So, he's finally done it. Lotus have been claiming for a while that their upgrades would yield a significant improvement in Barcelona and now Heikki has put the Lotus into Q2. But is he there on merit? It could be argued that he's only there due to the car troubles of Heidfeld and Barrichello. However, Heikki's pace was such that he forced Massa in the superior Ferrari to go back out and use a precious set of soft tyres just to beat Kovalainen's time. Plus, he improved a further two places to qualify P15. I know Eddie Jordan's not impressed but what do you think? And will he claim more midfield scalps in the race tomorrow? The Force Indias are both looking a bit vulnerable. A special mention to the much-maligned Maldonado for making Q3. Like Petrov last year, I think we should give him a chance before we dismiss him as just another pay driver. I know he did it on the soft tyres but congratulations to Heikki; the Lotus renaissance continues apace.
I'm a Lotus fan, so a little biased, but I think Heikki deserves congratulating for an excellent performance. Sure, Heidfeld and Barichello had problems, but Barichello still comfortably beat the Virgins and HRTs, so Lotus have definitely improved. Obviously the two drivers mentioned dropping out gave Heikki the opportunity, he still had to take it though. His Q1 lap was seven tenths quicker than Trulli (did he have problems?) which is impressive, and Trulli was eight tenths quicker than the other new teams, a clear margin. In Q2, he was on the options compared to the primes Force India ran, so it'll be interesting if he's compromised for tomorrow, but the Lotus is very light on its tyres, which will be an advantage. I still don't think Lotus can quite be classed as a midfield team, as on the same tyres, Heikki was over a second and a half off Kobayashi, but I think Lotus now fully deserve to be on the grid. In my opinion, they are now in a separate class to Virgin and HRT. My rankings: Top Team: Red Bull (Obviously) Best of the rest: Mclaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, and maybe Renault on their day Midfield: Renault, Toro Rosso, Sauber, Williams Back of the midfield: Lotus, Force India Moving chicanes: Virgin, HRT If that makes sense?
Well Red Bull might have dominated (as expected), but overall that was quite an enjoyable qualifying session. I'll write a more detailed post later on today - I have to go somewhere now. While Webber and Alonso shined in Q3, I think it's worth praising Maldonado for Q3 as well - almost outqualifying Felipe Massa!
Ha, ha, ha, I'm a little biased too. Well, EJ thinks Heikki should have saved tyres for the race and I expect he knows better than me but I think it was a good move to go for position. As I said before, Lotus had high expectations for their updates and by delivering such a solid improvement, Heikki has given the team a boost, a sense that what they're doing is right and the impetus to keep doing it. If he's compromised for the race, well, he's highly unlikely to get even a point anyway so why not impress this way? I'm very pleased for Pastor too. He's had a lot of stick in a short space of time from Brundle particularly; I wonder how Martin would have felt if he'd been written off before he'd even begun. Last year it was Petrov who was tagged as "hapless" and criticised for only having a seat for sponsorship; who'd say that now? Give Pas a chance!
I think its more like Unstoppable Behemoth: Red Bull Best of the rest: Mclaren, Ferrari High Midfield: Mercedes,Renault Midfield:, Toro Rosso, Sauber Lower midfield: Force India, Williams Back of the pack: Lotus Moving chicanes: Virgin, HRT Lotus have nobody to compete with. FI on soft tires would have mopped the floor with Kovalainen, but Virgin aren't even close to Trulli.
Thats probably a better order Caesar, I prefer that to mine to be honest. And I agree that Lotus have no real competition at the moment, it'll be interesting if they can stay above Williams in the championship. Based on Pastor Maldonaldo's performance in quali today, I doubt it.
The potential problem for Maldonado is surely that car over race distance, no? Will it get very far. I hope it will but I fear it won't.
Maldonado looks like an accident waiting to happen imo. his fast time was so ragged he nearly came off a few times, I thik he went to the ricki bobby school of racing.
Yep, 30 posts makes you a member, and 100 posts will make you a senior member. I don't think you get any other titles for posting, or at least I've not hit one yet!
No worries, I'm sure anyone will answer any questions you have, I don't think there is too much else to pick up.
Oh well, looks like I was a bit too optimistic here. Business as usual. I wonder when their breakthrough will come?
