Lotus adjust camber settings to find pace
At Team Lotus it was Heikki Kovalainen at the wheel today in Jerez to continue testing the T128. Early in the day the team repeatedly adjusted rear camber settings to improve tyre behaviour. Later on weather changed, and a radiator change disrupted the rest of the day slightly.
Heikki Kovalainen:
“The combination of a number of small issues throughout the day and different weather conditions than the last three days meant we had a bit of a disrupted day but we did manage to take another step forward with the setup options and that lap at the end proves there is good pace in the car. We spent quite a lot of time looking at how to find the best balance settings with the tyres and it looks like we keep moving forward in that area. It's a little unfortunate that we had a stop / start day but this is what testing is about. We have a few days now to work on ironing out the issues and look to Barcelona to start working on long runs so I leave Jerez in a positive frame of mind and am already looking to get back in the car next week."
Dieter Gass, Sporting director:
"Firstly I think we're all pleased to see Heikki put in such a good lap at the end of the day in tricky weather conditions - both he and Jarno have performed really well over the last couple of days and I want to thank them both for their efforts. Today was affected by a few issues on the car and the obvious change in the weather but the team has worked extremely hard over the whole test to give both Jarno and Heikki a chance to show what the car can do and our thanks go to them and everyone back in the factory for working so hard. Even with these problems the car does look quick and we have a very good platform to work on in Barcelona and at the final test in Bahrain."
Weather: Dry, cloudy / sunny
Min/Max track temp: 10˚/ 21˚
Laps completed: 43
Fastest lap: 1.21.632 (lap 42)