Kubica leads the F1 circus and delights Lotus Renault

Robert Kubica led the way on the third and final day in Valencia, with the Lotus Renault GP team concluding their first tests with the R31 in the best possible way.

The team was able to measure the downforce produced by the car during the aero runs this morning, which involves running it at a constant speed on the straight. The results perfectly match the projections from the wind tunnel. Additionally, the initial work on the settings has been very productive, and the team has identified some promising directions. In fact, nearly all routine checks on the systems have been completed, allowing the team to focus on performance and tire evaluation in Jerez next week.

Robert Kubica: I think we can split the day into two parts because we had some issues this morning and we couldn’t do our first real run until 1:30 pm. But then, once the problem was solved, we were able to go through some setup definitions and work on the tires. Due to the time lost in the morning, we couldn’t complete the planned number of laps. But it’s better to experience reliability issues now than during the first race in Bahrain.

James Allison – Technical Director: After months of effort from the whole team, it was good to be back on track for the first time with the R31. Our initial three days of testing did not go without incident, but we were able to compile a good amount of mileage, showing the reliability and functionality of the key systems, despite their rather unusual arrangement. The first tests demonstrated that tire management would be absolutely crucial this season and it was reassuring to have made progress in this area. We will go to the second pre-season testing session with the aim of making progress in defining the settings and managing the tires before implementing the race package during the final tests.

Technical Notes from Alan Permane – Chief Engineer

– Ce matin a été un peu compliqué avec des pépins électriques sur la voiture. Nous avons fini par les identifier mais cela nous a pris plus de temps que prévu et nous avons perdu pas mal de roulage.

– L’après-midi s’est révélé beaucoup plus productif. Nous avons mené un programme sur les réglages pour la première fois, apportant des modifications notables sur la voiture qui ont donné une amélioration progressive de son équilibre.

– Dans la dernière partie de l’après-midi, nous nous sommes concentrés sur la fiabilité et en ce sens, les 95 tours effectués sont encourageants.