Report Friday: Lotus Renault GP – A good start

At Lotus Renault GP, this first day was primarily devoted to working on the setup of the R31. Nick Heidfeld experienced a few minor issues and wasn’t able to complete as many laps as he wanted, but the feedback with his car is good.

Vitaly Petrov was comfortable throughout the day, outperforming his teammate in both sessions.

Nick Heidfeld – 12th and 13th:

«I think today was okay. We spent more time than expected working on the set-up and didn’t do as many laps as we wanted. The car seems fine, but I think we can still improve.

With the hard tires, it was a bit difficult to have enough grip and the small issues I had meant I wasn’t able to do long runs at the end.

«Moreover, the weather conditions were not ideal for learning the car, but I think we are lucky that it remained relatively dry. It’s always complicated to say where we are, but we have a better idea than yesterday. »

Vitaly Petrov – 10th and 12th:

It’s always fun to start a season. The weather was cool but I had no issues with the car. We did the basic work with the set-up and found some improvements during the day, and I already feel comfortable with the car’s balance.

The other good news is that the tires performed well today and last a bit longer than expected.