Consolidation2012 Korean Grand Prix Report

Lotus F1 Team will return to Enstone with a very useful haul of points after Kimi and Romain crossed the line to take P5 / P7 respectively in a hotly contested Korean Grand Prix

Kimi Raikkonen 5th"I think this was about where we should have been today. The yellow flags at the start didnt help when we were fighting with Felipe [Massa] but even so we didnt quite have the speed to match the Red Bulls and Ferraris. We also lost quite a bit of time behind Lewis [Hamilton] - mainly because the new exhaust system means you lose a little bit of power so it was hard to get past - but with a few more practice sessions Im sure well learn a lot more to be able to improve it. I was pretty much on my own at the end but we had to keep pushing to maintain position and it wasnt so easy. The gap to Sebastian [Vettel] in the Championship is quite big now so it will be very difficult to catch him, but well keep pushing all the way.

Romain Grosjean 7thFor sure I was a bit nervous starting the race today, but we did a lot of work this week trying to understand a few things and its certainly helped. It wasnt the easiest start; there was contact behind me at turn three and I took evasive action but after that it was quite straight forward. I struggled on the last set of tyres as I had graining straight away meaning the performance was not great during the final stint. Maybe we could have achieved one place better - I think I now know every detail of Force Indias car after spending so much time battling with Nico [Hulkenberg] - but Im happy to make it to the chequered flag after a good, clean race.

James Allison, Lotus technical directorWeve finished in our starting positions which is solid if ultimately unspectacular. In the first stint Kimi was able to live with the pace of the front runners and had it not been for a costly period spent tucked up behind Lewis [Hamilton] I think he could probably have stayed in touch with the leading group. We were also pleased with Romains performance; he achieved what we had asked of him by keeping his nose clean and bringing the car home to score valuable points for the team. We didnt exactly set the world on fire today, but we can take some comfort from the fact we were more on the pace here than we have been since Hungary.

Eric Boullier, Lotus team principal"We knew we would not be fighting for the win here, and fifth for Kimi was the maximum we could have achieved today. We scored a good tally of points in the constructors championship and although third position is slowly edging away from us with just four races left now were not ready to give up. It was good to see Romain drive very sensibly despite all the pressure that is on his shoulders; I think he is learning from this experience and it will only make him a stronger driver. Kimis racecraft was impressive as usual; his battle with Lewis [Hamilton] showed real class and he was maybe unlucky not to have been closer to the leading pack after being held up for so long. We will have the Coanda exhausts on both cars in India which should help us in our fight.

Ricardo Penteado, Renault Sport F1 team support leader to Lotus A good double points finish today to keep the momentum in the championship. We used the Suzuka engines on both cars this weekend and worked with the chassis team to optimise the Coanda exhaust system on Kimis car. We have made solid progress in this area and with two weeks between now and the next event we will be able to further optimise the engine torque maps to be closer to the podium in India.

Kimi Rikknen, E20-05

Grid: P5 Race: P5 Fastest Lap: 1:42.822 [Lap 51] Pit Stops: 2 [Lap 13 / Lap 35]

Key Moments: Lap 01: Defends position into T1, gains a spot on HAM into T2 then loses two positions to HAM and MAS through T4 / T5 Lap 10: Sets the fastest first sector of the race as pace increases Lap 14: Pits for soft tyres; brand new set Lap 18: Re-passes PER into T3; the Sauber yet to make a stop Lap 23: Makes a move on HAM around the outside into T3; run wide by the Brit on exit Lap 24: Takes HAM at the same turn but this time down the inside; immediately loses place again heading into T4 Lap 26: Attempts the same pass again; cant match the McLaren for straight line speed Lap 27: HAM pits; immediately faster in clean air Lap 35: Final stop; another set of softs Lap 55: Chequered flag; retains starting position; P5

Romain Grosjean, E20-03

Grid: P7 Race: P7 Fastest Lap: 1:42.783 [Lap 44] Pit Stops: 2 [Lap 14 / Lap 31]

Key Moments: Lap 01: Holds position through T1, then takes evasive action in T3 to avoid collision between BUT and KOB Lap 10: Begins to put significant pressure on HUL Lap 13: Switches to soft tyres; fresh set Lap 20: Finally passes MAL into T1; the Williams running a long 1st stint Lap 27: Gains a spot as HAM pits for the second time Lap 30: Tries a bold move on HUL into T3; cant quite make it stick Lap 31: Pits for new softs Lap 33: After numerous attempts, makes the pass on HUL stick into T3 Lap 35: Un-usual line across the grass on exit; loses moderate chunk of time Lap 40: Tight battle with HAM and HUL; runs deep into T3 avoiding HAM and loses position to both through T5 / T7 Lap 55: Chequered flag; retains starting position; P7

Summary Both drivers started on scrubbed sets of red marked, super soft compound Pirelli tyres; switching to fresh sets of yellow marked softs on two occasions apiece Continued yellow flags as marshals cleared away the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg prevented Kimi from challenging Felipe Massa in the early stages The Finn also lost a lot of time behind Lewis Hamilton; lack of straight line speed owing to the inherent loss of power from the Coandă exhaust system hampering his attempts to overtake and remain in front

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