Lotus Renault: Alan Permane is satisfied with this day

Alan Permane, the chief race engineer and supervisor of this test session, achieved his goal today. The mission was to drive and gather important data both on aerodynamics and with the new tires. This was accomplished thanks to the successive use of very soft, soft, and medium tires. A special green paint was even tested this morning to better understand the aerodynamic flows over the car during the race. This special paint turns green where the airflow is the least significant.

The purpose of the day was to accumulate kilometers with the R31, and it went well, with Robert completing 104 laps. It was important because we lost a lot of time yesterday, but now we have completed a good portion of our system checks. Says Permane.

« Already, we have been able to adjust the settings and work on the balance according to Robert’s preferences. He performed both short and long stints throughout the day, which provides us with useful data to analyze tonight. This will allow us to maximize our last day tomorrow. »

James Allison, the technical director, is also pleased with this second day. The reliability of the R31 is an important aspect for continuing development: « A much more satisfying day than yesterday. Over a hundred laps completed today, without any significant issues. The KERS and the adjustable wing worked impeccably, and the car spent enough time on the track for us to work a little on the setups, alongside the pre-season routine on system checks. »

Regarding the driver, Robert Kubica refrains from making any competitiveness analysis but has learned a lot from his first day at the wheel of the R31: « It’s always difficult to judge after just one day in the car. Especially because there are so many changes compared to last year. The main factor is definitely the Pirelli tires, which have a significant influence on the car’s behavior. We used different types of compounds to get a first impression. We encountered a few minor mechanical issues and couldn’t complete the planned program entirely, but we still managed to accomplish a respectable number of laps. This is very important. We were able to carry out numerous checks on the usual systems and reliability. That’s crucial for a new car. We also found that we didn’t have any problems with the high temperature of the exhausts.»