Lotus Racing F1 Hungarian Grand-Prix preview

Back to back races push the teams hard, but with Hungary coming hot on the heels of the German Grand Prix, Lotus Racing will be looking to put in a strong performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The tight, twisty and bumpy track will suit the characteristics of the Lotus Racing T127, and the experience Heikki Kovalainen, winner of the 2008 race, and Jarno Trulli bring puts the Anglo / Malaysian squad in a good position from which to challenge the teams ahead.


Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “After a disappointing end to the Hockenheim Grand Prix we’re looking forward to Hungary. Always an interesting race, it’s obviously very difficult to pass and the tight, twisty layout should suit the characteristics of the T127 very well.

Traditionally it’s very hot and dusty early on with lots of track evolution. We’re still in tenth place as the best of the new teams, and this should be a circuit that suits us, so we need to maintain our strong qualifying form, maintain our reliability and look for a two car finish.”


Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: “After the Hockenheim result we’re looking forward to next weekend in Hungary. We’ll pick ourselves up and do what we do best – work hard, focus on the positives and make sure we keep pushing towards the teams ahead.

 Funnily enough, what happened in Germany actually brings out the best in our team – the passion, the camaraderie and the spirit within everyone in the team, at the factory and at the races – we’re all determined to keep looking ahead and not let setbacks hold us back, and Hungary gives us another chance to take a step forward, and that’s what we’ll do.”


Heikki Kovalainen, Car No. 19: “I’ve got great memories of Hungary. It’s where I scored my first victory, which is obviously the highlight of my career so far, so I’m always looking forward to going there, particularly as there’s very strong Finnish support out around the track - it’s almost like a home race for me. This year the challenge is obviously different, but we’ve made good progress at every race so far, and we’re well prepared for Hungary so there’s no reason why we can’t take another step forward this weekend.

“The track itself is obviously hard to pass on, but it’s satisfying to find a setup that allows you to get the most out of the car as the track evolves, and then nail it in qualifying – as a driver that’s a good feeling. In the race, it’s easy to get stuck behind someone, because of the nature of the track, so pitstops become even more critical.

With that in mind it’s good to see how everyone in the team, the pitcrew, the engineers and everyone in the garage, can make a real difference to your race performance, even more than normal. As a driver that’s also very satisfying as it shows how important everyone in the garage is, so hopefully we’ll be able to put that into practice this weekend.”


Jarno Trulli, Car No. 18: “It’ll be good to get back in the car straight away after a frustrating end to the German Grand Prix. After what had been a really strong weekend, it was obviously not the way we wanted the race to go, so hopefully Hungary will be better luck for us! The Hungaroring is a very twisty track, bumpy and hard to pass on, and not one you can get a great rhythm on.

We’ll be running the full downforce package, and as it’s normally very tough – hot and very long, it’s a real physical challenge. But I’m feeling good, and we keep progressing, so I’m looking forward to the weekend.”      


- Tom Webb