Presentation of the Lotus E23 Hybrid

Lotus F1 Team revealed its E23 Hybrid on the Web without prior announcement. The new F1enstone retains its black and gold livery and adopts a more conventional nose as stipulated in the new technical regulations. After a most disappointing season with the E22, Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado should be able to claim better positions this year.

“The E23 Hybrid represents a big step forward for us”, commented Nick Chester, technical director of Lotus F1 Team. “It's no secret that we struggled with last year's car. So we worked on all the areas where we had problems. We have improved the wind tunnel as well as other areas such as cooling. We expect much better performance from the E23 compared to its older sibling. »

Nick Chester and his team are obviously counting on the Power Unit of Mercedes which should remain the most competitive in the field this season, as the development carried out by the Brixworth factory (Great Britain) is so advanced. “This seemed to be the area where we had the most performance to gain”, added the technical director. “It’s not just about speed but also reliability. The E22 showed promise in the wind tunnel, even if it was difficult to exploit its potential. We therefore took care to make the E23 Hybrid. »

Lotus F1 Team will continue the work accomplished last year, benefiting like the other teams from the stability of the regulations even if a few points have changed. “We were stopped in our efforts last year when interconnected front-rear suspensions were declared banned”, specified Nick Chester. “The suspension of the E23 is specific to the new regulations. We are not trying to adapt an originally used system in another way. We made progress in many areas in 2014 and applied many lessons learned. We can't know how our car will perform until the first Grand Prix (Australia, March 15), but we clearly hope to be more competitive than last year. »

Lotus F1 Team will be able to get a first idea of ​​the potential of its E23 Hybrid during winter testing which will begin this Sunday in Jerez (Spain).

Photos of the Lotus E23 Hybrid can be consulted here.