Q&A with James Allison (Lotus Renault GP)

James, two podiums from the first three races for the R31. Overall, are you happy with the start to the season?

“Overall I’m pleased. However I tend just to remember the last race and that wasn’t a very good one for us, so we’re looking to put that right in Istanbul.”

Looking back to China, what were the biggest challenges LRGP faced in what proved to be a frustrating weekend?

“Much of what went wrong for us came from failing to qualify in the position that the car merited. Not getting the car through into Q3 meant that we had to fight an uphill battle in the race. Furthermore, we didn’t make quite such a good start as we had done during the previous two races and all of this
combined with the result that we had to struggle through the race just to finish in the minor places.”

Three races in, have you been able to draw any conclusions of the car’s performance so far? What do you consider are its main strengths and weaknesses?

“It’s sufficiently fast to be healthily-placed in the top ten in qualifying, which gives you half a chance come Sunday. The car also quite kind on its tyres and so it tends to run more strongly in races than it does in qualifying. I don’t want to tempt providence, but it has also been reasonably reliable so far.”

Can we expect any significant upgrades to the car for Turkey?

“Yes, like all the teams we’ll be bringing some parts. There will be a different front wing, some modifications around the nose, updates to the air intake area of the car and some tweaks to the floor.”

How far in advance do you begin planning for such an upgrade package?

“It depends on the component. Some simple upgrades are found in the tunnel in the days running up to the race, but most of the parts would have been conceived around 6-8 weeks ago, would have run in the tunnel around 4 weeks ago and then been designed and made for the car in time for the Turkey GP.”

How do you think the car will fare at the Istanbul Park Circuit?

“It’s a fairly regular type of track, not especially dissimilar to Malaysia and China I would hope that we can continue compete at a high level.”

What’s new for Istanbul?

“The R31 will have an epic journey to Turkey after it left the factory on Thursday evening. Lotus Renault GP uses five trucks to drive the cars down to Italy where they will take a boat to cross the Mediterranean, arriving in Istanbul Port on Tuesday morning. For the motorhomes, there will be more than 5,000 pieces for seven people to construct over three days. Bon voyage!”