Q. Eric, as Formula 1 heads to Europe, what conclusions can you draw from the season so far?
EB: The first three races are always a challenge as we take the car straight out of the box to compete on the other side of the world. We had quite a satisfying campaign with two podiums in three races. Having said that, we encountered some disappointment in China but we put our heads back down to try and analyse and come back from this. We have shown good competitiveness in this first leg, including in China. So we now are looking forward to the start of the European campaign.
Q. The start of the European season has traditionally been synonymous with big upgrade packages; how well is the team prepared for Turkey?
EB: We have a good upgrade package coming for Turkey. I think that historically the teams were preparing to introduce their development packages for Europe, but I think that in the last couple of years the development race is continuous and this competition has already started. Teams have already been bringing new packages in Malaysia and China. Still, the first race in Europe remains significant in terms of improvements that teams will bring and this will be clear again this year.
Q. You know Istanbul Park very well, how does the circuit inspire you?
EB: It reminds me of a great fight Vitaly had with Fernando (Alonso) last year, and a very strong race that both Robert and Vitaly had. I know that our car is looking more competitive this year and our drivers know like the circuit, so we hope that it will be a good weekend for us.
Q. Both Nick and Vitaly showed great performance in the first few races, are they ready for the European season?
EB: I think that they can do even better. During the last three races, they were still getting to know the car and they showed good pace and results. I’m pretty sure that they now have the near-to-victory taste in their mouths so they need to keep on pushing. I know the team is absolutely 100% behind both of them to help pushing them to deliver.
Q. James, two podiums from the first three races for the R31. Overall, are you happy with the start to the season?
JA: Overall I’m pleased. However I tend just to remember the last race and that wasn’t a very good one for us, so we’re looking to put that right in Istanbul.
Q. Looking back to China, what were the biggest challenges LRGP faced in what proved to be a frustrating weekend?
JA: Much of what went wrong for us came from failing to qualify in the position that the car merited. Not getting the car through into Q3 meant that we had to fight an uphill battle in the race. Furthermore, we didn’t make quite such a good start as we had done during the previous two races and all of this combined with the result that we had to struggle through the race just to finish in the minor places.
Q. Three races in, have you been able to draw any conclusions of the car’s performance so far?
JA: What do you consider are its main strengths and weaknesses? It’s sufficiently fast to be healthily-placed in the top ten in qualifying, which gives you half a chance come Sunday. The car also quite kind on its tyres and so it tends to run more strongly in races than it does in qualifying. I don’t want to tempt providence, but it has also been reasonably reliable so far.
Q. Can we expect any significant upgrades to the car for Turkey?
JA: Yes, like all the teams we’ll be bringing some parts. There will be a different front wing, some modifications around the nose, updates to the air intake area of the car and some tweaks to the floor.
Q. How far in advance do you begin planning for such an upgrade package?
JA: It depends on the component. Some simple upgrades are found in the tunnel in the days running up to the race, but most of the parts would have been conceived around 6-8 weeks ago, would have run in the tunnel around 4 weeks ago and then been designed and made for the car in time for the Turkey GP.
Q. How do you think the car will fare at the Istanbul Park Circuit?
JA: It’s a fairly regular type of track, not especially dissimilar to Malaysia and China I would hope that we can continue compete at a high level.
Q. What’s new for Istanbul?
JA: The R31 will have an epic journey to Turkey after it left the factory on Thursday evening. Lotus Renault GP uses five trucks to drive the cars down to Italy where they will take a boat to cross the Mediterranean, arriving in Istanbul Port on Tuesday morning. For the motorhomes, there will be more than 5,000 pieces for seven people to construct over three days. Bon voyage!
Discussion about this post