Sunday: 10th place secured for Team Lotus
Team Lotus had only one objective at the beginning of the season, to finish in 10th place in the Constructors' Championship as in 2009. The last race of the season took place in Brazil, and the Malaysian team achieved its goal by being the best of the new teams for the second consecutive year. Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli had a good race in Brazil, with the Finn even finishing ahead of Bruno Senna's LRGP.
Heikki Kovalainen – 16th
«Thank you to everyone for what has once again been an excellent weekend for the team where I don’t think we could have gotten more out of the car. The car performed well all afternoon, and we managed to maximize performance following yesterday’s qualification. I had a good start today, they have been very good for some time now, and from there, I immediately found a good rhythm that I maintained throughout the race.
I had some issues with the blue flags towards the end, there were a lot of cars and it was difficult to run your own race, but it’s something you have to manage. We have made progress throughout the year and we are ending on a high note with this 10th place, so we are perfectly prepared for next year where we want to take another step in the development of this team.
Jarno Trulli – 18th
« For me, it was a fairly standard race. I didn’t get a great start, but I easily managed to be ahead of the cars we needed to beat today, and then it was mainly about bringing the car home in one piece to secure our place in the constructors’ championship. I want to thank the whole team for the work they did this weekend and throughout the year. We continue to progress, and it’s enjoyable to be part of something that shows real signs of ambition to get where it wants to go.
Tony Fernandes – Team Director of Team Lotus
I almost have tears in my eyes today! I am really thrilled. Two years of intense work have finally paid off today and it was nice to see both cars finish without a problem, helping us secure this 10th place. The cherry on the cake was beating a Renault – it means a lot to me because I always say that good people win.
We have a fantastic little team here, with incredible partners like GE, Intel, APC, and CNN, and I know what it means for each of them and every person associated with the team to finish the season where we wanted to be.
Now we eagerly await our new life as the Caterham F1 Team and we say goodbye to Team Lotus. Colin (Chapman, founder of Team Lotus) – we hope we have made you proud and we hope you keep an eye on us as Caterham F1. We know we will make you proud as well.
