Kovalainen impressed with T128

Heikki Kovalainen is feeling upbeat about the new F1 season after some encouraging performances with the T128 during the pre-season test in Jerez

The 29-year-old was able to keep pace with some of the more established teams in Spain last week and his 1:21.632 on the final day was good enough for P6.

Kovalainen admits he's impressed with the team's 2011 challenger and feels they've reached another level.

"When it comes to speed, the car is much better shape in comparison to last year," he told Finland's Turun Sanomat.

He added: "The balance is much better. It has more grip and it can be driven harder. The chassis is also a lot more modern and the engine, gearbox and hydraulic system were completely modified and we are now at the level that a modern F1 car should be.

"When comparing the mood in the garage and the team's progress from a year ago, it's like night and day. I'm really happy with it."

Lotus' impressive times in Jerez have raised expectations about a possible midfield finish, but Kovalainen is not thinking about that just yet.

"I'm not thinking about whether or not we are going to catch up with Toro Rosso, Force India or Sauber, but my personal goal is to score points."

Source: Planet-F1

Photos: Team Lotus T128 launch 2011

Team Lotus T128 launch today!

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Team Lotus unveils 2011 car

Team Lotus on Monday revealed its 2011 car.

In an edition of its online magazine Team Lotus Notes, the team published the first photographs of the new green and gold T128 featuring a Mercedes-style unconventional airbox shape.

The new livery features more yellow and prominent Renault signage, reflecting its new engine partnership with the French marque.

The car itself, with a rear end supplied by Red Bull, has a high and straight nose similar to the other designs seen so far including the Ferrari and Mercedes.

The special launch edition of the team’s magazine has a number of first-see images of the 2011 car and insights from key players within Team Lotus into the design and build process of the new car, including people from the Aero, R&D and Vehicle Dynamics, Design and Senior Management Teams.

Here are a few selected highlights, but click on this link to the launch edition on the homepage of Teamlotus.co.uk for the whole story.

Marianne Hinson, Head of Aerodynamics: "In aero we started thinking about the new car around Spring last year, a bit before any of the other departments. The start of the process is a really fun period, when you’re looking through the new rules, thrashing out ideas and trying to find loopholes."

Lewis Butler, Chief Designer: "The biggest design challenge was trying to package everything a bit smaller. We were trying to get that area around the driver really tight so the aerodynamicists were happy with it."

Elliot Dason-Barber, Head of R&D and Vehicle Dynamics: "We’re definitely going to take a step forward with this car. Quite how much we’ll close the gap to the teams in front of us we’ll see, but my hope is we’ll be competing with the teams that were a second or two ahead of us last season."

Keith Saunt, Chief Operating Officer: "You can just see that this car will be faster than last year’s. It’s got the right sweeps and curves on it - it’s the very latest iteration of what an F1 car should be."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "I think that basically this car looks like a front-running car in every area. We said very clearly that we want to start challenging the established teams and I think that’s very achievable."

Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "T128 takes Team Lotus in exactly the right direction. We have said since day one of the Team Lotus dream that the plan for our second year was to take the fight to the midfield, and with this car we are all confident that is what we will be able to do."

Team Principal Tony Fernandes: "There has been so much focus off-track it’s a thrill to be able to get back to talking about racing. The launch of the T128 is a big step forward for Team Lotus and I want to thank the whole team for the amount of hard work that has already gone into the car, and I want to thank Renault and Red Bull Technology for their tremendous support in helping us make this step forward and for being such great team partners."

Source: Nextgen