After step noses and clever exhausts, the latest buzzword in the Jerez paddock is ‘Lotus’.<\/p>\n
The former Renault team is turning heads with its new black and gold E20 car, which has been consistently the quickest 2012 car throughout the opening test of the pre-season.<\/p>\n
“I am one of the happiest guys in the world right now,” said Romain Grosjean on Thursday after easily outpacing Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.<\/p>\n
The reigning GP2 champion was also quicker than the 2012 McLaren, steered for the first time on Thursday by Lewis Hamilton.<\/p>\n
“The Lotus looks quite impressive,” said Briton Hamilton.<\/p>\n
Drawing conclusions based on test results is an unreliable practice, but the body language in the Lotus garage so far is confident.<\/p>\n
“At the moment they are quicker and more consistent.<\/p>\n
“There are more question marks about us, Ferrari and McLaren,” said Vettel.<\/p>\n
“For the first test it looks good,” team boss Eric Boullier admitted to Finnish broadcaster MTV3, “but still you can’t really speculate on anything.<\/p>\n
“Between here and Melbourne, all the cars will change a lot.<\/p>\n
“It is true that today we have a good car, we are able to drive a lot of laps and that is why we are at the front,” he added.<\/p>\n
After watching the action trackside from a corner, Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg told Auto Motor und Sport that the E20 is “a missile with an incredible amount of grip”.<\/p>\n
“The Red Bull and the Lotus make the best impression,” agreed 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg, who is also at Jerez.<\/p>\n
Hamilton described Grosjean’s best time – 1.18.4 – as “good”, while Red Bull’s Webber wanted to know what compound of Pirelli tyre was fitted to the Lotus.<\/p>\n
Told it was the medium, the Australian admitted: “Then it was a very good lap.”<\/p>\n
Grosjean smiled: “The car is easy to drive and predictable everywhere, especially in the fast corners, and when you go over the limit it is easy to get back.”<\/p>\n
Said Webber: “If Grosjean can do those laptimes then we will all have to watch Kimi (Raikkonen).”<\/p>\n
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