(Charles Coates for the Lotus F1 Team)
The Lotus F1 Team continued to struggle during the opening day of on track action at the Monza circuit ahead of Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, the final round of the European leg of the season before a busy schedule of flyaway races. The Enstone outfit currently find themselves in eighth place in the Constructors championship on eight points and Romain Grosjean has admitted that he does not expect to the team to add to their points tally this season as they have stopped development on this years car to concentrate on the 2015 car.
Today the Lotus F1 Team's test and reserve driver Charles Pic drive in place of Romain Grosjean in the opening session of the day. The Frenchman finished the session in 21st place completing 23 laps. Speaking after his outing for the team Pic commented by saying:
'It was a very good feeling to be back in the E22 this morning. For the team it will be a challenging weekend here in Monza as the track doesn’t seem to suit the cars very well.
Our goal this morning was to work towards optimising the car and getting it ready for the weekend. The programme was mainly focused around aerodynamic work and it was valuable – one direction worked out better than the other so we had useful findings on some specific points. We will now continue to work and prepare for Saturday’s sessions.'
Pastor Maldonado finished the opening session in 18th place just behind Sahara Force India's test and reserve driver Daniel Juncadella while in the second session the Venezuelan was in 18th place just ahead the Marussia F1 Team's Max Chilton. Speaking following the session he commented:
'The balance of the car felt okay today, however these downforce levels have been very challenging for us. Our pace looked more consistent and competitive on high fuel; hopefully this will allow us to drive a good race.
There are opportunities to overtake here in Monza and if you manage your tyres well it is possible to make places. But first we still have a lot of work to do tomorrow morning and then perform the best way possible in qualifying. We’re pushing hard to get the best possible result on Sunday.'
Romain Grosjean missed the opening session as the team ran Charles Pic and in the second session the Frenchman finished the session in 20th place. Speaking after the session Grosjean commented:
'We knew that it would be tough here in Monza and it is. We had some small issues – some little details that we can work on to improve the car and go into the right direction, even if it might not mean that we will be significantly faster.
We tried a new front wing today and new small wings on the car and there is more that we will try in FP3 tomorrow. We will work hard to improve the car as usual, to prepare for the qualifying session, and try to achieve the best result possible.'
The Lotus F1 Team's Trackside Operations Director Alan Permane commented on today's running by saying:
'Our Friday programme was focused on completing the necessary aerodynamic evaluations that a circuit like Monza requires, as well as giving Charles some valuable track time.
This afternoon was spent assessing tyres, with Romain back in the car alongside Pastor. We gathered plenty of data to review ahead of tomorrow’s sessions, despite limited time with Romain, and will work to implement the necessary changes.'
© Ben Johnston 2014
'The balance of the car felt okay today, however these downforce levels have been very challenging for us. Our pace looked more consistent and competitive on high fuel; hopefully this will allow us to drive a good race.
There are opportunities to overtake here in Monza and if you manage your tyres well it is possible to make places. But first we still have a lot of work to do tomorrow morning and then perform the best way possible in qualifying. We’re pushing hard to get the best possible result on Sunday.'
Romain Grosjean missed the opening session as the team ran Charles Pic and in the second session the Frenchman finished the session in 20th place. Speaking after the session Grosjean commented:
'We knew that it would be tough here in Monza and it is. We had some small issues – some little details that we can work on to improve the car and go into the right direction, even if it might not mean that we will be significantly faster.
We tried a new front wing today and new small wings on the car and there is more that we will try in FP3 tomorrow. We will work hard to improve the car as usual, to prepare for the qualifying session, and try to achieve the best result possible.'
The Lotus F1 Team's Trackside Operations Director Alan Permane commented on today's running by saying:
'Our Friday programme was focused on completing the necessary aerodynamic evaluations that a circuit like Monza requires, as well as giving Charles some valuable track time.
This afternoon was spent assessing tyres, with Romain back in the car alongside Pastor. We gathered plenty of data to review ahead of tomorrow’s sessions, despite limited time with Romain, and will work to implement the necessary changes.'
© Ben Johnston 2014
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