F1: Lotus believes reliability is a concern

Ousted Caterham man Charles Pic has found refuge in Lotus. The 24 year old Frenchman has 39 Grand Prix starts under his name, and will serve as the Enstone-based team’s reserve as well as development driver. Pic will be joined at Lotus by 23-year-old Dane Marco Sorensen, who will act as a reserve and development driver alongside Nicolas Prost. Pic was replaced by Kobayashi at Caterham for 2014, and his former teammate, Giedo Van Der Garde, has been swapped in favour of Ericsson. Van Der Garde is now Sauber’s reserve and development driver.   Pictures used for illustration purposes only.

As F1 fans, we are as eager to see the 2014 F1 cars as the teams are to launching and testing their vehicles. However, we may have to wait that little bit longer to see Lotus’ 2014 challenger, for the Enstone-based team just announced that they will be missing the 1st test on January 28th. Technical director at Lotus F1 Team Nick Chester said that they planned to launch their car after the Jerez tests, and only testing it at Bahrain on February 19. But why would a team miss out on more running time for a totally new vehicle? Well, according to Chester, the team have agreed that build and development wise, Jerez wasn’t ideal for their car, and that Bahrain should offer the E22 running in “representative conditions". Usually, teams miss testing sessions if their car fails the mandatory FIA crash tests. However, Lotus said that their chassis have passed most of the test, and only needs to complete the nose crash test to homologate the car. Seats for both their drivers have already been made as well.

Williams driver Pastor Maldonado has been confirmed as a driver for the Lotus F1 Team for the 2014 season. He will drive alongside current Lotus driver, Frenchman Romain Grosjean, next year. When asked about his move to the Enstone based squad, Pastor replied “It is a fantastic opportunity for me to join Lotus F1 Team for 2014. It’s no secret that I have wanted a change of scene to help push on with my Formula One career and Lotus F1 Team offered the very best opportunity for me to be competitive next season.” Nico Hulkenburg was tipped by many in the paddock to replace the Ferrari-bound Raikkonen, but the lack of sponsorship money may have been a factor in deciding his drive for next year, for Lotus needs the cash to pay for their debts they have incurred this season. Hulkenburg has been snapped up by his former team Force India, and they currently don’t have a second driver. Pictures used for illustration purposes only.