Lotus Renault is working on a new simulator with McLaren
The Lotus Renault Grand Prix team will acquire a new simulator, which should be operational by the start of the next season, in March 2012 - and it will be developed with the help of the McLaren team.
Given the restrictions on in-season testing, simulation tools have become increasingly important in recent years, particularly simulators that help drivers prepare for races but also allow for testing and validating new parts if the simulator is precise enough and the models have been correlated with data from the real single-seater.
The Lotus Renault team has well understood this issue and the need to always be at the forefront of technology. Indeed, after modernizing its wind tunnel this year, the British team will now equip itself with a new simulator. Its factory will be expanded for the occasion, with the building permit for the new facility having been approved by local authorities. The team’s new simulator, which should be operational by March 2012, will attempt to combine the best with a design in partnership with McLaren and a new manager who was in charge of the Red Bull Racing team’s simulator.
« Our simulator should be ready in March. We are building it ourselves. We have technological help from McLaren and I have a person working for us who was previously responsible for the simulator at Red Bull. I think he knows what he’s talking about – so we have the best, said Eric Boullier, the head of the LRGP team.
Eric Boullier also wanted to clarify that McLaren’s assistance was limited to the hardware aspect and that the software part would be carried out by the team itself.
