now it only benefits Kimi Räikkönen, who qualified 5th, Romain Grosjean won't be left behind as the season progresses. However, he will need to focus on overcoming the challenge of the first lap, which has been problematic for him, to hope for scoring points.
Kimi Räikkönen – 5th and 5th:
The qualifying sessions went well and I think I couldn’t have done better. We tried different things on the car this weekend and I qualified in a respectable position. But, obviously, we always want to go faster. The new exhaust system feels good to me. It loses a bit of power, but it’s an advantage aerodynamically; nothing is free. The gap with the leading cars is not too large, so I’ll do my best tomorrow.
Romain Grosjean – 4th and 7th:
The qualifications were a bit strange for me. In Q1, the car seemed nowhere, in Q2 it was good, and in Q3 it wasn’t fantastic either. So we’ll need to analyze what happened. The track changed a bit, and the tires gave a slightly different feeling, and we need to understand why. Obviously, a lot of people will be watching my start tomorrow. I know my objectives, and I know I’m capable of a good result.
[Lotus F1 Team Press Release]