Tony Fernandes annoyed by Team Lotus’s lack of reliability
Although his team revealed a lot of potential in Singapore and he considered this race as "the best in the history of Team Lotus in Formula 1," Tony Fernandes stated that he was fed up with mechanical glitches. The technical failures indeed prove that there is still work to be done.
On the evening of the Singapore Grand Prix, all members of Team Lotus were thrilled with the performance displayed by the two T128s. But the results could have been better if reliability issues hadn’t once again appeared within the ranks of the Malaysian team.
Jarno Trulli indeed had to stop his car due to a gearbox problem: « Bad luck hit us again. I had a good start, we were close to scoring points but troubles began with a puncture and the gearbox. I hope I can get the most out of the car in Suzuka, and that I can cross the finish line without any damage »,” declared the Italian during the post-race statements in Singapore.
A situation that is all the more disappointing because the Hingham single-seaters have made considerable progress, as reported by Tony Fernandes, the team director: « I consider the Singapore race to be the best in our entire history. It is very satisfying to see that our pace is significantly higher, and that we can compete with other opponents. »
He made it clear that he no longer wanted technical issues to tarnish his drivers’ races, and that the objective for the end of the season hasn’t changed: « We must continue to improve reliability, as it is still a weak point that costs us dearly. We want to prove that we can score points, and the team is working hard to achieve this goal. »
