Lotus: Front suspension issues?
Absent from the Barcelona tests, even though it was supposed to participate in them entirely, the Lotus team fell victim to a chassis problem, specifically located at the front suspension mounts.
Seven laps and only one time for Romain Grosjean, no hectometers run for Kimi Räikkönen; this is the meager record for Lotus at the end of the first week of testing in Barcelona. The blame lies with a problem detected on the E20 chassis, the extent of which was initially minimized, with the team announcing its return the next day with the car that participated in the Jerez tests, before the team decided to leave the Catalan paddock and head to Enstone to try to fix the issue, which was more significant than expected and affected both different chassis.
So far, no information has leaked from the team about the nature of a problem that has reportedly been fixed, according to the British team. A veil of mystery that our German colleagues at Auto Motor und Sport did not take long to lift, suggesting as a possible cause the front suspension mounts. The German publication claims that the recruitment by Lotus of a carbon fiber specialist, a defector from Red Bull who was too ambitious, would be the cause of this defect. The system implemented is primarily aimed at drastically reducing the weight of the single-seater.
An information that, of course, has not been confirmed by Lotus. The team did indicate, however, that it would indeed be present in Barcelona from March 1 to 4, but before that in Silverstone starting this Monday, in order to somewhat make up for the missed testing session during a day authorized by the other teams.
