‘The chassis is a definite step forward’ – Lotus

Lotus head into the new season full of optimism according to technical director Nick Chester who is confident the Lotus E23 is a major step forward when compared to last years car.

The outfit scored just 10 points during 2014, which is a world away from the previous year when they finished fourth in the championship with 315 points.

The team are confident they can once again challenge for points on a regular basis thanks to their new power unit partner Mercedes as well as a much improved chassis.

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” said Chester. “We have what looks to be a solid car, we’ve got the same power unit as the reigning champions – so we know its potential – and we’ve got every opportunity to start the season well.

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“We know that the power unit is a big step forward. It has strong performance and response and it’s extremely reliable; we’ve only used one unit throughout testing.

“The chassis is also a step forward as the drivers can get a lot more from it and it’s easier to drive on the limit as well as being more predictable. We have a great platform from which to develop.”

Chester expects Lotus to be in the chasing pack behind Mercedes, but admitted launching a challenge for the title was out of reach when considering just how far ahead the Anglo-German outfit is.

“Certainly we want to be fighting regularly in the top ten,” he added. “It’s fair to say it’s going to be very difficult for any team to regularly take the battle to the reigning champions as they were so far ahead of the opposition last year – and they are unlikely to have forgotten what made them fast – but there are still good opportunities. There’s likely to be a good chasing pack, and we expect to be right in the mix with this.”