Lotus, Prost GP, Toyota… the biggest “false hopes” born during winter testing

5. Lotus-Renault GP, 2011

Robert Kubica at the wheel of the Lotus-Renault GP R31 © DPPI

We could believe it. Renault, well, Lotus, no, Lotus-Renault GP (LRGP for short) could return to regular podiums thanks to the Renault R31. Painted black and gold like Colin Chapman's single-seaters in the 1970s and 1980s, the car released a revolutionary system in F1, that of blown exhausts. Where the other teams will copy the idea and opt for exhausts which open near the diffuser, the engineer James Allison decides to take the tubing out under the side pontoons!

The side exhaust outlet. © DPPI

The sound of the French V8 gains in decibels to the delight of hearing protection sellers. The effectiveness of the system seems to have been proven by Robert Kubica, author of the best lap in Valencia (Spain). Unfortunately, the beautiful story ended a few days later. The Pole narrowly escaped death in a terrible accident in rally amateur and will not return to F1 until 2019. The team urgently recalls Nick Heidfeld.

Two podiums at the start of the season will not be enough to hide the lack of development of the R31, which slips into the middle of the pack as the races progress. James Allison will explain to AUTOhebdo that the process of rolled-up exhausts was too complex and ineffective. “The device seemed to have a lot of potential, but it was difficult for us to improve its performance at the pace we hoped for. Development is very complicated. When we took it out of the boxes, it was good but the progression curve was not as strong as expected. Then, it did not provide the expected support on certain circuits. » Lotus-Renault GP will finish 5th in the Manufacturers' championship with 90 points less than the previous campaign.

4.Toyota, 2007

Jarno Trulli aux essais avec Toyota à Barcelone © DPPI

In the first decade of the 1st century, general brands see F2002 as the ideal platform to communicate and build a sporting reputation. Appearing in XNUMX, the Toyota structure spends hundreds and thousands to worry the historic teams.

In 2005, the Rouges-et-Blancs began a revival of form with fourth place in the Manufacturers and several podiums. The 2006 season, however, did not allow this progression to continue (6th) despite 400 million euros being put on the table (!); the kid will be even more painful the following year. Jarno Trulli, Ralf Schumacher and test driver Franck Montagny achieved some great times in Valence in the winter of 2007. The TF107 seems well born, and very often occupies the top of the timesheets.

Toyota scores three points during the spring overseas tour. Unfortunately, the Japanese brand only found the top 8 four times during the following 14 Grands Prix! The Asian manufacturer scores a meager total of 13 points! Well, that’s still better than Honda (8th with 6 units)…

3. BAR, 1999

Jacques Villeneuve and the winter livery of the BAR 01 in Barcelona (Spain). © DPPI

By giving in to the sirens of his manager Craig Pollock, who bought Tyrrell Racing at the end of 1997, Jacques Villeneuve has glitter in his visor. The Quebecer, who left Williams a year later to join British American Racing (BAR), hopes that the new entity will do wonders on the track.

The designer of the BAR 01, Malcolm Oastler, sets himself a bold goal during the launch press conference. “The goal of every race must be victory. We will travel to Australia with this intention. » These bold words are slightly corroborated by the best time of the 1997 world champion in Barcelona (Spain). But the flash in the pan goes out when the paddock meets in Melbourne.

The car is just slow and unreliable. Jacques Villeneuve will achieve an improbable series of 11 consecutive retirements while the best result is brought by Mika Salo, called to San Marino (7th) to replace the holder Ricardo Zonta (injured in Brazil). The BAR was too high!

2. BMW-Sauber, 2009

The prize for finesse is not given to this BMW-Sauber. © DPPI

In line with Toyota, BMW is entering the world of F1 with resources as high as its ambitions. The German firm joined forces with Sauber in 2006 and is undoubtedly progressing (2nd after the exclusion of McLaren in 2007, 3rd in 2008 but with a first victory in Canada).

The aerodynamic revolution of 2009 should allow the team based in Switzerland to regularly occupy the benchmark positions. Here again, the winter tests allow BMW-Sauber to show its muscles, especially since it is one of the first to run with the simplified aero package and the SREC (Kinetic Energy Recovery System, KERS in English) at the end of 2008. This potential is confirmed by the opening in Melbourne. Robert Kubica was chasing second place before retiring after a collision with Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull). His teammate Nick Heidfeld floats in second position under the storm in Sepang (Malaysia).

However, the technical development of the F1.09 is as successful as the design of the single-seater, that is to say a failure. The drivers slide towards the anonymity of the middle of the pack, and even experience difficulty entering Q2 during qualifying! Robert Kubica will save the furniture in Brazil (2nd) but the Munich tie decides to stop the F1 program with losses and noise, due to lack of results, but also due to the economic crisis.

1. Prost GP, 2001

© DPPI

Success here goes to the French! When preparing for the 2001 season, Alain Prost takes out the oars. The four-time world champion is entangled in the setbacks of his Prost GP team. Its leading driver Jean Alesi does his best to keep the blue machine in the race, but the results do not follow. However, surprise during the tests in the winter of 2001. The Blues are surprisingly fast. “Jeannot” sticks to everyone in Estoril (Portugal) for a second. Yes, even to Ferrari (which supply the engine to Prost GP, rebadged Acer) and McLaren!

Is the Prost AP04 a lightning bolt or a damp squib? Observers begin to rack their brains until the small world of F1 arrives in Australia. There, the truth comes out, mercilessly. Jean Alesi achieves the 14th time, 3 seconds behind the poleman Michael Schumacher ! His extremely wealthy teammate Gaston Mazzacane is nearly 4 seconds behind. The suitcase is large and the slap is severe. In the race, the Frenchman will finish ninth.

Certainly, the Ferrari engine – sorry, Acer – was much more reliable than the block Peugeot , fragile as crystal in 2000. But reliability was not followed by exceptional speed. We must still remember Jean Alesi's incredible drive in Monaco (6th), Montreal (Canada, 5th) and Hockenheim (5th).

The second position being reserved for paying drivers (Gaston Mazzacane, Luciano Burti, Tomas Enge), Prost GP recorded only 4 units in 2001 and ninth position in the Manufacturers' championship. Jean Alesi and Alain Prost will separate following deep disagreements, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen will not achieve a miracle. The Prost AP04, beyond having run with dry tanks in winter testing, did not save the French team, which went bankrupt in early 2002.

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