Team Lotus has confirmed that it is to expand its wind tunnel operations to further develop the aerodynamics of its current T128 and next years T129.
The outfit has agreed a deal with the Williams F1 team to use one of their two Grove based wind tunnels from September 2011.
This will mean that Team Lotus will now run two tunnel’s, the existing Aerolab facility in Italy, which will work in conjunction with the Williams site in the UK.
The deal will continue until the teams own tunnel, under construction at their Hingham factory, is complete.
Team principal, Tony Fernandes, is hoping the aerodynamics department will receive a major boost in development performance with the increase in facilities.
“There are a number of reasons why I am delighted that we have signed this deal,” he said. “From a practical perspective there are the obvious benefits of increasing our wind tunnel activity and using a state of the art facility in the UK, and I am sure that will immediately help Marianne Hinson (Head of Aerodynamics and CFD) and her team to work even more effectively in one of the key areas of the ongoing development of our team.
“The other side of the agreement is that I owe a great deal of thanks to Frank Williams, Patrick Head and Adam Parr as they were the first people I ever worked with in Formula 1. AirAsia was a proud sponsor of their team and Frank, Patrick and Adam played key roles in introducing me to the Formula 1 world, so I am very pleased that we are able to keep working together as Team Lotus continues to establish itself as a serious force in Formula 1.”
