Lotus is confident that the chassis/suspension problem which caused the outfit to cut short its second test after just seven laps, is now permanently fixed.
The teams technical director James Allison revealed that it was in fact an upper front wishbone rear arm, which connects the suspension to the chassis, which had caused the team issues a fortnight ago.
The team opted to fly the chassis back to Enstone for repairs, ready for the third and final pre-season test in Barcelona this week.
“It’s been an intense few days, but I have to say that everybody has completed their tasks in tremendous fashion,” said Allison. “On the first day back at the factory, I spoke to the entire Enstone personnel and clearly explained what happened. Everybody understood that the situation was unfortunate, but under control.
“We designed the new parts, manufactured them, and fitted them to the chassis. We then completed the necessary tests satisfactorily and the chassis left for Spain.”
Whilst Allison admits the lost test time isn’t great for the cars development, he remains optimistic that the accumulated laps in Jerez and the upcoming test will put them in good stead.
“Of course, missing four days of testing is not ideal,” he said. “We need mileage at this stage of the year, as does any other team.
“That said, there are reasons to remain optimistic. First of all, we completed many trouble-free laps in Jerez and gained a good understanding of the car. Also, some of the small issues we identified in Jerez needed to be fixed, and the parts were not available last week.
“On Thursday, the car will run with all the required redesigned parts. We’re looking forward to being back on track.”
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