Saturday 23 August 2014

Q and A with the Lotus F1 Team's Track side Operations Director Alan Permane

Belgian Grand Prix
(Glenn Dunbar Lotus F1 Team)

The Lotus F1 Team endured a mixed qualifying session for tomorrow's Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa Francorchamps circuit with Romain Grosjean starting the race from 15th place where he will be hoping that with a good start he will be able to make his way up the field to score some points for the team.

Pastor Maldonado was unlucky as the Venezuelan spun coming into the final chicane before the start finish straight in tricky conditions and as a result failed to make it out of Q1 and will start the race from 17th place on the grid just ahead of the Sahara Force India F1 Team's Nico Hulkenberg.

Speaking to the team following the session Alan Permane stated:

“We’re aiming to move forward tomorrow.”

How was qualifying for the team?
“Romain did a good job in Q1 but he wasn’t as comfortable with the rear end of his car in Q2 so ended the session in P15, which obviously isn’t where we want to be. We’ll have a good look at his car and the aero data to determine where improvements can be made. Pastor was looking set to be in the top ten late in the Q1 session but unfortunately spun on his fastest lap. He wasn’t able to progress through afterwards when the rain got worse so unfortunately that ended his qualifying.”  

What are the weather and tyre considerations for the race?
“Tomorrow looks to be dry at this stage and both the medium and soft compound Pirelli tyres are working well here from the data we saw on Friday. Two stops is likely to be the norm, with free choice of starting tyre for all, which could make for some different strategies through the field.”

What is the team’s approach to the race?
“As always, we’re seeking to maximise every opportunity. It’s a long lap here with many forces put through the tyres so we’ll closely monitor our and our rivals’ tyre degradation as well as seek to move forward through the order as much as possible.”

© Ben Johnston 2014

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