Lotus: The Two-Horned Nose, a Clever and Legal Solution
The 2014 F1 season started at Jerez for the first winter tests. Without Lotus, which, despite its absence, made headlines due to the solution displayed for the front of the E22.
Since the very first presentation, the trend has been as follows: the cars are considered “unattractive,” partly due to a particular front design resulting from the writing of the 2014 technical regulations. Nevertheless, several solutions have been explored: the ramp-like nose by Ferrari and Mercedes, the indescribable nose by Caterham, the anteater nose by most other teams, and finally, the two-horned nose by Lotus.
It only took two 3D shots of the Lotus E22 to spark one of the first technical controversies of a season that should not be short of them. Nick Chester, the team’s technical director, expressed satisfaction with the direction taken on the official Lotus F1 site: « There seem to be some elegant solutions and others that certainly don’t look as nice! We are very happy with the direction we have taken and it will be very interesting to see how the cars will perform once we get a proper chance to compare them on track. »
Of course, he clarified that the Lotus successfully complied with the crash tests. Confidence is high for Team Enstone: « As you know, we have passed all the necessary crash tests and we are very confident because our design complies with all the FIA’s legal requirements. We have just taken an innovative direction […] that is different from other teams. We remain confident and focused on our design and progress. »
Information confirmed by Charlie Whiting, FIA technical delegate, interviewed by our colleagues from F1i: The Lotus is compliant. They passed the tests, the structure perfectly resisted, and their concept matches the rule to the letter. C. Whiting even allowed himself to give his opinion on the concept of the Lotus E22, which was presented to him in August 2013: Their approach is different and it might be an innovation, but it’s legal. They submitted this design to us as early as August and we concluded there was nothing to object to, even if it’s a clever interpretation of the rule. Pat Symonds, technical director of Williams, indicated even yesterday, Tuesday, January 28, that all teams [were studying] the path opened by Lotus.
A skillful interpretation, therefore, that the observers will be eager to observe starting next February 19th, in Bahrain where the Enstone team plans to go, after having watched the Jerez tests from afar: It is always interesting to see what solutions other teams are using. Obviously, you cannot see beneath the cars’ bodywork, where the majority of the design work takes place. In conclusion: The construction [of the car] is well underway and we believe we will be in good shape for Bahrain, the next upcoming test.
