Lotus News

[Anna]

Team Info

Base: Enstone, UK
Team Principle: Eric Boulier
Chassis: Renault R31
Engine: Renault RS27-2011
1st Driver: #9 Bruno Senna
2nd Driver: #10 Vitaly Petrov
3rd Driver: Romain Grosjean
Website: www.lotusrenaultgp.com/
Twitter: OfficialLRGP
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_F1

Statistics

Year Entered: 1977*
1st Grand Prix: 1977 British GP
Races: 295
Wins: 35
Pole Positions: 51
Fastest Laps: 31
Points: 1315
Drivers Championships: 2 (2005 & 2006)
Constructors Championships: 2 (2005 & 2006)
Current Championship Pos: 5th (70 points)

Recent Championship Positions

2010: 5th (163 Points, 0 Wins)
2009: 8th (26 Points, 0 Wins)
2008: 4th (80 Points, 2 Wins)
2007: 3rd (51 Points, 0 Wins)
2006: 1st (206 Points, 8 Wins)
2005: 1st (191 Points, 8 Wins)

Driver History

Jean-Pierre Jabouille (1977-1980)
Rene Arnoux (1979-1982)
Alain Prost (1981-1983)
Eddie Cheever (1983)
Patrick Tambay (1984-1985)
Derek Warwick (1984-1985)
Philippe Streiff (1984)
Francois Hesnault (1985)
Jarno Trulli (2002-2004)
Jenson Button (2002)
Fernando Alonso (2003-2006, 2008-2009)
Jacques Villeneuve (2004)
Giancarlo Fisichella (2005-2007)
Heikki Kovalainen (2007)
Nelsinho Piquet (2008-2009)
Romain Grosjean (2009)
Robert Kubica (2010)
Vitaly Petrov (2010-Present)
Nick Heidfeld (2011)
Bruno Senna (2011-Present)

Engine History

Works Team

Notable Achievements

1977: 1st team to regularly use a turbo engine
1979: 1st win for a Turbo Engine
1983 F1 Drivers and Constructors Runner-Up
1985: First car to feature a onboard camera that could be viewed live
1992-1997: Dominates as engine supplier winning all constructors championships between 1992-97.
2005 F1 Drivers and Constructors Champions
2006 F1 Drivers and Constructors Champions

*Entered as a works team in 1977 before pulling out at the end of 1985. Renault returned as a works team in 2002 after buying the Benetton Team

[Anna]

Q&A with Eric Boullier, Lotus Renault GP team principal


Monza key race for Renault progress

Monday 5 September 2011 - 12h54, by Olivier Ferret
With F1 making its final European pit stop of the season, Eric Boullier talks about the team’s re-emerging spirit as it looks to push on from Spa

Reflecting on the Belgian Grand Prix, there were more positives to extract than negatives…

Sportingly, it could have been a better weekend because we had one car in the low points and the other not scoring any which is not sufficient. However, all in all it was a good weekend; we had a very respectable qualifying session and Bruno stepped into the cockpit successfully. These aspects were quite promising; it was encouraging for the team to be able to see the cars delivering and their work bearing fruit.

Do you think there was a noticeable lift in team spirits in Spa?

I think the positive energy really came about after qualifying because everyone knows it is extremely challenging for a new driver to step in. Seeing the team applauding the drivers after Q2 and Q3 was a good sign; I was very happy to see that, and it was pleasing to see smiles back on everyone’s faces.

Some other positive news was third driver Romain winning the GP2 Series – you must have been very pleased for him?

Yes, he did it all in the correct manner which is very important. Everybody is talking about him in the paddock now; he became the new GP2 champion three races before the end, which is impressive. He’s done a good job in that discipline and I think he’s now ready to step back into Formula 1.

With a change of race driver, do you find you have to alter your approach in the way you work with them?

Yes, because each driver is very different. There are different characters with varying mannerisms, so you have to adapt depending on whom it is that’s in the race seat. Even if Bruno has been part of the LRGP family for a number of months now, it is a different proposition that he faces as a racing driver.

Do you think Monza will provide a greater indication of ‘the Bruno effect’?

Yes, it’s difficult to draw too much from one race alone (Spa), whether that’s in terms of who is in the race seat or the effect of the upgrade package, but Monza should give us a clearer indication as to how things are going. Monza is always a difficult track because it requires a low downforce set-up; it has high speed corners and high speed straights. After the steps we made in Spa, I’m confident we will have a progressive weekend in Italy too.

[Amanda]

Ecclestone ’tempted’ to buy Renault team in 2009


But was talked out of it by Mackenzie

Monday 5 September 2011 - 11h27, by GMM
Bernie Ecclestone has revealed he was "very tempted" to buy Renault’s formula one team when the French carmaker pulled out as an owner.

Actually, the Enstone based team was bought by its current owners Genii Capital, but there are reports of financial trouble and rumours a group involving David Richards might step up to take over.

F1 chief executive Ecclestone told the Daily Telegraph he was interested in buying Renault two years ago but was talked out of it by Donald Mackenzie.

Mackenzie, the CVC director in charge of the F1 ownership, is the newly appointed chairman of the formula one holding company.

Referring to his interest in buying Renault, Ecclestone said: "Donald said to me, we just can’t. If we owned a team it would cause us trouble.

"Every time that team was on TV people would say we were favouring it."

[Anna]

Renault announces four new sponsors

7 September 2011
Renault has announced partnerships with no less than four new sponsors on the run-up to this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. The collaborations come after Bruno Senna was added to the driver line-up as a substitute for Nick Heidfeld, who has since parted company with the Enstone outfit.


Bruno Senna’s promotion is a key factor for the sponsors
All announced via the Lotus Renault GP website on Wednesday, those who are partnering the outfit are pharmaceutical group Auden McKenzie, Brazilian telecommunications giant Embratel, Brazilian petroleum company OGX and Gillette, manufacturer of razors and personal care products whose logos will appear both on the front wing of the cars and throat position of driver overalls.

"We at Embratel are proud to be with Lotus Renault GP and Bruno Senna in the Formula 1 world," says Embratel President José Formoso. "In addition to Embratel’s brand, the Brazilians are taking the Senna name back to a Formula 1 race and, clearly, it is a special emotion for all the Brazilians that are passionate about F1.”

Having held fourth position in the Constructors’ Championship until July’s British Grand Prix, Renault currently sits fifth and 30 points in arrears of Mercedes GP.

[Anna]

Lotus Renault GP


Vitaly and Bruno began their assault on the final European race of the season, as they wrapped up two respectable practice sessions at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

Rod Nelson, Senior Performance Engineer: The usual Friday analysis of the tyres was part of our work today, but our key focus was looking at the aero package we have put together for this race.

As it’s Monza, all teams have packages with a similar level of downforce; we are reasonably happy with the performance of the new aero parts we have brought with us.

Both Vitaly and Bruno commented on difficulties experienced when braking, but it is not cause for too much concern because the cars have not run with this little downforce since the Italian GP last year.

Cumulatively, the drivers ran a total of 69 laps today; the objective of this exercise was to get a feel for the balance of the car on its low downforce configuration. To become accustomed to braking on a heavy car, a lot of today’s running concentrated on using high fuel loads.

The new aero package appeared to be performing in line with our wind tunnel and CFD simulations.

A few issues were experienced with both cars; Vitaly lost two or three tenths on his fast lap, but we expect to be more consistent tomorrow.

The running we completed on both Pirelli’s medium and soft tyres suggested that the race could offer a multitude of strategy choices; both compounds were consistent and showed low degradation.

Bruno Senna: “Today was a lot more straightforward than on the Friday in Spa, and I managed many more laps, which is absolutely crucial for me. We had been working steadily to ensure that we came away on a Friday with signs of progression, and I think it’s clear we’re going forward. I’m beginning to understand the car better, and I believe I’m moving in the right direction but there’s still scope to improve tomorrow. There’s definitely more to take from the car, and Saturday is a crucial day in which to prove that. I’m really loving being out on-track and looking forward to what awaits me over the weekend.”

Vitaly Petrov: “The practice sessions went ok today, principally because on paper we achieved everything we set out to do. That’s always reason for satisfaction, but naturally we are looking to up our game in terms of lap time because we know there’s more to squeeze out of the car this weekend.

We’ve put together a bespoke Monza low-downforce set-up which we are confident could reap rewards come Sunday. Our spirits are up and we hope to translate that into a constructive next two days.”

[Anna]

Renault breaks curfew at Monza
By Simon Strang Friday, September 9th 2011, 14:40 GMT

Renault used up the first of its four allowed curfew exceptions on Thursday night at Monza so it could add a raft of latest updates to its two cars in Italy.

Teams are allowed four curfew exceptions during the year, in case they are forced to work late for unexpected repairs.

The updates for Monza only arrived at the track on Thursday, so the team elected to work late into the night to get them ready for Thursday practice, rather than getting up early on Friday.

A statement from the FIA read: "Last night team personnel of the Lotus Renault GP team, who are associated with the operation of the car, were within the confines of the circuit during the six hour period which commenced at 01:00 on 09 September, nine hours before the scheduled start time of P1.

"This was the first of the four individual exceptions permitted for the Lotus Renault GP team during the 2011 Formula 1 Championship and therefore no action should be taken."

The team's new driver Bruno Senna, on his second race weekend of the year, notched up a fine of 8,800 Euros in the second practice session for twice breaking the pitlane speed limit.

[r1ch91]

Renault sets mid-October deadline for Kubica's seat
By Jonathan Noble Sunday, September 11th 2011, 09:31 GMT

Renault has set a mid-October deadline for keeping a seat open for Robert Kubica next year, with the team keen to know its 2012 driver line-up as soon as possible.

The Enstone-based outfit is eager to get Kubica back racing, but knows it cannot wait until the eve of the next campaign to sort out its plans - because then it will be too late to find the kind of high-quality replacement it will need.

Team principal Eric Boullier said that a decision would be taken next month about whether Kubica will definitely be back, or if the team needs to sort out finding a full-time replacement.

"My issue is I cannot miss the opportunity to have Robert back, but at the same time I have to protect the interests of this team," Boullier said, when asked by AUTOSPORT about the driver situation for next year. "I need to define the best driver line-up, or the best one I can afford.

"I will be flexible because I really like Robert and it is worth for him to be back, but by the middle of October or the end of October I need to have clear confirmation, even if we have some work to go through.

"I am not expecting him to be as fast as last year, because when you have been away from racing for one year it is tough to be back, and on top of this you have a bad accident like he had, then it is not easy. But I need to understand if he can do it."

Kubica is set to get back behind the wheel of either a road car or an F1 simulator in one month's time - which should provide the first indication on whether or not the Pole will be able to race again.

As well as sorting out simulator time for Kubica, Renault will also make available a 2009-spec car for testing if it is required over the winter.

[Anna]

Lotus Renault GP

Lotus Renault GP came away from Sunday’s race with mixed feelings; Vitaly suffered an unfortunate end to his race at the first corner, whilst Bruno secured his first F1 points after coming home in 9th.

Vitaly was taken out of the race at the first corner by Vitantonio (Liuzzi), but was helpless in avoiding the collision after the HRT spun onto the grass before swerving straight into his R31.
Bruno made his own piece of history, scoring his first Formula 1 points in only his second race with LRGP. The Senna name appeared in the points list today for the first time since the 1993 Australian GP.
After the incident at the first corner, the team revised Bruno’s strategy, substituting his medium tyres for softs as early as lap two. He then stopped for soft tyres again on laps 14 and 33.
Positioned 18th at the end of the third lap, Bruno gained nine places during the remainder of the race.

Bruno Senna - P9: "I’m happy to score my first F1 points today, especially as it was only my second race for the team. Although I started 10th, it was not been an easy job to finish ninth. We suffered some bad luck in the first corner; everybody was cutting the chicane which forced me to drive on the outside, and in the process I lost all the places I had fought so hard for in qualifying. It makes me very happy to know that I am able to put myself in the position of scoring points, and also to fight with the guys who have been doing this for a long time. The pace of the car was clear for all to see, but I wish the race was just one lap longer because I may have been able to pass Paul (Di Resta) for eighth. The team chose a great strategy, the tyre was fast enough where I needed it to be and I am very happy to get my name on the points board. The team did a great job and I am really looking forward to Singapore.

Vitaly Petrov - DNF: “Naturally I am very disappointed with what happened today. I had a reasonable start and, as I was heading into the first chicane, Vitantonio’s HRT came from nowhere and hit me big time, which brought my race to an end. There’s nothing I could have done to avoid this. First of all, I’m happy not to be injured, as the impact was quite strong and it could have been a nasty accident. We have put in so much effort since Spa, at the track, Enstone and Viry, so I’m sorry that wasn’t translated into points today. This is part of racing, but I can’t help thinking that we could have secured a good result. We must now concentrate on Singapore, which will be a real test for us. We will be bringing another technical upgrade with us, before going on to quicker tracks like Japan and Korea, which should suit our car better. On the upside, the car has felt good since the first practice session here; we definitely made a step forward performance-wise and we should have a strong end to the season.”

Eric Boullier, Team Principal and Managing Director: “I have mixed feelings because that first corner cost us dear today; Vitaly was very unfortunate to be out of the race, and Bruno was in eighth at the end of the first lap. However, the team mapped out a very strong strategy, which helped Bruno come all the way back from to ninth. It is good to see him score his first points in F1, and it is clear that if we have a trouble-free race we can finish much higher. We still have some upgrades to come, and if you combine that with the fact that our car has really been on the pace this weekend, we should be confident we can push on from here. As a sport, Formula 1 has once again put on a good show for fans today and we should all be delighted with the quality of racing we have witnessed.”

Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: “It goes without saying that without the first corner incident, it would have been a very different race for us. Vitaly lost his rear suspension and retired on the spot, whilst Bruno lost many places and finished up 15th behind the safety car. We started him on the medium tyre because we thought Nico (Rosberg) could start on this tyre and we didn’t want to get stuck behind him on softs. The early safety car gave us the opportunity to switch strategy with the hope of overtaking others, as they had to go onto the medium tyre at the end. It worked up to a point. We were certainly quicker than the cars around us but even with DRS and better top speed, overtaking was difficult. To come from 18th to ninth is not bad, but we could have scored more points today. Having said that, our performance showed that we can have a strong end to the season."

Riccardo Penteado, LRGP Engine Support Leader, Renault Sport F1: “Monza is the hardest track of the year for the engine, which is why we introduced new units here. Having said that, all weekend the car has been very quick and the top speed, which peaked at nearly 350kph yesterday in qualifying, was particularly impressive. It was a great result for Bruno to score points in only his second race for the team. He demonstrated his speed and reliability, and if he hadn’t been caught up in the accident he may have scored even more points. Vitaly was very unfortunate today to get caught up in the incident at the first corner. Singapore is a very different circuit from Monza, but the team will look to build from this and score more points”.

[Anna]

Q&A with Eric Boullier


"Singapore is right to consider itself one of F1’s untouchables"

Friday 16 September 2011 - 13h21, by Olivier Ferret
Reflecting on the Italian Grand Prix, how satisfied were you with the team’s performance?

In the race we had some bad luck from the word go; Vitaly was caught up in an incident but there was nothing he could do about it. It was a shame he didn’t get the opportunity to demonstrate his strong pace because inevitably, from the position he lined up on the grid, we expected him to be right up amongst the points. The real positive to take away from Italy is the fact that the car is delivering more, which will allow our drivers to finish higher; both Vitaly and Bruno qualified for Q3 so that was very pleasing. It was satisfying to see Bruno have a good race after he had to avoid the cars involved in the crash at the first corner. His result will undoubtedly bring him some credibility.

How challenging has this season been from a management point of view? There have been a few issues to contend with but the team seems to have come out the other side…

Well, it has been challenging. I cannot say all the challenges were enjoyable – going through the difficulties we had after Robert’s crash was not easy – but overall I enjoy being tested with the issues that come my way, and tackling them in the best way I can for the team; overseeing these challenges is part of my job. There’s certainly never a dull moment!

What do you think of the current balance of the team? You’ve got two contrasting drivers who seem to fit into the LRGP jigsaw well…

I think they complement each other very well. It is beneficial for the team to have two different characters, who are very popular both in and out of the team.

Singapore is the only night race on the F1 calendar and usually serves up quite a treat – how much do F1 and this race need each other?

Singapore has become one of the top events – everybody wants to be there and attend the Grand Prix. It is a great race with excellent organisation, and in the last couple of years it has become one of the most popular venues; the Singapore GP means business. It is exciting to have a night time race which allows us to keep our bodies in tune with BST and CET. Singapore has already established a reputation as one of the most popular locations with all the teams, and everyone loves having the F1 circus there because the people are so friendly and accommodating. Quite simply, everyone loves the Singapore Grand Prix.

[Lucius]

Renault fined for communication error
By Jonathan Noble Sunday, September 25th 2011, 18:02 GMT

Renault's misery in the Singapore Grand Prix was compounded on Sunday when the team was fined 7,500 Euros for giving Bruno Senna wrong instructions at a safety car restart.

The team endured its worst race weekend of the year, with Senna and Vitaly Petrov finishing in 15th and 17th position's respectively - and afterwards team principal Eric Boullier labelled its performance 'embarrassing'.

To add to the disappointment, Renault was also fined for having failed to inform Senna of his correct race position at the safety car restart following Michael Schumacher's accident.

Renault told Senna that he was battling with Sergio Perez ahead of him on the road, even though the Mexican was a lap ahead.

That resulted in Senna trying to overtake his Sauber rival, with a move that resulted in the pair colliding.

A statement issued by the FIA said: "The team failed to inform the driver of his correct race position which led to an avoidable collision with car #17 Sergio Perez."

[Anna]

2011 end of term report – Lotus Renault


73 points, 5th in the constructors’ championship

Wednesday 21 December 2011 - 19h00, by Sandrine Bouchard
2011 was a bit of a transitional year for Lotus Renault GP. Genii Capital became its sole owner and welcomed Lotus Cars as the team’s title sponsor. LRGP had a season of highs and lows and was faced with a difficult situation at the start of the year.

Season review

Now owned by Genii Capital, the Enstone-based team went through a few changes during the winter. Renault took a step back and became just a technical partner of the team. With Lotus its new title sponsor, the outfit opted for a black and gold livery reminiscent of the 80s. The team raced under a British licence.

At the start of the year, its drivers were Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov. The R31 was unveiled in late January, in Spain, and featured an innovative front exhaust system. The whole team was enthusiast and the first test went extremely well.

However, on Sunday 6th of February, LRGP was dealt a big blow. Its lead driver Robert Kubica had a huge accident on a rally in Italy and was seriously injured. The Pole’s condition was initially critical and his right arm was almost severed. Extensive surgery was carried but doubts were raised as to whether Kubica would ever be able to drive a F1 car again. He was ruled out of the championship and the team had to look for a replacement.

It hired Nick Heidfeld, hoping his huge experience would benefit the team. The season started well as the R31 proved competitive. Petrov climbed on the podium in Australia and Heidfeld emulated him in Malaysia. As the other teams kept pushing hard to develop their cars LRGP started to slip through the order. The drivers still managed to bring points from the first ten races.

The blown exhaust clampdown severely affected the team. It struggled to score points and added only 7 to its tally on the last nine rounds. Heidfeld was dismissed shortly before the Belgium Grand Prix and replaced with Bruno Senna.

Conclusion

LRGP scored 30 points in the first two races and seemed able to challenge Mercedes GP for 4th in the standings. However, its strong form was short-lived and it disappointed in the second half of the season. All in all, 2011 was a pretty poor year for LRGP which suffered badly from the absence of Robert Kubica. Its excellent reliability helped it to secure 5th in the constructors’ championship... only four points ahead of Force India.

Expectations

In 2012, Renault will officially leave the F1 World Championship as a constructor and will only be present as an engine manufacturer. The team will be names Lotus F1 and will have two new drivers: the 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen and Eric Boullier’s protégée Romain Grosjean.

Highs
Scored points in the first ten races
2 podiums
1 single retirement with a mechanical failure

Lows
Lost pace throughout the season
Driver management
Disastrous Singapore GP

Nextgen-Auto.com marks:
Olivier Ferret : 8/20
D.Thys : 12/20
Sandrine Bouchard : 11/20
Jean-Michel Setbon : 9/20
Average mark on the forum Nextgen-Auto.com : 8/20
Total : 48/100