In the round-up: Lotus chairman Gerard Lopez says the team’s new car is less aggressive than their radical twin-tusk 2014 car.
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Lopez, Grosjean happier with 2015 Lotus prospects (Crash)
"It's a less aggressive approach. This is not only because we went too far with the E22, but that we also scored an own goal with developments that favoured better top speeds. We paid the price and we learned."
Michael Schumacher's 'progress is uncertain' as care costs spiral (The Express)
"If you look at severe head injury victims who go on to make a good recovery – and I'm not saying all do – it will always be a story of years."
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Comment of the day
This weekend’s Caption Competition winner is @Suffolk:
Jenson tests the new McLaren tailored ‘size zero’ clothing range
Thanks to everyone who joined in, especially Mach1, Dom, Graham, Hohum and Kors who also made great suggestions.
As testing is taking place over the next two weekends there will be a break until the next Caption Competition.
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On this day in F1
Jean Behra was born on this day in 1921. The popular, battling driver won the non-championship Moroccan Grand Prix in 1957 driving for Maserati. Two years later he joined Ferrari but split from the team on acrimonious terms three races into the season. He entered his own car for the German Grand Prix but was killed when he crashed on the AVUS banking during a support race.
Fletch (@fletchuk)
16th February 2015, 0:14
Get well Michael!
ColdFly F1 (@)
16th February 2015, 1:23
Agree.
And I wish newspapers would stop ‘exclusive’ articles where they only speculate and quote people who have no insight knowledge.
BasCB (@bascb)
16th February 2015, 7:27
Then again, if the family has forbidden ANY communications to take place, what else but speculations remains @coldfly.
But yeah, the most important part is that Michael gets the best attention he can get and makes progress to get as close to normal life as possible.
Robert (@gicu)
16th February 2015, 11:29
@bascb If it’s speculation only then there’s nothing exclusive about it, as it isn’t news per se.
coefficient (@coefficient)
16th February 2015, 10:32
Yes, get well Michael. Who cares if “Costs Spiral”, what business is it of ours. He can afford it. If it was my wife I’d spend the lot to try and fix her, wouldn’t hesitate.
@HoHum (@hohum)
16th February 2015, 0:41
@keithcollantine, Errata, I suspect you mean Jean Behra born 1931 not 51,
Why are we making such a fuss about Verstappen being only 17 when Behra won a race when he was only 6.
Alex Ward
16th February 2015, 2:29
1921 even. Tell us about this race!
Geoff the hyacinth macaw (@geoffthehyacinthmacaw)
16th February 2015, 8:49
I’ve heard of drivers lying about their age (Nigel Mansell and many others) – but that’s ridiculous!
Blackmamba (@blackmamba)
16th February 2015, 1:07
It will be hard for Lotus not to improve from where they were last year.
ColdFly F1 (@)
16th February 2015, 1:17
COTD/CC – good one. (@Suffolk)
Breno (@austus)
16th February 2015, 2:09
Someone should tell Lotus that Red Bull and STR had better top speed.
zimkazimka (@zimkazimka)
16th February 2015, 3:10
…or don’t. They’ll catch up. Eventually.
Warner (@warner16)
16th February 2015, 4:36
Lotus will be a mid-pack team for sure this year, I don’t see them on the podium, however I see them finishing frequently in the top 10.
banana88x (@banana88x)
16th February 2015, 8:41
Agree, with Force India being the Lotus of last year.
cswilly (@cswilly)
16th February 2015, 4:49
Surely McLaren can find a decent tailor, no? Jenson’s pants are almost high-water and Alonso’s are so bunched up around his ankles it will take 5 years for him to grow into them–if he was 10 years old.
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
16th February 2015, 4:57
@cswilly Well, they did just lose Hugo Boss to Mercedes..
Jaanus (@)
16th February 2015, 7:16
And now they wear Ron’s old suits.
Todfod (@todfod)
16th February 2015, 7:22
Lol
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
16th February 2015, 11:17
McLaren seem to subscribe to the “one-size-fits-all” approach. @cswilly
cswilly (@cswilly)
16th February 2015, 11:30
McLaren is more like, “one-size-fits-nobody”. Ferrari is “one-size-fits-Bernie”.
CountryGent (@countrygent)
16th February 2015, 8:42
I think we have discovered the real reason behind Vettel’s move to Ferrari…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXbdcdxv93c
That FXX K is amazing; not only can its KERS-enabled V12 generate 1036bhp, it produces 540kg of downforce at 200 km/h. Forget GTE cars, forget DTM cars, the only way to go faster round a racetrack with a roof is in a LMP1 car. A bit better than that ghastly Infiniti FX he was shackled to…
DavidS (@davids)
16th February 2015, 12:21
Can teams please stop using the word “aggressive” when they mean to say “wrong.”
Last years car wasn’t aggressive by many standards, it wasn’t aggressive compared to other cars that season (many had much much tighter and ambitious packaging given the new power units), or even with cars made at Enstone (the R31 from 2011 was aggressive).
I’ve heard Ferrari and McLaren both say their cars have been aggressive, even when they’ve been comparatively conservative. It’s nothing more than a euphemism for getting it wrong.
M.H.Phillips
16th February 2015, 14:18
If it makes you feel any better, I immediately slashed through ‘too aggressive’ and replaced it with ‘a turd’ when I first read the headline.
That said, I thought the E22 was considered somewhat unusual for its asymmetrical aerodynamic solutions at the front and rear.
Boomerang
16th February 2015, 17:34
I don’t see a better way of explaining that you’ve wasted thousands of working hours and millions of whatever currency you’d prefer.
When it comes to Lotus I hope that many of their problems stemed from Allison’s and De Beers departure. This year they’ll have no excuses. I’m a bit worried about them because it’s my impression that they don’t believe in themselves. When E23 showed it’s potential they were kind of surprised. Kind of “wow this car is fast without any setup work”. That’s worrying indeed.
SauberS1 (@saubers1)
16th February 2015, 23:43
The former Lotus was very ugly too.