Lotus aren’t expecting an easy start to the 2014 season according to chairman and team principal Gerard Lopez.
The outfit missed the opening test of the season in Jerez because their unique ‘twin-tusked’ E22 wasn’t quite ready. That left them catching up and they’ve get to complete any significant running let alone a race simulation.
As such, Lopez warned it would be a “tough start”, but he is hopeful of working with engine supplier Renault to catch up.
“Our hopes and aspirations for the season rest on how quickly we can make our car competitive after a tough start,” he said on Tuesday.
“It is no secret that we face an extremely well-resourced rival in Mercedes who have dedicated considerable efforts to their power units for the 2014 season.
“We are doing everything we can to enable Renault Sport F1 to respond to this strong rival and our resources are at their disposal. The bar has been raised and we all need to react.”
He is however confident the E22 has the necessary potential to challenge at the front of the grid, but his technical team need to extract that performance quickly.
“We know where the rapid improvements need to come from,” he added.
“Our technical team at Enstone has been working on the E22 for over two years and we know that the true potential of this car is yet to be seen. It is still very early days.”
