They have been fairly threatening in some of the races, seemingly due to good tyre management. Most notably in Bahrain of course where they got a double podium finish and could have won had they ordered Grosjean aside and/or pitted Raikkonen a lap earlier. They have been closing in on the lead in the final stages twice in Bahrain and Spain with Raikkonen, and the general opinion appears to be that Raikkonen will continually improve as the year goes on after his break from racing....Spa will be interesting. I have been very impressed with Grosjean, I thought he would be good when he came back and I have not been dissapointed, If he makes it to lap 3 then he does well. His 2nd place in Canada was very impressive considering he was on a 1 stop and what happened to Vettel and Alonso. With 2 podiums to his name already he could just as easily as Raikkonen win a race this year (unless its Spa). There is the argument that Red-Bull, McLaren and Ferrari will now begin to leave them behind as they have more money for development, but Lotus aren't tooo poor so I guess we will see. Lotus say they are now going to focus on qualli pace to regain there early season high grid starts (grosjean 3rd on the grid was a pleasant surprise) Perhaps stiffening the suspension will help. Anyway do you see them winning a race? If so which one and with which driver?
The car/ driver combo is good enough to win a race, i'd be chuffed for them to do it, especially Grosjean, considering what happened in 2009, how much we all mocked him.
I'd love to vote yes, but in Canada the track layout and high temperatures were perfect for them and they were still outperformed by Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso on raw pace. As you say McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull are superior to Lotus in terms of development, so I think Valencia could be their last chance to win a race. I don't trust Kimi to deliver at the moment (and on that note, I think it's only a matter of time before Boullier starts blaming him), and although Grosjean is a quick driver, he's up against six world champions, three of whom are at the top of their game right now.
I think yes, probably. I think Forza has something when he says Valencia could be their last chance, although I'd say best chance rather than last. Unlike last year when they started so strongly, they haven't slipped behind in the development race yet, which suggests they have more funds this year but I doubt they have the means to push it throughout the season. Both drivers look capable and if Maldo can win one, why not Grosjean?
They got a bit stiffed by their braking system getting banned, a strong possibility they would be leading otherwise.
Yes, and I think they will be strong at Spa and Monza! I have gone for Kimi, purely on the basis that if the opportunity presents itself I think he can win.
It wasn't lack of funds holding them back in the develepment race last year, it was the front exhausts. They started ahead of most rear exhausts but unlike the rear exhasts they couldn't be developed, so it didn't take long for everyone to catch and pass them. They don't have that issue this year which is why they are still up there.
I think they will, but they haven't got long to do it. I think we could see Mclaren, Red Bull and Ferrari pulling away in the next few races due to them having bigger budgets so they can keep up their development. We saw last year how that happened to Lotus, they were right at the back by the time Monza had come round, though they had an amazing start to the season
That was due to the front end exhausts. They decided as it was banned in 2012 and it wasnt really working in 2011 they wouldnt carry on developing it for the rest of the season and start developing this years car. I think they will remain up the top end
Lotus look about equal now to McLaren in qually and an awful lot better in the race. I think they might now be better than McLaren. Raikkonen is only 12 points off Vettel. Grosjean is unfortunately 32 points off but is getting better with each race. (I don't think Alonso or Hamilton will beat Vettel)
Grosjean surely has to be the unluckiest driver this season after Sunday. Assuming he would have won, he would be on 78 points, and in with a shot at the title, now it's looking very difficult for him. Kimi lacks overall speed in comparison, plus isn't as happy with the car, so he won't be able to sustain a charge.
You do have to admit, he could have avoided more than one incident that caused him to eventually DNF in some races this season, he is still young and vunerable to silly mistakes. Kimi like Michael will have to learn the way to get faster and faster, and finally get on par with him.
The difference see between them is that with Grosjean being a rookie he has improved. Raikkonen for me is as good as he was in Melbourne, no better no worse. I'd agree Grosjean could have kept himself out of incidents at the start. And in races like Bahrain and Spain it looked like Raikonnen was Lotus's lead driver. But he has stayed at the same level whereas I think Grosjean started off a bit worse than him but has now overtaken him. Monaco onwards its been Grosjean, such a shame his car failed cos I have no doubt he would have won.
Looks like Lotus and Kimi are getting a little frustrated. http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12433/7851838/Raikkonen-Time-to-win They obviously feel that they could have significantky more points.
They look after the tyres very well which helps them on race day, definitely the second best team during Valencia but McLaren are bringing a big upgrade, Ferrari a few bits and pieces as are Mercedes and Williams. If they can keep the development coming (Maybe copy the popular exhaust configuration like the rest of the field) then they will win soon, 50/50 as to which driver though.
