The Lotus Renault Grand Prix has unveiled in Valencia its racing car for the 2011 season and brings the historical black-gold JPS livery of Lotus during 80s driven by Ayrton Senna. Moreover, the car is the first since Renault relinquished any shareholding to the new owners Genii Capital and will be significantly sponsored by Group Lotus.
Team chairman and Genii Capital boss Gerard Lopez, commented:
“For Genii Capital and Lotus Renault GP, the 2011 season will be the one in which we achieve our aims. We now have 100% ownership of the team, and we’re tackling the coming championship with the intention of continuing to do things our way – but always with humility.
I would like to welcome Lotus Cars, a new ambitious title sponsor with us for the long term. Renault and Total have also chosen to accompany us again in this adventure and we thank them for their valuable contribution.
Our aim for 2011 is to continue our march towards the front of the grid, seize the slightest opportunity and do better than last season in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. We feel we are well prepared for the challenge ahead.”
Team principal Eric Boullier commented: “All the hard work over the winter has been focused on delivering a big improvement for 2011. The result is a car with more than 92% new parts compared to the R30. But technical innovation isn’t the only key to performance. Since last year, we have reviewed all our internal processes and our overall efficiency has now improved by 15%. That means we should be more competitive than last year, on the track and at the factory.”
Technical director James Allison hopes that the team has made a big step.
“Words like ‘aggressive’ and ‘innovative’ are very much in vogue in Formula 1 at the moment, but where the R31 is concerned we feel those adjectives are appropriate. It’s true to say that the car has been designed in an ambitious manner and a quick glance at the layout will confirm that its entire concept differs considerably, not just from last year’s car, but from any car this team has ever produced.”
R31's main innovation is the fact that engine's exhausts were exiting from the front of the sidepods, rather than the conventional position at the rear. While the risky design is closely monitored by the team, it is believed the innovation aims to maximise the effect of the blown diffuser, a concept that became standard by the Brawn GP cars on 2009.
Here's a more thourough analysis by Graig Scarborough
Joining official drivers, Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov, Renault's testing team ere also present for the presentation. Apart from Fairuz Fauzy, Jan Charouz and Ho-Ping Tung, it was announced that the testing team includes also B. Senna and Romain Grosjean, however Eric Boullier announced that team's official reserve driver for the 2011 season is Bruno Senna who commented:
"It's a great moment for me. I've been trying to get into a good Formula One programme for a couple of years so it feels great to be joining such an established team. I'm proud of this achievement and thankful for the opportunity that I've been given. This year will be all about integrating myself with the team and extracting the most I can from being in such a competitive environment. Being part of this project will give me so much valuable experience and it's down to me to make the most of it. I hope that I can develop myself and prove to the team that I should be given an opportunity for the future."
Grosjean, who is managed by the Gravity organisation run by Renault majority shareholders Genii, joined also Renault's testing team whilst once again he will compete in GP2 with the DAMS team. He made his F1 race debut with Renault in 2009 after Nelson Piquet was dropped, but he lost his race position from Petrov.
"2011 will be my comeback year with a third driver spot at Lotus Renault and a whole season in GP2 and GP2 Asia with the DAMS team. To be third pilot ... allows me to gain a huge amount of experience, to be in the paddock, to see people, and to understand what I was lacking in my first Formula One experience. Now my idea is to be a race driver in 2012."
