16.00 BRT at Interlagos: The curtain of finality on the 2012
Formula One season has dropped. From
behind the curtain, the Lotus F1 Team can reflect on a successful first season
in their latest guise. Kimi Raikkonen
coolly crept up to third position in the Driver’s Championship, the highest
since Fernando Alonso took the double Championship for Renault in 2006. This was coupled with fourth place in the
Constructor’s, trailing only the mighty Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren. The victory at the hands of the iceman in Abu
Dhabi, and Lotus’ first in 25 years, provided an extra sprinkling of
progress. Running as the Lotus F1 team
for the first time since 1994, 2012 definitely saw them making their mark on a
new era for the famous name.
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| Kimi wins in Abu Dhabi. Photo: Daily mail |
But who really noticed Lotus amassing their
achievements? With Red Bull and Ferrari
being the team names most uttered from peoples lips due to their battle at the
front, Lotus were stalking McLaren in the Constructors Championship, largely
unobserved. Going into the mid season
break, Lotus were trailing them by only one point. Kimi
Raikkonen’s second places in Bahrain, Valencia and Hungary, together with
thirds in Spain and Germany placed him fifth in the Driver’s Championship with
116 points, just one behind Lewis Hamilton.
Romain ,Grosjean’s third places in Bahrain and Hungary and second in
Canada supplemented their points tally. Their
stealthy challenge for the Constructors title declined a little during the
second part of the season but it quietly surged on in the driver’s, with Kimi
pursuing and overtaking Lewis Hamilton, finishing seventeen points clear.
So what will the challenge from the team and the E21 look
like for 2013? As was the case last year
there is the chance for them to be an inconspicuous warrior that does battle
from the shadows. Although not being an
accurate indicator of where the teams are in relation to each other, pre season
testing is all there is to go on at this stage of the season. Combined times from the first test in Jerez
displayed Kimi Raikkonen second fastest over the four days, with Romain
Grosjean fourth quickest, meaning they were the highest placed team mates. Some discourse was to be heard about whether
Lotus and their E21 could be title contenders, but with testing arriving in
Barcelona and a surge in performance by Mercedes, talk about Lotus mostly
dissipated.
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| Hamilton looking strong in the Mercedes. Photo: The Guardian |
Although Toto Wolff has down played suggestions that the
Silver Arrows could be a force to be reckoned with this season, Pat
Fry, Technical Director at Ferrari told Speed Week that he thinks they look
very strong. Due to their impressive
performances throughout testing, but especially in the final one, all the
gabble is now centred around the Brackley based team. Poaching Lewis Hamilton, arguably the most
famous current Formula One driver from McLaren, followed by Toto Wolff from
Williams and Paddy Lowe, also from McLaren, has established Mercedes firmly in
the limelight where they will now mount the quest for their first title in
fifty seven years.
It has emerged this week that Red Bull have the slowest car
in a straight line, and that worry about their two second speed deficit to
Mercedes in testing has begun to creep in.
Helmet Marko expressed that not everything had “gone to plan.” We are
still yet to see what surprises they have to unveil in style at Melbourne. Having taken the Constructors crown for the
last three years, talk about Red Bull as contenders will never be far from
people’s lips, and every move they make will be closely scrutinised.
Combined times from the final test at Montmelo showed
Fernando Alonso second fastest with his team mate Felipe Massa in fourth. Ferrari Team President Luca Montezemolo is
optimistic that the F138 is “meeting all our expectations.” Due to their history and pedigree in the
sport, even when the car isn’t operating at a peak level, Ferrari will always
take centre stage in a championship to some degree.
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| Ferrari testing at Montmelo. Photo: Briony Dixon |
Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal at McLaren has voiced the
difficulties faced by the team when attempting to gain a full understanding of
the behaviour of the MP4-28. Jenson
Button and Sergio Perez haven’t seemed entirely happy with the performance of
the car throughout winter testing.
McLaren have a huge fan base, and a long history. Couple this with all eyes watching Perez to
see whether his move to the team will end in success or failure, you have
another substantial slice of the limelight taken.
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| McLaren at the first Barcelona test. Photo: Briony Dixon |
With all the focus on their main rivals, Lotus are free to
begin their challenge in their usual understated style, in the shadow of the
other teams, something that will suit their laconic Finn, Kimi Raikkonen. Suffering reliability issues during winter
testing, in particular gearbox issues, has placed them slightly out of
contention.
One aspect of their 2012 season that wasn’t understated was
Romain Grosjean’s penchant for causing first lap incidents. The Frenchman was involved in eight across
the season, including the worst opening lap crash at Spa since 1998, which
resulted in his being issued with a race ban for Monza. Lotus will need to hope that he has matured
and learned from his mistakes if they are to make a stealthy advance into the
top three or beyond.
Lotus have kept a consistent driver pairing for 2013, and
with the E21 being unveiled as an essentially slicker, more precise version of
the E20, consistency could be the team’s secret weapon in their dusky rise up
the table. It is the belief of Raikkonen
that adding more pace to the consistency from last year could propel them
further forward. Lotus’ title challenge
this season could again be understated, in the shade of others, but the addition
of outright, blistering pace to an already solid package could shoot them from
the shadows. Their rivals should watch
out for these stalking panthers, their stealthy ascent could catch them
unawares.
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