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[InKimiWeTrust]

I have come to the conclusion that this years Lotus' have taken over from what Button did so well last year. Being almost unspectacular in the race but always at the end pop there heads up and take a big bite of points.

I agree mate.

They just need to get the qualifying right, and they can do some damage in the race.

Also, they need to get the car running to its faster pace in colder temperatures. They can look after their tyres very well.

[scotty]

Lotus can build upon its excellent recent form and become an even stronger outfit across the final nine grands prix of 2012.

That is the view of trackside operations director Alan Permane, who is optimistic the team's 'desperate' desire to win can be achieved in the season run-in.

Lotus scored more points than any other constructor over the last five races before F1's summer break, when it had a presence on every podium except Silverstone.

Permane is confident the team can exceed such standards in the second half of the year, particularly as it has now adapted to having two new drivers for the start of this year's campaign.

"We will be much stronger in the second half. The car is great, we have started with that, and we have shown we can develop as well if not better than others," Permane said.

"We have spent time getting to know our drivers, and Romain has [had some] crashes on the first lap. Without that things would be very different. There's no reason why we can't have a good second half.

"I think everywhere suits our car - we were super-quick at Silverstone and Hungary, and they are opposite ends of the scale. Nowhere scares us."

Permane admitted Lotus was looking to add downforce to improve its qualifying fortunes, but said he expected the upcoming circuits to also play into the team's favour as they aided overtaking and therefore reduced the emphasis on qualifying.

"I don't think there is much in the set-up," he said when asked about where Lotus could improve the car.

"[After final Hungarian practice] Kimi was ever so happy with his car. I said 'what do you need?', and he just said 'more downforce'. The car is good, but to go faster it just needs more front and rear grip.

"The race pace of his car compared to ours, he had no right to be four tenths faster in qualifying - that's where we need to be better, absolutely. If we had been in front of him we would have driven away and disappeared with both our cars.

"A track like Hungary, second [on the grid] isn't good enough. Other circuits you can overtake - the next tracks are Spa and Monza, different stories.

"If we can finish second or third every race this year and win both championships I'll be very happy, obviously, [but] we are desperate to win a race."

Top scorer over the last 5 races is great news, i am starting to gain confidence that third really is a strong possibility for them...

[darwin dali]

Lotus can build upon its excellent recent form and become an even stronger outfit across the final nine grands prix of 2012.

That is the view of trackside operations director Alan Permane, who is optimistic the team's 'desperate' desire to win can be achieved in the season run-in.

Lotus scored more points than any other constructor over the last five races before F1's summer break, when it had a presence on every podium except Silverstone.

Permane is confident the team can exceed such standards in the second half of the year, particularly as it has now adapted to having two new drivers for the start of this year's campaign.

"We will be much stronger in the second half. The car is great, we have started with that, and we have shown we can develop as well if not better than others," Permane said.

"We have spent time getting to know our drivers, and Romain has [had some] crashes on the first lap. Without that things would be very different. There's no reason why we can't have a good second half.

"I think everywhere suits our car - we were super-quick at Silverstone and Hungary, and they are opposite ends of the scale. Nowhere scares us."

Permane admitted Lotus was looking to add downforce to improve its qualifying fortunes, but said he expected the upcoming circuits to also play into the team's favour as they aided overtaking and therefore reduced the emphasis on qualifying.

"I don't think there is much in the set-up," he said when asked about where Lotus could improve the car.

"[After final Hungarian practice] Kimi was ever so happy with his car. I said 'what do you need?', and he just said 'more downforce'. The car is good, but to go faster it just needs more front and rear grip.

"The race pace of his car compared to ours, he had no right to be four tenths faster in qualifying - that's where we need to be better, absolutely. If we had been in front of him we would have driven away and disappeared with both our cars.

"A track like Hungary, second [on the grid] isn't good enough. Other circuits you can overtake - the next tracks are Spa and Monza, different stories.

"If we can finish second or third every race this year and win both championships I'll be very happy, obviously, [but] we are desperate to win a race."

Top scorer over the last 5 races is great news, i am starting to gain confidence that third really is a strong possibility for them...

At the expense of?

[What's Burning?]

Talk of BOTH championships... impressive. They must have gotten the steering on that car perfect!

[Hammer278]

I think 2nd in the WCC is a real possibility since Massa and Button are taking a vacation this season.

[scotty]

Cannot see Lotus taking the driver's title, not at all.

At the expense of?

Most likely Ferrari seeing as i think it is easier for both Lotus guys to outscore Massa regularly (ie most races), compared to Button who seems more likely to be able to score bigger with some podiums on occasion. It's all on Grosjean converting his pace to results really. If he does that then i think they can compete for possibly second, but definitely third.

[andrew]

Cannot see Lotus taking the driver's title, not at all.

Certainly not this year but they are competitive and a win is surely on the cards. I would like to see them get a 2nd driver who can go more than 2 races without crashing and bring in more points.

[racechick]

Since Massa and Button aren't really doing very well, Red Bull should get the constructors..unless all this fuss about whats allowed and what isn't allowed goes wrong for them. If both kimmi and Grosjean remain strong and Jenson and Massa remain bad, then Lotus could sneak one of them to third.
In the driver's, Alonso looks strongest----driving well, fast solid car in most conditions, generally competent team fully behind him and compliant non scoring team mate. The other drivers don't have all those things in their favour. Whoever finishes second and third in the drivers is really irrelevant because its all about first.

[LewEngBridewell]

Cannot see Lotus taking the driver's title, not at all.

Certainly not this year but they are competitive and a win is surely on the cards. I would like to see them get a 2nd driver who can go more than 2 races without crashing and bring in more points.

I bet Williams feel the same about Maldonado....

[andrew]

Cannot see Lotus taking the driver's title, not at all.

Certainly not this year but they are competitive and a win is surely on the cards. I would like to see them get a 2nd driver who can go more than 2 races without crashing and bring in more points.

I bet Williams feel the same about Maldonado....

It's Senna that has proven to be the let down. Maldo has pretty much been consistently fast but needs to tame the beast. Senna has been slow for most of the season, which is a surprise to say the least.

[LewEngBridewell]

Cannot see Lotus taking the driver's title, not at all.

Certainly not this year but they are competitive and a win is surely on the cards. I would like to see them get a 2nd driver who can go more than 2 races without crashing and bring in more points.

I bet Williams feel the same about Maldonado....

It's Senna that has proven to be the let down. Maldo has pretty much been consistently fast but needs to tame the beast. Senna has been slow for most of the season, which is a surprise to say the least.

Very true that Senna has had a relatively quiet mid-season, but he's still only 5 points behind Pastor. Any thoughts on which of the two will end the season on the most points?

[andrew]

Cannot see Lotus taking the driver's title, not at all.

Certainly not this year but they are competitive and a win is surely on the cards. I would like to see them get a 2nd driver who can go more than 2 races without crashing and bring in more points.

I bet Williams feel the same about Maldonado....

It's Senna that has proven to be the let down. Maldo has pretty much been consistently fast but needs to tame the beast. Senna has been slow for most of the season, which is a surprise to say the least.

Very true that Senna has had a relatively quiet mid-season, but he's still only 5 points behind Pastor. Any thoughts on which of the two will end the season on the most points?

If Maldo stops attracting the affection of Hamilton (j/k) then he'll finish ahead. Senna is only that close due to Maldo getting a bit lairy at times and loosing a lot of points. Had Maldo tamed the beast he'd be miles ahead. Senna just ain't getting the job done as was expected after his previous F1 stints.

[scotty]

Senna has finally got the car setup sorted, so let's see how he gets on from here.

[racechick]

Yes. I think some people write Senna off too early.

[1Lemon]

Lotus have more bad luck than a man in a rush heading towards a set of traffic lights.