Losing FRIC a problem for Lotus drivers

2014 German Grand Prix

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The two Lotus drivers say the balance of their car has suffered now they have to run without front-rear interconnected suspension.

All teams have removed the FRIC systems from their cars after the FIA advised it may no longer consider them legal.

Pastor Maldonado, who failed to progress beyond the first part of qualifying, said “we are still working on gaining back some of the performance we have lost from the changes to the suspension”.

“I think we can recover this pace, but it’s certainly affecting us. It’s a case of looking at every detail of how the suspension works without being connected as it was before and how this affects the aerodynamics.”

Romain Grosjean did make it into Q2 but was the slowest of the drivers in the second part of qualifying.

“We’re still not quite where we’d like to be,” he said. “It’s not ideal to be out of the top ten but the car doesn’t feel too bad.”

“We’ve just lost some downforce. The team were one of the first ones to use the interlinked suspension system so removing it is a big change.”

2014 German Grand Prix

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Image © Lotus/LAT

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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4 comments on “Losing FRIC a problem for Lotus drivers”

  1. Something could breed some life into this team. They ain’t got the stuff nor budget but the experience of the people that left them. Lotus is doomed to become irrelevant if things keep changing and there’s nothing from their past experience that could help them. They aren’t simply capable of being the team they want to be. Asking the computer to make a wacky car was adventurous but with the people they have in there they might as well sell.

  2. Where Lotus are likely to be during and at the end of the race I doubt anyone would know if they used their FRIC let alone lodge a challenge of legality.

  3. I think driving a Lotus is the biggest problem for the Lotus drivers.

  4. “-the car doesn’t feel too bad.”

    Really?? It looks like a rabbit being thrown around by a savage dog on the track!

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