Lotus 1 / Virgin 0

[maximilian]

I admit that after seeing the launch pics of the Lotus, I was pretty sure that Virgin might easily win their rivalry this year, but it appears after the first day they are on track together, Lotus by far impressed more:

- no wings fell off their car
- they ran 76 laps right off the bat on their first day, without stopping on track
- their maligned "test driver" Fairuz was actually quicker than Virgin's team leader Glock, who managed just 10 laps

I would say Lotus is on the score sboard with the (very) early lead! ;)

[AndyL]

I admit that after seeing the launch pics of the Lotus, I was pretty sure that Virgin might easily win their rivalry this year, but it appears after the first day they are on track together, Lotus by far impressed more:

- no wings fell off their car
- they ran 76 laps right off the bat on their first day, without stopping on track
- their maligned "test driver" Fairuz was actually quicker than Virgin's team leader Glock, who managed just 10 laps

I would say Lotus is on the score sboard with the (very) early lead! ;)

To be fair to Virgin - if I recall correctly their first day at Jerez was their first day on track, whereas Lotus have had a shakedown at Silverstone.
I think they've both made a creditable start and it's a bit early to be tallying scores... though I'm sure Lotus won't object because the point you just gave them might be the only one they get this year ;)

[Powered by Cosworth]

Virgin had a shakedown at silverstone too

[AndyL]

Virgin had a shakedown at silverstone too

I stand corrected

[gloomyDAY]

Any problems with the Virgin car?

They are half a second behind Lotus in today's test, but Lotus managed 66 more laps. Maybe something happened behind closed doors that didn't allow Virgin to run their full program.

I'm a little disappointed, but I'll hold back my judgment until the next few tests.

[N. Jones]

I hate to say it, but out of the four new teams these two are doing better than Campos and USF1!

[racepode1]

Any problems with the Virgin car?

They are half a second behind Lotus in today's test, but Lotus managed 66 more laps. Maybe something happened behind closed doors that didn't allow Virgin to run their full program.

I'm a little disappointed, but I'll hold back my judgment until the next few tests.
and the driver for lotus was Fauzy, they will have better times with Kovalainen and Trully.

[Sonic]

and the driver for lotus was Fauzy, they will have better times with Kovalainen and Trully.

Indeed. Kovy should really turn up the wick tomorrow and based on todays speed perhaps they really can get amoungst the regulars.

As for Virgin - the weather was very variable so I think its too early to write them off as beaten.

Also; how cool is it to be talking about new teams again?? :D

[gloomyDAY]

Also; how cool is it to be talking about new teams again?? :D I know! Feels weird. :)

[JasonD]

I hate to say it, but out of the four new teams these two are doing better than Campos and USF1!

Talk about stating the obvious. :rolleyes:

[N. Jones]

Talk about stating the obvious. :rolleyes:

Yes, I am.

It's a shame that the other two do not have their teams together.

[Sonic]

Yes, I am.

It's a shame that the other two do not have their teams together.

Has anyone heard anything about Campos? They had a deadline this week did they not? I really feel for Bruno Senna - he risks becoming the forgotten man if he has to spend another year in the wilderness if this Campos situation is as bad as feared.

[N. Jones]

Rumors only.

Rumors that they have financial backing.

Nothing about USF1 either except "we're working really hard".

Now I am starting to wonder if either of them will even take part this season.

[Sonic]

Rumors only.

Rumors that they have financial backing.

Nothing about USF1 either except "we're working really hard".

Now I am starting to wonder if either of them will even take part this season.

It does seem stupid that we have one team with no money but a car and the other with very rich backers but no car! Gods, the FIA have really stuffed this up!

[N. Jones]

Yeah. I guess that is why in another thread the rumor was posted (I don't know from what website) that Campos and USF1 may merge after Dallara buys Campos.

These are strange times and I guess this gives us something to talk about before March 14!

[truefan72]

I actually think it would be a good thing if Campos and USF1 merged. Makes perfect sense to me. They both have 1 confirmed driver each and both have what the other is lacking. DallaraUSF1 should be the new name.

And best of all, that would mean that Stefan GP would have a slot...
wait...this is the fIA right?
They will find some way to screw this up with some kinda grey rules or something.

Back on topic.
Just on the mere fact that Lotus ran 76 laps with a C-driver coping valiantly with no power steering, whilst Virgin were scared to death to run the car in a light drizzle, is enough for me to give Lotus one extra point. So I scored it 2:0 Lotus :)

[woody2goody]

I don't really rate Fauzy, but for him to post those times with no power steering is impressive in what is essentially a shakedown. They weren't pushing for times today it's almost certain.

To be fair to Virgin though, they did manage a full day's laps last week and set competitive times too, so I think 1-0 is a bit much :p

However I'm disappointed with Virgin having these structural and mechanical issues.

Good start for both of them, but it's a shame that the other two haven't got their acts together and joined them.

Stefan GP would probably be ahead of them both, that's the funny thing.

[RS]

Virgin had hydraulic problems today but claim that they fixed them at the end of the day.

Looking forward to hopefully a dry day tomorrow with good runs for both Lotus and Virgin with decent drivers behind the wheel to see what they can really do.

[truefan72]

Virgin had hydraulic problems today but claim that they fixed them at the end of the day.

Looking forward to hopefully a dry day tomorrow with good runs for both Lotus and Virgin with decent drivers behind the wheel to see what they can really do.
hmm hydraulic problems you say

just out of curiosity, I suspect they built more than one car, and I would hope they would have brought more than one car to the test. Thus if one car has hydraulic problems, they can send the other one out while fixing the first one. After all, They will have to have 2 sets of engineers etc for both cars come the season start and I would have thought that all would show up at the testing.

Am I wrong to assume that teams would bring more than one car to testing?

[UltimateDanGTR]

Im not counting any scores until the season start, but good signs for Lotus so far.

[RS]

hmm hydraulic problems you say

just out of curiosity, I suspect they built more than one car, and I would hope they would have brought more than one car to the test. Thus if one car has hydraulic problems, they can send the other one out while fixing the first one. After all, They will have to have 2 sets of engineers etc for both cars come the season start and I would have thought that all would show up at the testing.

Am I wrong to assume that teams would bring more than one car to testing?

I'm not sure, it may be disallowed by the rules.

But I don't think it is uncommon for teams to have only one car at the pre-season tests whilst they are still building more chassis back at the factory.

[AndyL]

Advantage to Virgin so far today, they've done 30 laps and set a very respectable looking time on a par with Williams. Meanwhile Kovalainen in the Lotus is 0.7s slower than Hamilton in the McLaren :eek: I'm getting more and more impressed by what these two new teams have achieved in such a short time.

[Sonic]

Advantage to Virgin so far today, they've done 30 laps and set a very respectable looking time on a par with Williams. Meanwhile Kovalainen in the Lotus is 0.7s slower than Hamilton in the McLaren :eek: I'm getting more and more impressed by what these two new teams have achieved in such a short time.

Indeed. If we are keeping score its now 1 all. :p

[maximilian]

Indeed. If we are keeping score its now 1 all. :p
Yes, 1-1 it is!

Heikki must be feeling like a complete ass, crashing the car and ending their test day, when much-maligned rookie Fauzy managed to do a load of laps without incident yesterday.

Is it really SO difficult to build TWO frakking front wings? I can't believe no one thought of making another one and bringing it along to the test? If they can have a new one "by tomorrow", then why can't they have a spare one "by yesterday"?

A bit worrisome. If they REALLY crash the car, would they even have another one ready to field 2 at the race, at this snail pace of building even just wings?

[Mia 01]

Yes advantage for Virgin, and for their whole concept (CFD).

I´m not so sure the "big" teams got it all sworted out yet.

[Alfa Fan]

Yes, 1-1 it is!

Heikki must be feeling like a complete ass, crashing the car and ending their test day, when much-maligned rookie Fauzy managed to do a load of laps without incident yesterday.

Is it really SO difficult to build TWO frakking front wings? I can't believe no one thought of making another one and bringing it along to the test? If they can have a new one "by tomorrow", then why can't they have a spare one "by yesterday"?

A bit worrisome. If they REALLY crash the car, would they even have another one ready to field 2 at the race, at this snail pace of building even just wings?

I can only imagine its because they wanted to check everything worked first of all, and not end up with lots of duplicates of a part that ended up being no good.

[DazzlaF1]

I'm not sure, it may be disallowed by the rules.

But I don't think it is uncommon for teams to have only one car at the pre-season tests whilst they are still building more chassis back at the factory.

Im sure they can, if they have 2 chassis' available to them, they'd be daft not to use them.

[DexDexter]

I admit that after seeing the launch pics of the Lotus, I was pretty sure that Virgin might easily win their rivalry this year, but it appears after the first day they are on track together, Lotus by far impressed more:

- no wings fell off their car
- they ran 76 laps right off the bat on their first day, without stopping on track
- their maligned "test driver" Fairuz was actually quicker than Virgin's team leader Glock, who managed just 10 laps

I would say Lotus is on the score sboard with the (very) early lead! ;)

Why were you so sure that Virgin were going to beat Lotus? Let's see, a car designed by CFD by a designer who has been out of F1 for a long time with one rookier drive vs Gaysgoyne-designed car which has seen the wind tunnel on numerous occasions and two experienced drivers. If I was a betting man, I'd know who to bet on.

[maximilian]

Why were you so sure that Virgin were going to beat Lotus? Let's see, a car designed by CFD by a designer who has been out of F1 for a long time with one rookier drive vs Gaysgoyne-designed car which has seen the wind tunnel on numerous occasions and two experienced drivers. If I was a betting man, I'd know who to bet on.
I was going by the LOOKS... granted, probably not a very good method, but the Virgin just LOOKED more advanced, more edgy, and somehow "faster". We shall see... today, the Virgin seems to have better pace than the Lotus, but now came to a halt. It's an interesting battle! :D

[maximilian]

I can only imagine its because they wanted to check everything worked first of all, and not end up with lots of duplicates of a part that ended up being no good.
That's all good and fine, but if breaking the thing wastes the entire rest of the day, I think I'd rather take that chance and make a second one, just so we can keep running... even if it's not the dog's bollocks, it can always be modified, and at least the car stays on track and puts on some much needed mileage... :p

[racepode1]

I think they only made one car for the test given the posibility to made big changes if they have to made a lot of changes is cheper made it only to de final version of the cars.

[Sleeper]

I've been impressed with both teams but I'm still a bit worried about the Virgin car, its looking about as reliable as my Virgin Media internet connection (stops working on a regular basis).

[maximilian]

I've been impressed with both teams but I'm still a bit worried about the Virgin car, its looking about as reliable as my Virgin Media internet connection (stops working on a regular basis).
I think it would be a great achievement for either team to finish their first race with at least one car.

[Dave B]

I've been impressed with both teams but I'm still a bit worried about the Virgin car, its looking about as reliable as my Virgin Media internet connection (stops working on a regular basis).
Ring their technical people. One phonecall (cost refunded onto my bill), the guy remotely looked at some parameters of my modem and the next day a man in a van brought a shiny new one round. Happily buzzing along at 10 meg with iPlayer on the background :up:

Anyway, as Ronnie Corbett would say, we digress.

[maximilian]

I think we can call today's outcome a tie (draw). What say? ;)

1½ - 1½...

[truefan72]

a draw would be accurate

actually looking forward to seeing trulli in the lotus. I think he would push that car a bit better than kovy

[racepode1]

¿Why a draw? Virgin was more faster than lotus today.

[maximilian]

¿Why a draw? Virgin was more faster than lotus today.
But only marginally, while Lotus managed to run more laps... too close to call a winner for today, IMHO :)

[truefan72]

session isn;t even over yet but it does not matter once again Lotus wins the day. I score it Lotus 2 / virgin -0
it would have been -1 for Virgin but so far they still posted a better time than Lotus.
As to lotus they get an extra point for doing 120+ laps with no incident. I fully expect some glory runs for them at the very end to get the times a bit better.

[RS]

It seems generally speaking that the Lotus is more reliable but the Virgin is faster.

I'm pretty impressed by Virgin, as I write Glock is only 3.5s off the pace at Jerez and I think for a new team with little F1 experience in their ranks that's a damn good job.

Lotus have the experienced Gascoyne and a lot of former Toyota employees too.

I really like what these 2 new teams are doing and look forward to seeing how they progress this year.

[pino]

Before judgging Lotus...I would wait for Jarno :p :

[maximilian]

I think we'd have to call today another draw. As has been stated, Lotus ran a lot more laps without breakdown, but Virgin STILL managed to have the faster time, despite their troubles.

2-2 in the overall match.

[SGWilko]

It seems generally speaking that the Lotus is more reliable but the Virgin is faster.

I'm pretty impressed by Virgin, as I write Glock is only 3.5s off the pace at Jerez and I think for a new team with little F1 experience in their ranks that's a damn good job.

Lotus have the experienced Gascoyne and a lot of former Toyota employees too.

I really like what these 2 new teams are doing and look forward to seeing how they progress this year.

I have to say it will be an interesting sub-plot in throughout the season how the two new teams fare against each other.

They certainly may not be up there in terms of pace, but they are by no means tail end charlies. They have some good people on board, and it will be an interesting story to see how they develop throughout the year and what the 2011 cars from these two are like.

None of your Mastercard LOLA shenanigans!

[truefan72]

so who do you think will score a point first.

I think Lotus will, but I predict that Virgin might run a little higher in the order before bowing out with some mechanical problem with the car.

Who knows about campos,(what are they called now?)

then again Stefan GP might just blow all 3 away comprehensively.

[DazzlaF1]

so who do you think will score a point first.

I think Lotus will, but I predict that Virgin might run a little higher in the order before bowing out with some mechanical problem with the car.

Who knows about campos,(what are they called now?)

then again Stefan GP might just blow all 3 away comprehensively.

The pace in the VR-01 is promising and could likely challenge the Toro Rosso's and maybe even ebat them in qualifying before the season is out, but their reliability problems are a bit of a cocnern to if tey can manage to complete a grand prix distance. Thankfully though it only seems that its the hydraulics system which is causing all of the bother, as of yet, no engine gremlins, no gearbox problems, no electrical faults and only 1 structural problem which they have managed to rectify

In terms of progress both Lotus and Virgin seem on equal terms but in terms of outright potential pace, id put Virgin slightly ahead at the moment.

[truefan72]

The pace in the VR-01 is promising and could likely challenge the Toro Rosso's and maybe even ebat them in qualifying before the season is out, but their reliability problems are a bit of a cocnern to if tey can manage to complete a grand prix distance. Thankfully though it only seems that its the hydraulics system which is causing all of the bother, as of yet, no engine gremlins, no gearbox problems, no electrical faults and only 1 structural problem which they have managed to rectify

In terms of progress both Lotus and Virgin seem on equal terms but in terms of outright potential pace, id put Virgin slightly ahead at the moment.

that is how I see it also. But I think Virgin's reliability will come back to haunt them. For the record I do think the CFD "only" design process is partially to blame, especially with their continued hydraulic problems. Since these are components that once built and installed would still need to be run extensively, the lack of running the car on a Dynamometer to test out the components and relying soley on computer analysis might be something they would have resolved eirlier. Then again it could be a fundamental design flaw that needs a more complex redesign to rectify the problem, CFD or no CFD

[gloomyDAY]

Da Grasseater popped the Virgin's rear-end and lost them precious testing time. Lotus ran well in terms of reliability, but was miserably lagging all day long on pace.

Tomorrow both Virgin and Lotus will have experienced drivers behind the wheel and they both will duke it out for best of the rest. No excuses! I'm expecting a showdown between the newcomers.


Before judgging Lotus...I would wait for Jarno :p :Jarno will be in the cockpit tomorrow. Let's see if he can make Mr. Fuzzy's time an indication of a crappy driver and not an ominous sign of things to come.

[DazzlaF1]

Da Grasseater popped the Virgin's rear-end and lost them precious testing time. Lotus ran well in terms of reliability, but was miserably lagging all day long on pace.

Tomorrow both Virgin and Lotus will have experienced drivers behind the wheel and they both will duke it out for best of the rest. No excuses! I'm expecting a showdown between the newcomers.

Jarno will be in the cockpit tomorrow. Let's see if he can make Mr. Fuzzy's time an indication of a crappy driver and not an ominous sign of things to come.

So (if we're still keeping score)...

Virgin: good pace + reliability problems
Lotus: poor pace + good reliability

I call it a score draw, which makes it 2½-2½ i think.

[Robinho]

i think Fauzy is probably at least 2 secs off the pace of the car so Lotus not that far off. i'm not convinced Virgin were running to the full potential either, and Glock ought to be able to show its true pace. i'm expecting both to be 3-4 secs off the ultimate pace for now, rather than 5 or 6

[maximilian]

So (if we're still keeping score)...

Virgin: good pace + reliability problems
Lotus: poor pace + good reliability

I call it a score draw, which makes it 2½-2½ i think.

Agreed! Seems to be a pattern, even though I wouldn't really call crashing out a "reliability" problem... except maybe it's an unreliable driver :D

[Sonic]

Gods damn it Lotus. Get lousy Fauzy out of the car - he's done his mileage for his super and publicity back home, now get the race drivers in there FFS!

GRRRRRRR :(

[foxystoat]

Gods damn it Lotus. Get lousy Fauzy out of the car - he's done his mileage for his super and publicity back home, now get the race drivers in there FFS!

GRRRRRRR :(

I agree we are learning nothing about it's potential speed with him driving it, surely having the proper drivers will be more beneficial to the team at this stage in its development.

[truefan72]

Gods damn it Lotus. Get lousy Fauzy out of the car - he's done his mileage for his super and publicity back home, now get the race drivers in there FFS!

GRRRRRRR :(

agreed!
and I'm pretty sure that's how Heikke and Trulli feel. When testing is done Heikke would have got 1 full day and a few hours. Poor thinking from Lotus

[AndyL]

I agree we are learning nothing about it's potential speed with him driving it, surely having the proper drivers will be more beneficial to the team at this stage in its development.

I guess in testing it's not all that important to know what your ultimate speed is - you're more interested in whether one set-up or component is faster than another. Consistency will be more important than speed. Ferrari did all right for years with "Look-how Bad-you-are" as their test driver.

I think you're right though, they'll surely get better information from Trulli. But more because of his experience than because he's faster.

[Sonic]

0.7s behind Renault for Trulli in the Lotus. Brilliant! I don't care if it was on fumes (which I doubt - trulli's not stupid) that's one hell of an impressive performance.

[maximilian]

agreed!
and I'm pretty sure that's how Heikke and Trulli feel. When testing is done Heikke would have got 1 full day and a few hours. Poor thinking from Lotus
That's what happens when you crash the car :D At least Fauzy kept it on the road. :cool: And I say that as a fact, despite Heikki being my favorite driver... ;)

[Sonic]

That's what happens when you crash the car :D At least Fauzy kept it on the road. :cool: And I say that as a fact, despite Heikki being my favorite driver... ;)

Any monkey can keep it on the road at the crawl that Fauzy runs at.

[truefan72]

That's what happens when you crash the car :D At least Fauzy kept it on the road. :cool: And I say that as a fact, despite Heikki being my favorite driver... ;)

there is truth to that statement. I know, but Heikke still should be getting more time in the cockpit.

btw, difficult to score today, but I think I would give a half point edge to virgin today.

I really hope that these cars are going to be running closer than 5 seconds of the pace though.

[Mia 01]

Lotus have a very steep hill to climb, but they are on the grid and testing.

That´s fine with me.

[DazzlaF1]

there is truth to that statement. I know, but Heikke still should be getting more time in the cockpit.

btw, difficult to score today, but I think I would give a half point edge to virgin today.

I really hope that these cars are going to be running closer than 5 seconds of the pace though.

I agree, the gap between the pair is only 4 tenths (and thats despite Virgin running 18 laps less) but its still the same fastest times within the 4-5 seconds off the pace bracket.

So that makes it 3-3 then :laugh:

[Saint Devote]

I'd say that there are THREE new entities on the grid. This is the first time that Toro Tosso has built their own car. They are not a new team as such but are in a similar position to both Virgin and Lotus - boththe Brit teams have experienced senior people too.

So the "third division" of F1 will be between these teams and whichever others join them.

Toro Rosso is whom they must aim for as well as competing against each other.

If Campos and Stefan also join, then the battle between the "third division" of FIVE teams could be one of the most enthralling and enjoyable of the season.

[Sonic]

I'd say that there are THREE new entities on the grid. This is the first time that Toro Tosso has built their own car. They are not a new team as such but are in a similar position to both Virgin and Lotus - boththe Brit teams have experienced senior people too.

So the "third division" of F1 will be between these teams and whichever others join them.

Toro Rosso is whom they must aim for as well as competing against each other.

If Campos and Stefan also join, then the battle between the "third division" of FIVE teams could be one of the most enthralling and enjoyable of the season.

Not sure why Toro Rosso keeps getting grouped as a "3rd division" team. They have posted some decent times in testing - even Button mentioned them as having a fast car, and whilst they are designing their own car for the first time in 5 years they have had the benefit of Newey designs to study for half a decade and will have learnt a great deal.

Whilst I doubt a Vettelesq outright win I do expect regular points, whereas I think Lotus or Virgin will be lucky to score a single.

[Robinho]

its hardly the first time that Minardi have built their own car though is it

[jens]

Initially it could be close, but I think in the long-run Lotus will ease into the lead. Lotus seem to have a stronger technical (including a wind-tunnel! :D ) and financial background, but due to lack of time they haven't managed to implement their potential properly yet. Let's not forget that Lotus' preparation period for the season hasn't been much longer than the one MasterCard-Lola had, having built a car in 4 months from non-existence of the team, so well done for not being 11 seconds off the pace. :p :

[DexDexter]

On a lighter note.... on the basis of this video, Heikki is certainly ready for the challenge that Lotus represents to him. :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqOkvMD4VzM&feature=related

[snellman]

that's definetely one for lotus :)

[Dr. Krogshöj]

In terms of fastest laps, Lotus was 4.5 sec off Ferrari's pace on a 2-minute circuit. Conratulations for the first race.

[DexDexter]

In terms of fastest laps, Lotus was 4.5 sec off Ferrari's pace on a 2-minute circuit. Conratulations for the first race.

Yep and at the end Heikki was sometimes lapping around 3 seconds off the pace which IMO wasn't bad at all.

[Malbec]

Let's not forget that Lotus' preparation period for the season hasn't been much longer than the one MasterCard-Lola had, having built a car in 4 months from non-existence of the team, so well done for not being 11 seconds off the pace. :p :

The Lotus has been in development for longer though, Mark Gascoyne had set up a small design team and company that had been working on a 2010 car for nearly a year by the time Lotus/the Malaysians came knocking on his door. He had set it up in anticipation that there would be an influx of new teams after noises Max had been making on the issue and making a profit as the new investors bought in.

Still, excellent effort not only in terms of pace but reliability. The first new team to complete a race distance.

[DazzlaF1]

Lotus definitely deserve a big round of applause, to be only 4 and a bit seconds off the pace on a 2 minute lap (equates to about 2.5 seconds on a normal lap) is nothing short of remarkable. It proves that although the car is a tad inefficient when it comes to its aerodynamics, its a good solid package to build from.

Im looking forward to seeing what updates they've got planned for Barcelona.

[maximilian]

We've been "scoring" this match during testing, but I think now we can make it official, Lotus definitely won this first round, and an impressive performance getting BOTH cars through the entire race without any major glitches... and not even that slow. Well done!

[Robinho]

Lotus were very impressive, a fine platform to build on.

i think Virgin were pretty good, certainly decent on pace, hope they can get to the bottom of the hydraulic problems and move forward with Lotus.

i'm also kind of fascinated and very much rooting for Hispania, and i have no idea why - i was so happy for them when they got Chandock out for qually. i think they have decent asic pace too considering they have effectivley only shaken the car down so far

[Sonic]

Congratulations must go to all the new teams but clearly Lotus win this round - getting to the flag two laps down is no disgrace at all.

The Virgin, whilst a tiny bit quicker, looks to be on the ragged edge on both control and reliabilty fronts.

[V12]

Yep congrats to Lotus. I honestly think the winner in terms of the Constructors Championship though will come down to who manages to stay reliable on the one day (probably Melbourne or Montreal) where the field is decimated to the point where pretty much every finisher scores points. And yes that is looking most likely to be Lotus at the minute, but we'll see.

[Dzeidzei]

Offtopic, but Lotus and Virgin are the 2 best looking cars of the current grid. Ferrari with a fin is just hideous, no matter how fast it is. McL is the best looking of the fin cars and its still ugly.

Mercedes... dunno about the color. I know its trying to be traditional but does it have to look like the cars were painted in the 50´s?

PERKELE!

[aryan]

Congratulations to Lotus. Well done. This team is magnificent. Let's not forget that they did not get their entry in with the other 3 teams, and only came to full force months after BMW withdrew and months after Virgin/Hispania/USF1.

I did not expect any of the new 6 cars to finish their first race. To have 2 cars finish the race, is the equivalent of winning the race for Lotus.

I predict that their car will be less than 1.5 seconds off the fastest lap come the end of the season, which is a very respectable showing for first year.

And Kudos for Tony Fernandes and Mike Gascoyne twittering during the race. Mike even tweeted that he is moving Truli's stop forward for tyre management and then promptly did that. Definitely nice to see have that info live, and gives a new meaning to corporate communication.

[maximilian]

Everything Lotus has done so far, from choosing their drivers, to paying respect to the heritage of the brand, to desgning and building a car in much less time than anyone else, to establishing an IndyCar allied presence to launching their own energy drink (if an energy drink company can have their own F1 team, why can't a F1 team have their own energy drink?) :D - it all has been classy. I can't wait to see them score their first point(s). It will happen this season, I am sure - and I also believe they will win the duel with Virgin.

[V12]

Not sure why Toro Rosso keeps getting grouped as a "3rd division" team. They have posted some decent times in testing - even Button mentioned them as having a fast car, and whilst they are designing their own car for the first time in 5 years they have had the benefit of Newey designs to study for half a decade and will have learnt a great deal.

I agree, I must admit during the off-season I tipped Toro Rosso to be sucked in by the best of the new teams, I was considering them to effectively be Red Bull-sponsored Minardis, but I guess with an RB5 base to build upon, it was only natural that they'd be solid for this season.

I do think it'll be interesting to see how they progress in the long run, though, of course by then Lotus and Virgin won't be "new teams" either, and with a bit of luck we'll have some more recent additions to get excited about!

[jens]

From Lotus' point of view I am now eagerly waiting, how will they start closing the gap with the slowest established teams (STR, Sauber) - at the moment Lotus seems like 2-3 secs per lap slower. Hopefully by the end of the year Lotus can already fight against them on merit. Looking at the past - for instance in 2006 Super Aguri was something like 5-6 seconds off the pace initially, but at the last round in Brazil Sato finished already 10th and was posting very competitive laptimes. :p :

[snellman]

australian grand prix: lotus:1
virgin:0

[Dave B]

And in fairness HRT should be mentioned for getting Karun to the finish, albeit 3 laps behind the Lotus of Heikki. :up:

[christophulus]

HRT finish a race before Virgin do..

[snellman]

heikki is doing better in the lotus than in the mclaren in the beginning of last season

[F1boat]

heikki is doing better in the lotus than in the mclaren in the beginning of last season

ahahah!