Tag: eric boullier

All about Kimi Raikkonen moving to Ferrari

If you’ve been paying attention to the F1 Silly Season rumours, you’ve probably heard by now that Kimi Raikkonen has been linked to a move back to the Maranello based Scuderia Ferrari team.

This is according to a single report published by Finnish tabloid newspaper Ilta-Sanomat who say that the report is based on information from their “sources”.

Not much to go on to be honest.

There have been no official reports of such a move from either Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari or the Lotus team. Ferrari dismissed rumours earlier in August that a lucrative offer was made to lure the Finn back to the team. They have now again stated that the rumours of Raikkonen moving to the team are completely unfounded. If Ferrari were to take Raikkonen back they would effectively be admitting that they made a mistake by letting him go in 2009.

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier is still confident that he can keep Kimi Raikkonen in the Lotus camp despite the fact that Raikkonen is reportedly still waiting for his latest pay cheque and the team is rumoured to be struggling financially.

If Kimi Raikkonen moves to Ferrari, he would have to play second fiddle to Fernando Alonso, which seems very unlikely. He would however join James Allison who served as Lotus’ Technical Director before moving to Ferrari earlier this year. Alonso has been rumoured to be in the sights of Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz despite Alonso’s long term contract with Ferrari.

Earlier, Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo were named as the top candidates for the Red Bull team but the silly season rumour mill is indeed working over time. And this whole game of F1 musical chairs was started by Mark Webber who announced his retirement from Formula One earlier this year.

Only time will tell and we will keep you updated on who will be moving where as soon as official announcements are made.

Where do you think Kimi Raikkonen should race in 2014? Should he stay with Lotus? Move to Red Bull, or re-fit his red overhauls for Ferrari? Let us know in the comments section below!

August 14, 2013
F1 2013: Lotus’ Lopez talking the talk

Lotus chairman Gerard Lopez has scoffed at rumours that his Formula 1 team is in financial trouble.

Lopez purchased the Renault team in 2009 and is adamant that the reported 120 million Euro debt is being misunderstood. “On the €120 million debt, anybody half-smart can find out that number by going to Companies House records and will see that out of that, over 90 million is not ‘real’ debt but shareholder loans made to the company,” said Lopez.

He laughed off suggestions that staff had not been paid and denied any rumours of employees threatening a strike at the Enstone based factory. While Lopez has denied the lack of payment Lotus team principal Eric Boullier confirmed on a previous occasion that Kimi Raikkonen had been payed ‘a few days late’ by the team.

While vehemently denying these Lopez emphasised that the team has enough resources to keep up with the development of the E21 in the second half of the season. Despite the fact that the time for major upgrades have gone the team is believed to be bringing a new front wing to the Belgian GP. Lopez is adamant that the development will not end there.

“We are actually bringing a number of new developments throughout the season,” said Lopez. What is true is that, just like everyone else, a lot of the big stuff like the double DRS has already been developed but is going to be put on the car for the upcoming races.”

Lopez, the co-owner of Genii Capital, stressed the investments that have been made to the Formula 1 team since taking over.

“It had a 50 per cent windtunnel, now it’s 60 per cent. The team didn’t have a driver-in-the-loop simulator, it does now. It didn’t have a gearbox dyno, now it has. So it has a bunch of things that it didn’t have even as a works team. As they say in other sports, you do your talking on the field and I guess we do our talking on the track.”

August 11, 2013
Hungarian Grand Prix Preview Quotes – Lotus F1 Team

Kimi Raikkonen, Romain Grosjean, Eric Boullier and Alan Permane look ahead to the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix. Here are their preview quotes for the Lotus F1 Team.

Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus
“I have finished second in Hungary too many times, so I know how important it is to lead the race after the first corner. DRS or not, it’s never easy to overtake at the Hungaroring. To get the weekend right, you have to have good sessions in FP1, FP2 and FP3, then a strong qualifying session and finally a perfect start to the race. It is always nice to go to Hungary. The circuit is not the most difficult of them all, but it is a really challenging venue as it’s usually very hot which makes it a demanding race. Of course, the heat has helped us with the car so far this year so that will make things better, but only if it’s a win will you not suffer from the heat. It’s such a slow, twisty circuit, so two things are really important there; good turn-in and good traction. If you have those, you have a strong car for the race. Obviously you need to get to the front in the qualifying, but also avoid the dirty side of the track on the grid. When you look back through the races this season, it seems the dirty side of the track is a real disadvantage in the starts. Many times Hungary has been called ‘the Grand Prix of Finland’. A lot of Finns go to this race every year and it is always nice to see the blue and white flags waving. Hopefully we get the result we are looking for. It would be nice to take the break after this race and recharge the batteries in the middle of the season with a good result on the board, but most importantly, it would be good to have the points.”

Romain Grosjean, Lotus
“I can remember feeling frustrated last year in Budapest as we did have a chance to be fighting for the win before we got held up by a driver who didn’t respect the blue flags, but that’s certainly a better frustration than missing out on the podium or even worse. Taking third in Germany was great so I certainly have a positive feeling heading to Hungary. What’s the key to a good result in Budapest? It’s a tight and twisty track so you need a good qualifying result. We showed last year that being on the front row certainly helps and it would be fantastic to be back there again this year. We’ve also seen that high temperatures work well for us and it’s usually hot in Budapest, so we’ll be hoping for plenty of sun again. It’s a circuit that I quite like and one where I have had good experiences in the past. I scored my first GP2 Series pole position there in 2008, then finished first and third in 2011 which was a pretty good weekend. In 2012 I had my third podium finish of the year and qualified P2 on the grid which was a great way to end the first half of the season. In terms of driving, it’s not the most physically challenging layout in terms of high speed corners, but the heat you experience in the cockpit can be quite intense. It can also be a difficult circuit early in the weekend as the track is not used very much, meaning it’s quite slippery when you first go out.”

Eric Boullier, Lotus Team Principle
“Budapest will be the real test, but we’re confident we have enough data (on the revised Pirelli tyres, from the Silverstone test) to say that there shouldn’t be any nasty surprises. We performed well in Hungary last year and we’re eager to do the same again this season too.”

Alan Permane, Lotus trackside operations director
“We believe the original allocation of medium and hard compounds would have been a very conservative choice for Budapest. Of course, the situation is still somewhat different as – for the first time this season – we’ll see a combination of the 2013 compounds with 2012 construction used in a race scenario. This has brought something of an unknown into the equation with this year’s car, as the tyres are of a slightly different shape and will react differently to camber, toe in/out and so on. We’ve had the opportunity to get a better understanding of how they’ll behave at the Young Driver Test so there are no concerns on that front. On top of that, our knowledge of this construction from the 2012 season carries over quite well to this new configuration; giving us a good baseline in terms of such considerations as ride height, camber and toe sensitivity.

“In terms of upgrades, we had a tightly packed schedule over the three-day test at Silverstone, to the point where even with a few extra days and sets of tyres we would still have had more than enough development work to keep us occupied. This has given us plenty to think about heading to Hungary and indeed the second half of the season.

“In terms of track evolution, this circuit doesn’t get a great deal of use and it can get pretty dry and dusty out there, so it generally improves steadily throughout the weekend; not to Monaco levels, but notable enough to be worth factoring into our preparations for qualifying in particular. We saw Nico Rosberg getting caught out by an evolving track during qualifying at the Nürburgring – a circuit that is far more frequently used – so it’ll keep us on our toes on Saturday afternoon.

“Qualifying is crucial. It’s a track where passing opportunities are few and far between, making overtaking very difficult even with a reasonable pace advantage, so we’ll be doing our utmost to qualify further up the field than we have been. Mercedes have proven themselves to be the class of the field in terms of single lap pace so it will be very difficult to qualify in front of them, but we’ll be looking to at least get very close to them on the grid to give our drivers the best chance possible of overhauling them in the race. We’ve seen in the past that they have struggled with tyre degradation on a Sunday which should work to our advantage – particularly in hot conditions as we often see in Hungary – with the medium / soft compound allocation also potentially giving us a broader scope in terms of strategies.”

July 20, 2013
Nurburgring German Grand Prix Preview Quotes – Lotus F1 Team

Preview Quotes from the Lotus F1 Team ahead of the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.

Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus

“I have always enjoyed driving in Germany, but the problem is that luck has never been on my side there and something has always happened to stop me winning. I’ve got four poles to show my speed on German soil, but six retirements at this race haven’t been what I wanted. Obviously in the past both circuits – the Nurburgring and Hockenheim – have not been very kind to me, but I like them both and I have always been very competitive; in terms of pace if not maybe results. I’ve gone very well at the Nurburgring before, just never won. A couple of times I’ve had to stop while leading the race which always sends you home with a bad feeling. Hopefully I can finally get everything right this time. Last year we made the top three in Hockenheim, so let’s wait and see how it goes at the Nurburgring for the first time with this team. It’s pretty good circuit, but probably not as much fun as the old one. It should suit us, but the fact is you need a really good car to be competitive there. Most of all you need good traction out of the corners and a stable car under braking. We’re pretty reasonable in both these areas. We have had our issues with cooler weather and unfortunately it’s not usually that warm at the Nürburgring, but we’ll just see what we get and get on with it.”

Romain Grosjean, Lotus

“The Nurburgring is quite a nice track with a quite a lot to it. There’s a really interesting mix of corners which means you have plenty to think about over the course of a lap; you’re certainly kept busy! The first section relies on mechanical grip and Turn 1 can be interesting at the start of the race if people go too deep into the corner. It can also be a good overtaking opportunity during the race too. After that there are some higher speed corners down to the hairpin – which is another good place you can overtake – then nice high speed stuff for the rest of the lap. You need a well-balanced car so I think we should go pretty well. This will be my first time racing there in Formula 1, but I’ve raced at the track previously in F3 and the GP2 Series. Last time I raced there – 2011 in the GP2 Series – I scored a podium and a win so my most recent memories of the circuit are certainly good.”

Eric Boullier

“There’s nothing about the Nurburgring to cause us any concern so we should be in the hunt again in Germany. We brought plenty of upgrades to Silverstone and we have a lot of data from the weekend so there should be some more pace to extract there. Another positive for the team to take from Silverstone was that all our race pit stops were completed in 2.5 seconds or under. It’s great to see the hard work in this area making improvements, so a big thanks to the pit stop crew – who practice their stops so many times both at the track and at the factory – as well as the design and manufacturing departments for all the equipment and relevant car parts too.”

Alan Permane, Lotus trackside operations director

“The Nurburgring is a good track and one that the drivers really seem to enjoy as it has a real mix of everything. The opening sector is really quite technical, with good traction and a strong front end needed for some of the longer radius low speed turns. Then of course there’s a couple of swooping, medium speed downhill turns towards the hairpin, followed by the high speed kink which – despite the gradient – is taken flat out in 6th or even 7th gear at around 280kph and really pushes the drivers. Next, you have a couple of medium / high speed corners leading onto the long back straight, followed by a tight chicane and the last corner, where a good front end is again required to counter the understeer inducing nature of the turn. In terms of chassis setup there’s a little bit of everything required; good change of direction for the medium speed corners, decent traction and front end for the tricky first sector and good top end speed for the long straights. Having only just been to Silverstone there won’t be anything major (in terms of upgrades), as the crew will be driving straight down to Germany to rebuild the cars without stopping at the factory. That said, we still have a new wing which we haven’t used yet and we still have to try various permutations of the latest upgrades on both cars. If it’s good weather and everything goes to plan, we could unlock quite a bit of speed this weekend.”

July 4, 2013
F1 2013: British GP Review – Rosberg tops at dramatic Silverstone

Formula 1 in 2013 hasn’t been short of drama but it well and truly ramped up for the eighth round of the season at Britain’s Silverstone grand prix.

It was home-grown hero Lewis Hamilton who thrashed the field to take only his second pole position at the famous circuit. The margin between the 2008 champion and teammate Rosberg was the biggest it had been all season as Mercedes locked out the front row of the grid. Sebastian Vettel was ever present in third ahead of retiring teammate, Mark Webber.

Force India’s Paul Di Resta delivered an excellent lap for fifth but would later be excluded from qualifying for an underweight car. The Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari of Fernando Alonso seemed to struggle in qualifying trim as the duo only managed to start eighth and ninth.

Lewis Hamilton led cleanly away from pole position as Vettel slotted into third ahead of Rosberg. Mark Webber’s race was made a lot tougher after a clash with Romain Grosjean left the Australian with damage to the front-wing. A bit of damage to a front-wing would be the least dramatic issue of the day.

Lewis Hamilton easily in the lead of the race and steadily building a gap over Vettel would become the first driver to suffer a left rear tyre blowout. The Pirelli tyre seemed to completely disintegrate without any indication whatsoever. Somehow Hamilton was able to return his Mercedes to the pits but his chances of victory had been thrown out the window.

It looked like horrible luck for Hamilton until two laps later Felipe Massa’s Ferrari suffered the exact same failure. Jean-Eric Vergne became the third driver to suffer a tyre blow-out on lap 15 as his left rear spectacularly exploded on the Hangar straight.

The Toro Rosso driver’s tyre failure brought out the safety car as debris from the blowout littered the circuit. McLaren’s Sergio Perez would be the final driver to suffer an identical tyre blow-out on lap 46. At this point drivers were being told to avoid the kerbs in case they were the cause for the tyre problems. But Fernando Alonso didn’t share the same opinion after the race. “I have been racing here 12 years & never had this problem (tyre). I think the kerbs were perfectly ok,” said the Ferrari driver.

Racing resumed on lap 22 with no certainty of whose Pirelli could fail next but there was still a race to be had as Vettel led Rosberg over the start/finish line. The Red Bull driver extended his advantage over Rosberg to two seconds but the Mercedes driver was gradually starting chip away at his lead. Rosberg wasn’t required to do much more work in catching Vettel as the reigning world champion’s car grinded to a halt at the pit entry with a gearbox failure.

The stricken Red Bull prompted another safety car and Rosberg, Webber and Alonso dived into the pitlane for a fresh set of medium tyres. The only front-running driver not to take a fresh set of tyres was Kimi Raikkonen. Raikkonen was running second when he asked his team why they had not called him into the pits for fresh tyres. The Lotus pitwall had roughly half a lap behind the safety car to decide on a pitstop but responded to Raikkonen’s question with “I don’t know” and “It’s too late now.” On a day when championship leader Vettel failed to score any points the Lotus pitwall destroyed what could have been a significant gain in the championship stakes. Raikkonen eventually finished fifth, defenceless on hard tyres he had put on twenty laps earlier. It is on moments like this that championships are lost and won.

Mark Webber’s announcement of his retirement at the end of the season sent the rumours of Raikkonen joining the Red Bull team into overdrive. Lotus team principal Eric Boullier has said that they are doing everything they can to keep the Finn in the team. He believes that the ‘atmosphere’ within the team is enough to make Raikkonen stay put – it isn’t. During his two year hiatus from Formula 1 the Iceman let it be known that he is only interested in winning races – not fighting for second. The doubt is whether Lotus can consistently deliver up to that standard. Mistakes such as this will surely make Raikkonen’s decision to stay or leave a lot less difficult. Lotus are a good team but many suggest that the only thing making them great is Kimi Raikkonen. Since his return to Formula 1 he hasn’t put a wheel wrong and he has rekindled a kind of speed and driving class second to none. Give this guy what he needs and he will win you a world championship. Lotus’ mistakes could be more costly than they expect.

Mark Webber, recovered from front-wing damage, charged through the field in the closing laps to within seven tenths of race leader Rosberg. Similarly, Fernando Alonso’s fresh tyres allowed him pass several cars and finish third overall. Fernando Alonso was happy to salvage third place on a weekend where Ferrari look decidedly off the pace but called on his team to ‘raise their game’ in the coming races.

Nico Rosberg inherited the lead of the race but he won the British GP on pure merit. Never putting a wheel wrong he soaked up the late-race pressure from Webber like a pro. Career victory number three was well deserved for the most improved driver of 2013.

The Pirelli tyregate saga took a very dramatic turn during the British GP prompting the teams to angrily demand answers from the Italian tyre supplier. So serious was the tyre situation that race director Charlie Whiting admitted post-race that he was close to putting out the red flag.

Paul Hembery has failed to appear at press conferences at the last two races but at some point Pirelli and their motorsport director will have to face the music. Pirelli have been invited, by FIA President Jean Todt, to attend the Sporting Working Committee meeting at the Nurburgring next week in order to find a solution to the tyre problems.

The teams are now pushing for next month’s young driver’s test to be scrapped in favour of a fully fledged tyre test.

July 1, 2013
Formula One teams demand urgent action over Pirelli tyre failures

Formula One team bosses are demanding urgent action over the Pirelli tyre failures suffered during today’s F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

According to McLaren team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, Formula One is in a “serious situation” as work needs to be done to come up with an urgent solution to the Pirelli tyre crisis witnessed at today’s race.

Meetings are scheduled for the upcoming week, including a Sporting Working Committee meeting on Wednesday but Whitmarsh has added to the sentiments of Charlie Whiting, saying that urgent action is required even before that.

“We clearly have a serious situation where we have to act responsibly, and respect Pirelli,” said Whitmarsh. “They have to do the best they can. We have to make a decision urgently, as it gives you a much better chance than talking about it on Wednesday when you want to drive out of the garage Friday.”

Whitmarsh said that the only way to avoid a repeat of the drama at the German Grand Prix next weekend, would be to revert to last year’s tyres.

“In 2012 we were not having this problem,” he said. “Therefore, if that is a known, established, durable specification, you would have thought that is the easiest thing to do.”

Red Bull boss, Christian Horner has backed Whitmarsh’s view saying, “The most logical thing would be to go back to the tyres that worked well for them previously. The tyres they had last year did not have these failures. They need to find a solution, and they need to address it. Whether they go back to last year’s car or a different tyre they need a solution.”

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier also seems to think reverting to the 2012 rubber is a possible solution saying, “Going back to the Kevlar belt from last year would be one solution. I don’t know what they have in stock and how quick they can produce tyres. That is a question for Pirelli. It is a different track lay-out next weekend and first we need to find out what is causing these failures. But it is a concern.”

June 30, 2013
Silverstone Grand Prix Preview Quotes – Lotus F1 Team

Preview quotes from the Lotus F1 team ahead of the Silverstone Grand Prix this weekend.

Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus

“Silverstone is a more normal circuit and we’ve been okay at every other permanent circuit so far this year. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be back to the positions we should be with this package. We just have to be patient, do our very best over the entire weekend and step-by-step we
can start catching the leaders. Silverstone is all about long sweeping high-speed corners and high downforce levels. It’s one of the fastest circuits on the calendar; it’s very challenging and the flowing corners are pretty good fun to drive. Hopefully our new parts will help us; particularly in the faster corners. If that’s the case, it could be a good weekend.

It’s always such a good feeling going to Silverstone. It’s a great place to race and it has been a good circuit for me since the very beginning of my career. I have a long history there. It was the real base for the start of my international racing career in Formula Renault in 1999 and 2000. Since then I’ve always enjoyed racing at Silverstone. I don’t know why; there must be this nostalgic feeling that I have every time we go there. When you win in Silverstone, it gives such a good feeling. You have to get everything exactly right. I won there in Formula Renault and then in Formula 1 with Ferrari in 2007. It would be fantastic to win again there, especially with the factory just down the road. I’m sure we would have some fantastic celebrations. It’s always windy at Silverstone. Often it rains too, like we saw last year in qualifying. The track conditions change very quickly, which makes the car more tricky to set-up. Obviously when you are running at the front it’s best to have stable conditions, but I don’t mind really. The weather is just a part of the fun of racing in England. I’ll enjoy the weekend whatever the weather will be.”

Romain Grosjean, Lotus

“(Silverstone) is a fantastic track with a lot of high speed corners which should suit the E21; especially with the upgrade package we have for it. It’s a home race for myself and the team so we’re sure to have a lot of support. I won there in the GP2 Series in 2011, so I have to say I quite like it! I also scored points on my Silverstone Formula 1 debut so it’s a run of results I’d like to continue.
Silverstone is challenging, but it has a good feel. It’s one of the quickest tracks of the year, with legendary corners like the Magotts, Becketts, Chapel complex. It’s quite a feeling going through there and I can’t wait to feel that sensation once more. It’s also a special Grand Prix for the team as the factory is very close to the track. It’s always nice to see not only the race team, but also some of the many people from the factory who come to see us in action. It’s thanks to all their hard work that we’re out on track and they are all doing an amazing job, always working so hard. I
will be visiting them after the race and hopefully I will go there with some silverware to show them. Last year there was quite a bit of wet weather over the weekend; not that this was much of a surprise to the Englishmen I’ve spoken to! I live quite near to the track now and my experience of regularly visiting Enstone means that I know the weather can change quite a lot. An English summer’s day is wonderful, but sometimes you have to look hard to find one!”

Eric Boullier, Lotus team principal

“We’re certainly not going to let two weekends of poor results (in Monaco and Canada) stop us in our efforts. We have a very reasonable package to fit to the E21 for Silverstone – with a number of elements which should help with our performance – and we have plenty of other upgrades to come later in the season too. We head to Silverstone with a determined strategy to be back fighting for podiums.”

Alan Permane, Lotus trackside operations director

“(Silverstone) is a circuit which is similar to Barcelona in the regard that it exposes weaknesses in downforce. You need an efficient car; one with a decent amount of downforce, but one which remains slippery for the straights. There are two straights where the cars exceed 300kph, so too
much drag will hurt here. There are some very high speed corners, with the first sector of the lap consisting entirely of high speed turns. The new layout has brought a few more technical corners, but overall it’s still counted as a high-speed track. You need to set up the car aerodynamically to be as quick as possible through the medium and high speed corners and along the straights. The circuit is windy with a
scarcity of shelter which – added to unpredictable weather – makes set-up difficult at times. The wind can lead you to run with less than
optimum levels of front wing to keep the car consistent. With regard to upgrades, we have a tighter, figure-hugging bodywork package which
should give some benefit; especially if the weather is quite cool at Silverstone. There’s a new front wing, suspension profiles and suspension upgrades in addition to various other aero upgrades, which combine to give us what should be our biggest step forward of the year.

This is a good thing, of course, but we’ll be running them in the context of all our rivals probably unveiling significant upgrade packs too. We conducted a couple of days of straight-line running after Canada with positive results and some of the fruits of this work should be seen in Silverstone.”

June 27, 2013
No bullshit with Raikkonen as team mate, says Vettel

In the aftermath of the Multi-21 saga and with speculation around Red Bull considering Kimi Raikkonen as a replacement for Mark Webber next season, Sebastian Vettel has told Sport Bild that he would be happy if that were the case.

“I don’t care who my team mate is. If you want to win, you have to beat everyone” said the German world champ.

“If Kimi was my teammate, fine! We have no problem with each other and we’re mature enough to deal with it even in a difficult situation. I get along well with him,” said Vettel. “He’s just very honest. There’s no bullshit with him.”

Raikkonen also only has good things to say about Vettel but has been very careful not to give away anything about his future plans beyond his contract with the Lotus F1 team.

“We trust each other in a duel to not do anything stupid,” said Raikkonen.

“We’re both open and honest. If we were to crash, we would probably complain about each other, but that’s just normal.”

There is no confirmation from Red Bull regarding the potential move but rumours continue to circulate and there is clearly no love lost between Vettel and Webber so it is doubtful whether Webber will continue with the team.

Eric Boullier has commented that Kimi would be better served staying with the Lotus F1 team where he would not need to play second fiddle to Sebastian Vettel.

April 29, 2013