Breaking news
Formula 1
Lopez tips new Lotus to 'go like hell'
Despite rumoured financial issues and no official car launch, Lotus seems confident for 2014.
GMM
Edited: Feb 20, 2014, 5:38 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Feb.20 (GMM) Acting team boss Gerard Lopez expects Lotus to be fully competitive in 2014.
Amid rumours of financial strife, the Enstone team sat out the opening Jerez test, and when the E22 finally made its public debut in Bahrain on Wednesday, it clocked the slowest time and a mere 8 laps.
Team owner Lopez, however - acting as team boss while the McLaren-departed Eric Boullier's successor is found - said Lotus was right to have voluntarily skipped Jerez.
"I predicted there would not be much to learn because of (technical) problems, so we saved a lot of money by staying home," he told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
The E22 then seemed to have a promising rollout at Jerez in the week after the official test, but in Bahrain on Wednesday Lotus struck Renault-powered trouble.
Nonetheless, Lopez is confident, dishing out high praise for the E22's designers, who have penned a car not only with a two-pronged nose, but an unusual asymmetrical solution for the exhaust and rear wing support.
"We have a super car," he said.
"The boys cannot believe the wind tunnel numbers. If we get those numbers on the track as well, the thing will go like hell.
"I can only hope we don't end up with three championships based on (engine suppliers) Mercedes and Ferrari and Renault," said Lopez.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Even small teams driving up F1 costs - Louis
Next article Verdict expected in Ecclestone case
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
GMM
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Formula 1
Formula 1
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Formula 1
Formula 1
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
Formula 1
Formula 1
Chinese GP
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
More from
Gerard Lopez
Ecclestone set to bring prize money release forward
Formula 1
Formula 1
Ecclestone set to bring prize money release forward
Cash-flow crisis puts teams at risk for Melbourne
Formula 1
Formula 1
Cash-flow crisis puts teams at risk for Melbourne
Renault considers buying F1 team - report
Formula 1
Formula 1
Renault considers buying F1 team - report
More from
Ferrari
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
5 h
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
F1 2026 calendar update: Imola GP off the table, no plan B if war escalates
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
F1 2026 calendar update: Imola GP off the table, no plan B if war escalates
Latest news
Chip Ganassi Racing signs Alessandro de Tullio for 2027 Indy NXT Season, adds IndyCar reserve role
Indy NXT
IndL Indy NXT 12 min
Chip Ganassi Racing signs Alessandro de Tullio for 2027 Indy NXT Season, adds IndyCar reserve role
Jorge Lorenzo describes Marc Marquez as “the Ayrton Senna of motorcycling”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
45 min
Jorge Lorenzo describes Marc Marquez as “the Ayrton Senna of motorcycling”
The new records set by Toyota's Hypercar trio with WEC 2026 title
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
1 h
The new records set by Toyota's Hypercar trio with WEC 2026 title
Max Verstappen explains why he’s so good in the rain in Brazil
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 h
Max Verstappen explains why he’s so good in the rain in Brazil
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe