Clear blue skies and beautiful sunshine at the Circuito de Jerez created the perfect backdrop for the highlight of the year so far; the first on-track appearance of the E20.

Kimi Räikkönen took the team’s 2012 challenger out for a few laps at the Spanish venue, purely for filming purposes. Despite only being allowed to drive at a reduced pace, the 2007 World Champion was pleased to be back on track:

Kimi Räikkönen, Lotus F1 Team Driver: “It’s great to see the E20 at a race circuit and even better to get behind the wheel. It’s always frustrating to be in a new car and not be able to drive it at maximum attack, but thankfully I will have that opportunity for the next two days. My initial impressions are good, I fit comfortably in the car and it feels great in first and second gear; now let’s see what it can do tomorrow.”

As the E20 burst into life, the tension and excitement in the garage was clear to see, with the team finally seeing months of hard work come together. Among those present, Alan Permane was particularly pleased to have come through this initial run without any issues, and is already looking ahead to the first official test session:

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “The main purpose of the first test is to complete as many laps as possible with the E20. This allows us to assess if all systems are working as they should and highlights if there are any areas requiring our attention.

“We monitor all systems to ensure that everything is operating within the correct temperature range, and functioning as designed. Although we have a very early version of the aerodynamic package here, we are able to validate the track data against our CFD and wind tunnel information.

“Assessing Pirelli’s latest compound and construction tyres is another objective in Jerez. Although it is quite cold here in the morning, we expect representative track and ambient temperatures during the day, so we should get a good initial impression of their performance with the E20.

“Jerez is not a circuit we race on, but it is a good test venue with a range of high-speed and low-speed corners as well as a mixture of kerbs.

“Today’s filming runs allowed us to perform initial systems checks; now the hard work begins.”

As darkness begins to descend here in Jerez, the team will be working through the night to ensure that everything is prepared for the first test. With only a few hours to go, the long wait for Formula 1 action is almost over.

The first session is scheduled to begin at 09h00 tomorrow (Tuesday 7th February), with Kimi taking the wheel of the E20 for the first time at full race speeds.

Lotusf1team.com