Team Lotus turned a potentially disastrous Belgian Grand Prix into a strong result at Spa, with Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen coming home in 14th and 15th positions despite coming into contact with each other at the first corner.
As Rubens Barrichello lost his front wing up against Kamui Kobayashi at the Bus Stop Chicane, both Lotus cars inherited a position.
“For me and the whole team that was a really good race,” said Trulli. “I had a great start, passing a few other cars away from the line but then the accident in Turn 1 meant both Heikki and I suffered damage – him to his nose cone, me to the floor and I had to run the whole race with that damage, so to finish 14th after that is just fantastic.
“Apart from the start I enjoyed the whole race – I passed a number of cars and when the Safety Car came out I was able to close the gap to the cars ahead. That gave me the chance to fight with the Renault and I passed him and was then able to keep pace with the other guys ahead.
“One of the best points of the race was the first stop I made – I came in just behind one of the HRTs and the pit crew did a brilliant job to get me out fast enough to pass him in the pit lane, so I want to thank them and the whole team for a really solid weekend.”
Kovalainen also explained the La Source touch:
“That was a good race for us, obviously apart from the start! I got off the line well but it all tightened up at the first corner and I touched Jarno after someone else had hit me – I was caught in a bit of a sandwich but after I’d pitted and had a new nose it all went pretty well from there.”
Series
Formula 1
Personalities
Heikki Kovalainen
Jarno Trulli
Teams
Caterham
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:26:44.893 |
| 2. | M. Webber | Red Bull | +3.741 |
| 3. | J. Button | McLaren | +9.669 |
| 4. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +13.022 |
| 5. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | +74.464 |
| 6. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +48.674 |
| 7. | A. Sutil | Force India | +59.713 |
| 8. | F. Massa | Ferrari | +1:06.076 |
| 9. | V. Petrov | Lotus Renault | +1:11.917 |
| 10. | P. Maldonado | Williams | +1:17.615 |
| Full results | |||
| Jarno Trulli | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Jarno Trulli photos | |||
| Heikki Kovalainen | |||
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| More Heikki Kovalainen photos | |||
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