ZitatManchester City partner makes move into Formula One
10 May 2013 | Posted in Sponsorship, Motorsport, Global | By David Cushnan
The Lotus Formula One team, which has enjoyed a competitive start to the 2013 season, has announced Richard Mille as its new official timing partner.
Richard Mille, which is already a partner of Premier League team Manchester City, fills a gap created when fellow watch company TW Steel left Lotus and switched to the Force India team over the winter.
Richard Mille has signed a two-year deal, with branding due to appear on the cars from this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.
No financial details were immediately available, but the team confirmed Richard Mille will produce a limited edition wristwatch to mark the partnership.
•Manchester City announce new contract with Richard Mille •TW Steel switches from Lotus to Force India for 2013
“The 2013 season has seen Lotus F1 Team get off to a strong start on track, and it is highly satisfying to see that success recognised in our off-track endeavours with the announcement of Richard Mille as the latest name to join our strong portfolio of partners," said Lotus team principal Eric Boullier.
"As a team we are extremely proud of our brand identity, and the innovative approach adopted by Richard Mille in the design and manufacture of their wristwatches is certainly in keeping with our core value of standing out from the crowd.”
Richard Mille, the chairman of the watchmaking company, added: “Many people know the high degree of technical expertise, innovation and sophistication that one can find in Richard Mille watches, and no outfit could be better suited to our brand values than Lotus F1 Team. This mutual love for exemplary technique and refinement represents an asset for a strong and constructive partnership”
Kimi Raikkonen won the opening race of the season for Lotus, with the team lying second in the constructors' world championship going into the fifth race of the year in Barcelona.
I just realized Allison said something odd on the last F1 show... when they asked him if Lotus/Kimi can win... he said "Alonso is out of position"... " title="hmm" />
Zitat von YiNingI just realized Allison said something odd on the last F1 show... when they asked him if Lotus/Kimi can win... he said "Alonso is out of position"...
Meaning what? That Alonso's position in the WDC table is not representative of the speed Ferrari has and that winning for Lotus will be hard?
Zitat von YiNingI just realized Allison said something odd on the last F1 show... when they asked him if Lotus/Kimi can win... he said "Alonso is out of position"...
Meaning what? That Alonso's position in the WDC table is not representative of the speed Ferrari has and that winning for Lotus will be hard?
It's definitely true. Alonso threw away at least 18 points, if not 25, through his own fault in Malaysia. And suffered a failure (and again dropped double digits in points to the competition) in Bahrain. I don't think it was weird of Allison to say this if he was asked about Kimi's position in the WDC. If Alonso had the luck/reliability of Kimi, he would arguably be ahead of Kimi in the WDC standings.
Zitat von SonnyIt's definitely true. Alonso threw away at least 18 points, if not 25, through his own fault in Malaysia. And suffered a failure (and again dropped double digits in points to the competition) in Bahrain. I don't think it was weird of Allison to say this if he was asked about Kimi's position in the WDC. If Alonso had the luck/reliability of Kimi, he would arguably be ahead of Kimi in the WDC standings.
Of course it's true, but it was wired for him to say that (maybe engineer always think 2 steps ahead h" title="hih" /> )... even Ted said (laughing), "I was asking about your car" (does it mean you don't think Lotus can win?)... then he went on and said the E21 will require little development to stay competitive..
ZitatLotus boss Eric Boullier urges team to be greedy in F1 title chase
Lotus boss Eric Boullier wants his team to be "greedy" and start pushing for more wins, even though its consistent form has put it in title contention.
Kimi Raikkonen is just four points adrift of Formula 1 championship leader Sebastian Vettel thanks to a strong start to the season that has included one victory and three consecutive second-placed finishes.
Boullier believes that Lotus's situation is similar to last season, when it came close to winning several times but had to wait until the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to take its first triumph.
Although finishing second at every race would probably be enough for Raikkonen to be champion, Boullier says his outfit is keen for more success on individual race weekends.
"It was the same story last year if you remember," he said. "This year we have to be greedy and want more wins.
"But you need to get everything perfect from the start of the race, the first laps, the strategy, and the tyre degradation.
"There was a chance of winning in Spain, but it was very small. And after mid-race we knew we could not take it so we concentrated on finishing second."
While the form of Ferrari and Red Bull seems to move around, Lotus appears able to challenge on all types of track. It is a characteristic that Boullier thinks is essential for the campaign ahead.
"We know the key is to get a consistent car, and you can see exactly the same trend as last year," he said.
"Every weekend you have one team dominating and the link between tyres, chassis and track layout, fits the team and the design of the car.
"So it is crucial to be consistent in every race."
Lotus team principal Eric Boullier has expressed his inevitable disappointment at Pirelli’s decision to change its tyres for the Canadian GP.
Boullier is adamant that his team has simply done a better job than others of adapting to the tyres as supplied for the opening races of the seasons.
“There aren’t many sports where there are such fundamental changes to an essential ingredient part-way through a season,” said Boullier today. “Just imagine for a moment that, because a football team can’t run as fast as its opponent, the dimensions of the pitch are changed at half time! That there are changes to come can be seen as somewhat frustrating, and I hope they are not too extreme.
“It’s clear that Pirelli have found themselves in a difficult situation and under pressure from different quarters. Last year, when we were designing our 2013 car, each team received information from Pirelli and everyone did the best job they could to develop a chassis which would make best use of the tyre characteristics. We even ran with some experimental 2013 tyres at the end of last season, to assist us in confirming our development paths.
“As with every season, some teams do a better job than others with their designs, and some drivers are more adaptable than others to the changes of both car and tyre. It is frustrating when you’ve developed a car from a set of tyre specifications which are available to everyone – for tyres that are the same for everyone – to then be told that they are being changed mid-season.
“That said, we have a team of talented designers and engineers who will be working twice as hard to ensure we adapt to these changes in the most competitive manner.”
Meanwhile regarding the suspension failure that stopped Romain Grosjean in Spain he said: “It was frustrating for Romain and frustrating for the whole team. A Formula 1 car is made of so many components, and despite all the checks every once in a while a failure happens. Our technical team has taken immediate action, identified where the problem was and redesigned a new part for Monaco onwards.”
They will change the rear tyres, or so the rumour says, so Romain could benefit from it. But even if they bring back last years tyres, I think Lotus has tried to make the car better with the rear suspension changes , I dont think its the end of the world. The car will be better to its tyres altho it might be slower in quali..More I am interested how the new technical directior will handle the situation if there will be problems.
My thoughts of the day. tyres alteration might hurt Lotus and benefit to RBR (just shows true colours of RBR once again).
BUT: Since Lotus was good last year and this year, I think guys will find a way around the issue and won't be suffering too much. HOWEVER, Ferrari on the other hand might suffer on a bigger scale than Lotus and this should play for Kimi's chances in WDC. Let's see.
(unless new tyres will bring back issue with front tyres not warming up... in such case he is fucked)
Print view
Thu May 09, 2013 5:35 pm
reply
" title="hmm" />
" title="hug" />
h" title="hih" /> )... even Ted said (laughing), "I was asking about your car" (does it mean you don't think Lotus can win?)... then he went on and said the E21 will require little development to stay competitive..
s" title="reds" />
