1 November 2011

Lotus Reanult GP comments on the Indian Formula One Grand Prix 2011

Friday 28-10-2011
Practice 1
Lotus Renault GP took to the Buddh International Circuit for the first time today in a dog-interrupted free practice session at the impressive new facility near Delhi.

After installation laps from both drivers a local dog came to see what the noise was about, bringing out a brief red flag period whilst pooch was pulled from the track.

Back to action, and Bruno and Vitaly completed further laps on Pirelli’s hard compound tyre, before switching to the soft compound as the track surface became cleaner.

Vitaly ended the session as the quicker of the LRGP duo, with a 1min 29.705secs lap compared with Bruno’s 1min 27.799secs.

Lewis Hamilton ended the session with the fastest time of 1min 26.836secs with Sebastian Vettel second fastest.

Practice 2

As the drivers eased into their driving duties at the Buddh International Circuit, Bruno and Vitaly were able to enjoy some considerable track time in this afternoon’s 90-minute session.

In warm, hazy conditions Lotus Renault GP took part in an interrupted second session, as both drivers managed to trial Pirelli’s hard and soft tyre compounds.

On the hard tyres, Bruno and Vitaly managed times of 1min 33.331secs and 1min 32.502secs respectively.

Moving onto the yellow-marked soft (option) tyres after 25 minutes, Vitaly managed a time of 1min 27.890secs, claiming 11th place in the process. However, it was Bruno who pipped his team mate by almost four tenths of a second, with a time of 1min 27.498secs, leaving him in P8 at the end of the session.

Brazil’s Felipe Massa topped the leaderboard, as he headed the field with a 1min 25.706 secs, eight hundredths ahead of world champion Sebastian Vettel in second.

Saturday 29-10-2011
Practice 3

Dust continues to reign supreme at the Buddh International Circuit in India as Bruno and Vitaly completed an encouraging FP3 session ahead of this afternoon’s qualifying session.

Both drivers used hard tyres first before making early switches to the soft Pirellis. Both Bruno and Vitaly were strongly in the top ten for much of the session, but neither ran new tyres late on, meaning they dropped down the order by the chequered flag.

Bruno was the quicker of the LRGP duo, with a 1min 27.235secs lap compared to Vitaly’s 1min 27.280secs.

Sebastian Vettel was fastest this morning, with a 1min 24.824secs lap, with Jenson Button second quickest.

Qualifying

Lotus Renault GP had a dissappointing qualifying session today with neither car cracking into the top ten, despite showing promising pace in Q1.

Vitaly set the fastest time in Q1, with a 1min 26.189secs. Had that time been set in Q2 would have taken him through to Q3. Unfortunately, he was unable to replicate the time in the second session and set the 11th fastest time, to which a five place grid penalty will be added for tomorrow’s race.

Bruno set the tenth fastest time in Q1, but could only manage P15 in Q2, meaning both drivers have tough tasks ahead of them for Sunday’s inaugural Indian Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel was fastest today with a lap of 1min 24.178secs whilst Lewis Hamilton was second quickest.

Sunday 30-10-2011
Race

Lotus Renault GP just missed out on a return to the points today at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, as Vitaly came home 11th and Bruno just behind in 12th.

The result was an improvement on their grid positions, but Bruno was left disapointed finishing where he did after a barnstorming start rocketed him up to 10th position.

A KERS problem shortly after, however, led the Brazilian to be passed by both Torro Rosso cars, and cross the finishing line in 12th position.

Vitaly faced some struggles, sliding off the track on a couple of occasions and suffering from a slow first pit stop.

The misfortune cost him, but he crossed the line in P11 just behind Sauber’s Sergio Perez.

World champion Sebastian Vettel claimed first prize, ahead of Britain’s Jenson Button in second and Fernando Alonso in third.