Chester: The Lotus E23 will be quite different

Looking to the E23, how different is it likely to be to this year’s car?

It will be quite different. There are rule changes to the front of the chassis and the nose, so all the cars will look different next year. On top of that, our engine installation and cooling layout will change quite a lot meaning that the car will be significantly different under the bodywork.

What are the various considerations between a small or large display steering wheel?

On the positive side, you can get a lot more information to the driver with a large display and that’s very helpful with complicated cars. The downside is that the wheel will be heavier, which is one of the considerations for staying with the smaller display. Next year we will likely go for a larger display steering wheel. You would be at a disadvantage if you stayed with the smaller display with the radio communications changes planned for 2015.

What are the implications for the future of diminished radio communications and even a potential ban on telemetry?

I think telemetry won’t be banned; it would be tricky to know if for example the car has a puncture or something is about to fail. You would have no way of telling if the car is safe or not. To make that move would be a step backwards. In terms of the radio communications changes we will have to adapt to the FIA guidelines.