I see Mike Gascoyne is already having digs at his rival in the shape of Virgin. But dunno the rules and regs for this, but wind tunnel testing is time limited. Is the new computerised system virgin use got any limits on? If not then this could make a low budget team have a very useful advantage over it’s rivals. I’d keep quiet Mike before your eating your words!

The Lotus F1 team was thrilled to complete a trouble-free first day of official Formula 1 testing at Jerez on Wednesday (February 17).

Fairuz Fauzy was behind the wheel for the team’s first full test day and completed 76 laps and finished 11th quickest – 0.6s faster than fellow new team Virgin, which did just 10 laps.

Lotus chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne revealed that the team’s performance exceeded even their own expectations as it experienced no reliability problems at all.

“We had no real troubles,” Gascoyne told AUTOSPORT. “A couple of little temperature issues in the first couple of runs, which is to be expected. But in general reliability was excellent.

“We didn’t have power steering on, so when it dried out the loads were just too heavy to drive effectively. Apart from that it was an excellent day for the whole team, everything went better than we could have hoped.”

Gascoyne says the team believed it had produced a reliable car and that it now has a solid base from which to work on its speed.

“We knew the car went together very well and we weren’t concerned about its reliability,” he added. “But obviously you’ve got to run a car and see what happens. Really, we had no issues at all with the car and we now need to start working on performance and see how quick it is.

“We always said we wanted to put a good, solid car on the track and present and run it professionally, and I think today showed that we’ll be able to do that.”

The team’s power steering system was delayed but will arrive at Jerez tonight to be fitted for tomorrow’s running.

Fauzy was impressed after his first run in the car and is confident that there is a lot more time to come from the T127 tomorrow.

“We expected to have a bit of problems but none so far, there was no single failure at all,” Fauzy told AUTOSPORT. “Thank God the car is reliable, I was very impressed.

“The objective was to put some mileage on the car and for me to do laps for the superlicence test, and we managed to get through without any problems.

“I was very impressed with the car, it feels very balanced and there’s a lot of potential. I was a bit unlucky without the power steering, if it’s there I’m sure I can find another three or four seconds at least.”

Interview with Gascoyne – http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81560

With the outfit keeping its ambitions in check ahead of the start of the season, Fernandes thinks it vital that it remains unified during what could be difficult trials ahead.

“I think the key thing is that we really are a team, not a group of individuals, and the success of Lotus will be as a team,” said Fernandes at the launch of the new car.

“If you look at the way Heikki [Kovalainen], Fairuz [Fauzy] and Jarno [Trulli] work together, I think that is a much better approach than having two drivers trying to out do each other.

“They will use their energy to try and make the team a better team and I’d like to see them channel their positive energy. Of course they will be competitive, that’s the way they are, they wouldn’t be in F1 otherwise, but I think they will use that in a positive way to build a better team.”

Fernandes thinks it too early, and that he is not qualified enough, to make any firm predictions about the competitiveness of the new car. But the main thing he wants to see is progress over the next few years.

“Well I’m looking at the car and I can’t see what a good or bad car looks like,” he said. “That’s my not my expertise, that is in bringing in a group of people, giving them the right environment to work.

“I think that is one of the things that Mike and the team have said – they are enjoying being back in Formula 1. The power of giving the ability of someone to perform.

“Sometimes when you work in a corporate environment and everything is bureaucratic you don’t get the best out of people. That’s my ability, to bring a group of people together, give them the right environment to do their best. And then get Mike the best drivers.

“What are my expectations? I would just love to finish every race in the next year. If we can beat some of the new teams that would be a fantastic start. If we can beat some of the established teams towards the end of the season that would be great.

“As Heikki said this not a one-year project, we are not here to come last every year. We are here to build a proper team, build the right foundations, not have any aspirations but build quietly and confidently. But mark my words we will compete with the very best, over a period and I think we’ve shown our seriousness by signing three very good drivers.

“So the expectation this year is to try and build every race. Let’s learn a lot.”

Interview with Fernandes – http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81477

On the back of a big focus on Virgin Racing’s difficult start to testing at Jerez in Spain this week, Gascoyne has joined design genius Adrian Newey in claiming that the use of wind tunnels remains vital in F1.

Virgin Racing’s new VR-01 is the first modern era F1 car to have been designed without the use of wind tunnel – with technical head Nick Wirth having just used Computational Fluid Dynamics.

Speaking about the CFD tactic, Gascoyne said: “I think it is an integral part, but it is not a complete part.”

When asked about his reaction to Newey’s comments, Gascoyne said: “Well, I think he is one of the best aerodynamicists in F1. I used to be an aerodynamicist, and my PhD was in CFD, and I think I would kind of agree with him.

“You look at BMW when Albert II was announced as one of the world’s biggest supercomputers dedicated just to their CFD. If you look at Enstone, they built their environmentally-friendly CFD centre with a huge computing resource. I don’t think these guys are idiots, and they also have wind tunnels.

“I know Bob Bell at Renault very well, he is a clever guy who gave me my first job in F1 and he is a trained aerodynamicist – and I think he thinks you need a wind tunnel. I think CFD is a very exciting technology and it is advancing, but is it an absolute? I don’t think there are many people who think it is.”

Interview with Gascoyne – http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81474

Speaking at the launch of the new car in London today, Trulli explained the challenges the team has already overcome to get to this point, and says his expectations for the year are modest.

“We have to be patient. For the first year we have to be reliable, decent and showing good progress. We cannot believe that we can join the club and be on top straight away – that is unrealistic,” Trulli said.

“This was a big achievement, being here, and getting the car ready for the shakedown a few days ago. We will be heading to Bahrain and we’ll try to make it to the finish with both cars.

“We want to start decent and then grow up. By the end of the season if we are fighting with the middle of the grid, it will be great.”

Lotus is scheduled to join the second pre-season test at Jerez next week. With such a short programme, Trulli is expecting to have to overcome problems along the way but is focused on scoring the team’s first point.

“We know it is not going to be easy and we are running out of time,” he said. “I have great respect for the people who have been working on this project, but on the other hand for this year we have to be very realistic. We know that we are heading to Bahrain to deal with a lot of troubles and solve the problems.

“The first point will be especially emotional for everyone. It is only a point, but it will be extremely appreciated however it comes. We have to take things step by step. I know I have to be patient and I know it is a long term project, as is my contract.”

Interview with Jarno Trulli can be read here: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81471