'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Lotus has become the first team to unveil their 2013 challenger named as E21. The launch took place at Lotus HQ in Enstone at 7.15 GMT. The team hopes that their 2013 car will help them challenge for the World title this year and here’s what Lotus Team principal, Eric Boullier, had to say regarding Lotus E21:
“I think it is fair to say that great things are possible. The leap we made from 2011 to 2012 showed what we are capable of.
“Add to this the continuity and potential of our driver line-up and we have a very powerful cocktail for the season ahead.
“Our ambitious plan to turn ourselves into one of the top teams in Formula 1 is coming to fruition and now we need to harness this with strong and regular podium results.
“We are lean and hungry. Enstone knows how to win championships, but it is a while since we have won so we are very eager to taste glory again.”
Technical Director James Allison said that though the E21 looks visually similar to the 2012 car, there have been certain areas which have undergone a wholesale redesign.
“Depending on where you look, some parts of the new car are a ground-up redesign and in other areas we have further optimised the best bits of the design philosophy we’ve adopted for several seasons,” he said.
“The front and rear suspension layouts are substantially revised to try and give us better aerodynamic opportunities. The front wing is a continuation of the concepts we have worked on since the 2009 rules were published.
“For the rear wing system, we’ve continued to try to work on having a satisfactory level of rear downforce stability whilst having maximum DRS switching potential.”
The E21 will feature Passive Double DRS system which the team had been evaluating in 2012 during the practice sessions. Along with that, Lotus have opted not to cover the step nose and so they haven’t attached the vanity panel which FIA had allowed teams to do so that the cars don’t look ugly.
