Sunday: A good team result for Team Lotus

Heikki Kovalainen – 13th

I got off to a good start, I was able to pass Jarno and saw the HRT (of Liuzzi) approaching the first corner in a somewhat tricky manner, so I avoided it and managed to be in a good position. I succeeded in maintaining that position for a good number of laps, and the tire degradation was quite manageable. The pit stops were really good today – the calls were made at the right times and all the guys did a superb job getting me back out quickly, so thanks to them and the whole team for this good end to the weekend.

Jarno Trulli – 14th

For once, I didn’t get a good start, but I managed to avoid the first corner crash, and fortunately, Heikki and I were able to get through without damaging our cars. When I was battling with Heikki, I think Massa had an issue at the first chicane, so I had to move off the track to avoid him. When I got back on track, he closed the door on me, so I slipped inside, stayed flat out, and managed to overtake him. Then, approaching the first corner, I had two cars faster than me behind with KERS – they just had to press the button (for KERS) and when I was entering the second corner, Massa lost control of his car under braking and hit me, which pushed me into the other car next to me, damaging the front and rear wing of the car. It was really unfortunate because I was sandwiched and ended up being the only one with damage! The team did a superb job getting me back out, changing the wing, and adjusting the strategy to a one-stop. From there, my lap times were very good, and I really enjoyed the end of the race. I’m delighted with our performance today and our race pace was excellent. In fact, throughout the weekend, I was pleased with the car’s overall pace, and the news this morning about the contract for next year made my home race fantastic – thanks to the whole team for that!

Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director

«It was a very good race for us. Both of our drivers managed to avoid the chaos at the start, but then Jarno lost some time after being hit by Massa. This incident forced him to pit, which cost him positions, but we changed our strategy so he could run a long stint on softs before switching to mediums. This change, along with the fact that he could push throughout the race, helped him climb back up against his competitors to finish in 14th place. Heikki also had a solid race and managed to hold onto the positions he gained at the start as long as possible – we are thrilled he could finish in 13th place without any issues, which was the main goal. After a tough Friday, this performance is a great comeback for the team to show that we can bounce back after a difficult start to the weekend. It was a very positive result which sets us up nicely for Singapore, so well done to everyone.»