Lotus with its nose to the wind

12th yesterday after the second free practice session in Austin, Texas, Romain Grosjean concluded a first American day marked by novelty. Lotus has indeed tested a new iteration of the front muzzle on the car of the French, more “simple” than the famous double nose seen since the beginning of the year, and very similar to what is done at Mercedes ou Ferrari, before returning to the current model in order to adjust the car for the race.

“It was a bit of a rodeo at times and we are still working on finding the best set-up for the car, explains the Frenchman. Certainly, the wind in the afternoon did not help us to improve the car but the position on the timesheet at the end of the day was not as bad as what we have seen so far this season! There are a few areas where we know we can change small things which should make an improvement. »

For his part, Maldonado was able to debut the latest version of the double-appendage snout but also complained about a car sometimes “trapping”, the two Lotus drivers having taken turns spinning during the day on Friday. But both the Venezuelan and the Frenchman are hoping for improvements for today.

The third free practice session will begin at 16 p.m. French time and will be followed live on AUTOhebdo.fr. Photos from Friday in Austin can be viewed here.