Lotus aims to be top 5 in 2013 [Archive]

V12

31st March 2010, 09:59

Very tall order but who knows? If you'd told me two years ago that Force India would be regularly bothering the top ten I'd probably have laughed at you, so you never know what's round the corner.

Nothing wrong with them having the ambition either, better to reach for the sky and end up on the pavement than reach for the pavement and stay in the gutter.

Sonic

31st March 2010, 10:13

pino

31st March 2010, 11:36

Let's hope Trulli will be there by that time :p :

Sonic

31st March 2010, 11:49

Let's hope Trulli will be there by that time :p :

Well Schu's here so.......

Dzeidzei

31st March 2010, 13:07

Let's hope Trulli will be there by that time :p :

Why not? He´s a solid 2nd driver :)

UltimateDanGTR

31st March 2010, 16:19

Looking at their track record I wouldn't be surprised. so far they have achieved all their targets;

A) Put a car on the grid in just 6 months.

B) Be the "best new team".

C) Complete a full race distance.

Basically they are setting themselves the target of finding a 1s per lap improvement each year between now and 2013 - I think that's more than do-able.

yeah I agree. I think for a team to be put together in 6 months and be the best of the new teams is already an achievement, i certainly think they have the potential to be a good solid team, and hopefully they'll do the lotus name justice, i think they will.

billiaml

31st March 2010, 16:40

ioan

31st March 2010, 19:53

Why not? He´s a solid 2nd driver :)

To an ex 2nd driver, which makes it even worse! :D

Jag_Warrior

31st March 2010, 20:01

I agree that it's a tall order and, like Sonic, I think they're off to a good start.

I'm showing my age here, but I really like the way their livery (and having Cosworth power) pays homage to the cars of the '60's. So I really hope they're up to the task.

My feelings as well. I don't think they're going to break into the Top 5 (on a consistent basis), but it would be nice to see.

DazzlaF1

31st March 2010, 21:54

My feelings as well. I don't think they're going to break into the Top 5 (on a consistent basis), but it would be nice to see.

I agree, I would'nt be upset if Lotus become a regular top 7 team in the constructors championship within 3 years, which at the current rate is more than do-able

Stuartf12007

31st March 2010, 22:01

2013 is ages away if they cant get a quick car to challenge at the front by then lol then whats the point.

They should be aiming to be quick next year not 3 years time.

billiaml

1st April 2010, 15:30

My feelings as well. I don't think they're going to break into the Top 5 (on a consistent basis), but it would be nice to see.

Right. Hope springs eternal, though. :D

veeten

1st April 2010, 15:52

They should be aiming to be quick next year not 3 years time.

funny, that was the same attitude that Honda & Toyota had.

look where it got them... :dozey:

jens

1st April 2010, 19:02

At least they have long-term plans. But I don't quite get it, what does Fernandes mean by being in Top10 in 2011? Aren't they 10th already now? Next year they should be aiming to beat at least one of the "oldguard" teams already.

But if Gascoyne stays with the team long-term, I certainly think that Top5 is achievable one day. Just recall, what he did at Benetton/Renault. In the beginning of 2001 the cars were real sh*tboxes (sry :p :) , but by 2003 the chassis was arguably already one of the best in the field with only an uncompetitive 110-degree engine holding them back. And as Force India has been mentioned here, I'm certain Mike has played a notable role in the rise of that team too.

But we have to keep an open mind about the improvements of Lotus. So far everything has been going fine, but progress through the field isn't linear in F1. During the course of the rise they are bound to face difficulties and setbacks. Hopefully fans will be sensible enough then not to start bashing them, when they occur. And the same applies to the team - stick together even in the hard times, learn from the difficulties, and keep going.

DexDexter

2nd April 2010, 13:02

jens

2nd April 2010, 17:32

IMO Lotus has been very impressive so far, very professional etc. but they have one problem: Fauzy. If they want to be taken seriously, they should keep him in the garage. I hear he may even get to race once this year, which sounds ridiculous, swapping drivers and disturbing the work of the two race drivers.

I agree. The team would lose a lot of credibility if they gave Fauzy a race seat. Force India is a good example, how to manage a national race team - no messing with local race drivers if they are not competitive enough. Better to race in P10 with a foreigner than in P15 with a compatriot.

Hopefully Fernandes will soon understand that the best way to promote Lotus brand is to hire the best people (which he has done so far) instead of counting on other factors, which will decrease the level of competitiveness and subsequently the seriousness of the team.

52Paddy

2nd April 2010, 19:05

I think it's quite a level-headed goal. 2013 is a long time away and by that time, they will have a few years experience behind them. I don't expect them to be in the top 5, fair enough. But I do expect them to be outside challengers for the spot near the season's end. But who knows what teams we'll even have on the grid then. So far, Lotus have met their goals and, as jens says, if Gascoyne remains with the squad, they've a good chance of, at least, becoming fairly regular points scorers in my opinion.

Helicon_One

2nd April 2010, 21:10

Isn't 2013 supposedly the year of the new engine formula? If we see that (and a host of changes to the technical regulations at the same time, which wouldn't surprise me) then having the playing field levelled might shake up the established order enough to see something like this.

wedge

4th April 2010, 13:39

Better than Craig Pollock/BAR's expectations. (somebody correct me!)

gloomyDAY

21st May 2010, 05:30

I think they're serious about that achievement.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/83739

Lotus need to get rid of Jarno.
My goodness! He's really stinking it up this year.

I am evil Homer

21st May 2010, 09:52

I say good luck to them...they've put together a very good package. Lets face it in 6 months they've achieved a great deal and it makes sense to now concentrate on 2011s car.

Their approach and work ethic is to be applauded and shows up both the other new comers - I expected more of Virgin due to Manor's experience but the step up seems too much for them at the moment.

It's nice having the green and yellow back even if it itsn't quite the true Lotus.

pino

21st May 2010, 10:38

I think they're serious about that achievement.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/83739

Lotus need to get rid of Jarno.
My goodness! He's really stinking it up this year.

What you expect from Jarno ? :s The Team is new, the car is new and the staff is new. Jarno is doing as bad/good as Kova...give them time.

SGWilko

21st May 2010, 10:55

Lotus currently have the right driver lineup. A new team needs experience all round.

Once they are up to speed, and showing they are serious contenders, then they will attract the stars.

I am evil Homer

21st May 2010, 11:27

Yep I think the drivers are fine as is. And for next year too...but by that point maybe Jarno should be the 3rd driver and they bring in someone else.

Mia 01

21st May 2010, 12:17

They still needs a couple of hundred millon dollars.

V12

21st May 2010, 12:19

2013 is ages away if they cant get a quick car to challenge at the front by then lol then whats the point.

They should be aiming to be quick next year not 3 years time.

Unless you believe in Mayan prophecies then there is very much a point. Ambition is great so long as it is matched with realism, otherwise you end up looking like the aforementioned Mr. Pollock.

jens

25th May 2010, 20:43

Regarding this Kovalainen-Trulli talk my personal assumption is that we have seen throughout years, how some drivers tend to be more competitive in good cars, others in bad cars. Heikki seems to be the Fisi-type of driver. Last year, when McLaren was struggling, he was capable of matching Hamilton on several occasions. A clear gap between them was established after McLaren's significant upgrades for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Last year Kubica was good only, when the car was good (Oz, Bel, Bra). When they were backmarkers, he got beaten by Heidfeld. In the same way I think Lotus will keep Trulli with the expectation of him coming good once the car isn't totally useless.

After all the drivers have been basically hired for testing this year without the unrealistic expectation of achieving any meaningful results. The team clearly has a long-term vision. Let's recall that before Toyota joined F1, they actually took a whole year (2001) for testing and often set embarrassing times then before reaching midfield by 2002. 2010 is nothing else than virtually the same testing year now for the new teams. So it takes time to achieve any kind of a reasonable competitiveness in F1.

Wild Dog

9th June 2010, 12:21

They can do it, but first they need another engine, maybe Renault.

DazzlaF1

9th June 2010, 21:08

They can do it, but first they need another engine, maybe Renault.

Id think so, the Cossie doesnt seem to be as good as first thought which makes me feel sorry not only for them but also for Williams too

Valve Bounce

9th June 2010, 23:35

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82549
what do you think?

I think they have the 13 part wrong; they meant 31. :p :

Rollo

10th June 2010, 02:07

Better than Craig Pollock/BAR's expectations. (somebody correct me!)

The ******* child of BAR won the Driver's and Constructor's Championships last year :D

Dave B

10th June 2010, 08:58

The ******* child of BAR won the Driver's and Constructor's Championships last year :D
Equally the distant offspring of Stewart GP could well win both championships this year, but they're both so far removed from their original incarnations!

As for Lotus I think they've gone about this entirely the right way. It would have been easy to have gone for pay drivers or young unproven talent, but instead they've built up the team's database with two experienced and knowledgeable pilots. Of the three newbies Lotus look the most likely to survive in the longer term, and have thus far got off to a credible start.

They need to improve reliablity, but that will come with time; and look at an engine supplier parter for the future, but I can see them becoming a long-term fixure at the upper end of the midfield pretty soon.

jens

12th June 2010, 19:44

Oh wow, wow!! Lotus almost beat Sauber - incredible!! :D

52Paddy

12th June 2010, 23:02

Kovi was so chuffed with himself after qualifying. He was waving at the crowd as if he'd won a race. Aboy Heikki! :D

jens

14th June 2010, 10:59

The performance of Lotus and Kovalainen was quite incredible - I think he stayed in points-paying positions for about 1/4 of the race

52Paddy

14th June 2010, 13:22

Kovi showed that he is the class of the field in terms of new teams and their respective drivers. A great run by him :up:

Lotus' goal may not be far-fetched at all.

DazzlaF1

14th June 2010, 16:22

The performance of Lotus and Kovalainen was quite incredible - I think he stayed in points-paying positions for about 1/4 of the race

Not just in the points, comfortably in the points too, he ran as high as 6th at the beginning, on the HARDER compound tyres.

When Lotus bring in their final upgrade at Silverstone, dont be suprised to see them overtake the Saubers in qualifying and maybe worry the Toro Rosso's and Williams' too.