Lotus unveils conventional 2012 car
Lotus have presented their car new car, dubbed E20, destined to compete in the 2012 Formula One championship. New drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean were on stage to take the wraps off of a car that looks remarkably similar to the R31 of last year.
While there was much anticipation towards the launch of this car, once unveiled it turned out to be a clear evolution of the R31. It is likely that the team put in a lot of effort to convert their front exhaust design into a now mandatory rearward facing exhaust.
The car is the first to be launched under the name of Lotus after sorting out the naming dispute with Tony Fernandes' CaterhamF1 team. It does retain the famous black and gold livery that was used in the 80's and on last year's Lotus Renault R31, but with added sponsorship from Unilever brands CLEAR and Rexona.
The team does have an entirely new driver pairing as well, with Romain Grosjean promoted to a race seat after impressing the team with his potential after just two Friday runs in the car in 2011.
Racing alongside Romain will be 2007 Formula 1 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen. After two years contesting the World Rally Championship Kimi returns to Formula 1 fresh for a new challenge, and with 156 Grand Prix race starts, 18 wins and one world championship, the Finn should be competent enough to provide a vital ingredient in driving Lotus F1 Team forwards.
