The appalling conditions of Friday came as a particular disappointment to Lotus. Having hoped to race its ‘Double DRS’ concept for the first time at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend, both Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean would have enjoyed massive straight-line speed advantages. However, because of the heavy rain, neither driver was able to test the component as planned.
Given no official label by the team, members continue to dub the part ‘The Device’ in rather humorous fashion. It works in a similar fashion to the f-duct innovated by McLaren two years ago, although this version does not require driver activation, which would be illegal. Unlike Mercedes’ ‘Super DRS’, which feeds air through the rear wing and back over the front wing, the Lotus system functions whether DRS is in use or not.
“It’s a big shame we couldn’t do much running today as it was so wet,” Grosjean smiled following a washed out pair of sessions. “I was really looking forward to trying the famous ‘device’ for the first time, but I guess I’ll have to wait.
“The weather should be better tomorrow, so we’ll have a busy time getting two days of evaluation into one session and then going straight into qualifying. The E20 has been strong at every circuit so far this year, so I’m sure it will be pretty good around this track.”
Due to the loss in time, it is unlikely the Double DRS will be run this weekend. However, should it be used, Lotus could become big favourites to wrap up both this race and next weekend’s round at Monza as both tracks feature predominantly long straights.
Series
Formula 1
Personalities
Romain Grosjean
Kimi Räikkönen
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Lotus Renault
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  C. Pic | Marussia | 02:49.354 | 4 |
| 2. | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 02:49.750 | 3 |
| 3. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 02:50.497 | 3 |
| 4. | P. di Resta | Force India | 02:51.333 | 3 |
| 5. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 02:51.660 | 4 |
| 6. | T. Glock | Marussia | 02:52.076 | 4 |
| 7. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 02:53.232 | 4 |
| 8. | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 02:58.232 | 3 |
| 9. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 02:59.125 | 5 |
| 10. | S. Perez | Sauber | 03:12.901 | 4 |
| Full results | ||||
| Kimi Räikkönen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Kimi Räikkönen photos | |||
| Romain Grosjean | |||
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| More Romain Grosjean photos | |||
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