The Lotus E20 is a
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
racing car designed and produced by the
Enstone
Enstone is a village and civil parish in England, about east of Chipping Norton and north-west of Oxford city. The civil parish, one of Oxfordshire's largest, consists of the villages of Church Enstone and Neat Enstone, with the hamlets of Cha ...
-based
Lotus F1 Team
Lotus F1 Team was a British Formula One racing team. The team competed under the Lotus name from until , following the renaming of the former Renault team based at Enstone in Oxfordshire. The Lotus F1 Team was majority owned by Genii Capital. ...
for the
2012 Formula One season
The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 66th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 63rd FIA Formula One World Championship, a motor racing series for Formula One cars, recognised by the Fédération Internatio ...
.
The chassis was designed by
James Allison, Naoki Tokunaga, Martin Tolliday and
Dirk de Beer with
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...
continuing to supply engines.
The E20 was the twentieth Formula One car to be designed at Enstone since 1992,
and was named in tribute to the contribution made by the facility and its personnel in their twenty-year history.
The car was also the first from Enstone to carry the Lotus name, since the team ceased using the Renault name following their renaming from
Lotus Renault GP
The French automotive manufacturer Renault has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine ...
at the end of 2011.
The car, which was launched by the team on its website on 5 February 2012, was driven by
2007 World Drivers' Champion Kimi Räikkönen and reigning
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccles ...
champion
Romain Grosjean
Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a Swiss-French professional Auto racing, racing driver, competing under the French flag in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 28 Honda for Andretti Autosport. Grosjean had previously ...
, both of whom returned to Formula One after a two-year absence.
The car made its competitive debut at the
2012 Australian Grand Prix, and in the twenty races of the 2012 season, recorded a race win in
Abu Dhabi and nine podium finishes to finish fourth overall in the
World Constructors' Championship.
Design
Ride height system
The Lotus E20 was planned to feature a "reactive ride height" suspension system — a mechanical device designed to maintain ride height under braking — at the start of the 2012 season.
Lotus (and formerly both their immediate predecessors,
Lotus Renault GP
The French automotive manufacturer Renault has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine ...
and
Renault F1 Team) had been developing the system since January 2010. The system used hydraulic cylinders located in the brake calipers and suspension push-rods to make minute adjustments to the ride height of the car, thereby keeping the ride height at an optimal level throughout the race and providing stability during braking. This initially had the approval of the FIA,
who reversed their position one week later ruling that such systems were in breach of their regulations, on the grounds that the primary function of such a device was improve the aerodynamic performance of cars, and was therefore in violation of Article 3.15 of the technical regulations,
which states that "any device that influences the car's aerodynamics must remain immobile in relation to the sprung part of the car".
The teams were notified of the FIA's decision on 20 January 2012, and as a consequence, the reactive ride height system did not feature on 2012 cars.
Testing problems
The team was forced to withdraw from the second pre-season test in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
when Romain Grosjean complained about a "strange" feeling in the chassis while driving on the opening morning of the test.
The team gave no official diagnosis of the problem at the time,
but speculation within the media suggested the problem was related to the front suspension and that the problem presented itself at the Circuit de Catalunya because of the higher lateral loads placed on the chassis at the circuit than those experienced at Jerez.
James Allison, the team's technical director, later confirmed that the team had identified the problem as being the mounting of the upper front wishbone on the rear suspension arm. Grosjean had been testing the chassis designated E20-02 at the time; the chassis E20-01 was returned to the team's Enstone facility following completion of testing at Jerez. Upon discovering the problem, Lotus initially prepared chassis E20-01 to be transported to Barcelona to complete the test, but simulations revealed that the problem was also present on E20-01, and so the team decided to withdraw from the remainder of the test with immediate effect.
The problem was then corrected in time for the team to
start the season.
"The Device"
The Lotus E20 was one of the only cars on the 2012 grid to use a version of the "double-
DRS" system used by
Mercedes on the rear wing of the
W03 chassis. The wing used the
F-duct concept developed by
McLaren in
2010, which blew air across the surface of the wing to "stall" it, thereby cancelling out all downforce and drag running over the wing, allowing the car to achieve a higher top speed. The system developed by Mercedes was reported to create an F-duct effect over the front wing when the Drag Reduction System (DRS) flap in the rear wing opened. Opening the flap would expose two vents, which channeled air back through the car and over the front wing, cancelling out the downforce generated by the front wing with the intention of increasing stability in high-speed corners. Lotus initially opposed the system, and filed a formal protest as they believed it to be a moveable aerodynamic device and therefore in violation of Article 3.15 of the sport's technical regulations,
the same Article under which the E20's reactive ride-height system had been challenged. The FIA ultimately rejected Lotus's protest, allowing Mercedes to continue using the double-DRS device and paving the way for Lotus to introduce their own version of it.
Two days after the
2012 Hungarian Grand Prix, the teams unanimously agreed to ban the use of double-DRS systems for the
2013 season.
Nevertheless, Lotus continued their development of a double-DRS system, which they referred to as "The Device",
and anticipated its introduction at the
Belgian Grand Prix
The Belgian Grand Prix (French: ''Grand Prix de Belgique''; Dutch: ''Grote Prijs van België''; German: ''Großer Preis von Belgien'') is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship.
The first national race of ...
, one month later. However, heavy rain in the first two practice sessions at the
Spa-Francorchamps circuit delayed The Device's introduction. The team's plans were further put on hold after
Romain Grosjean
Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a Swiss-French professional Auto racing, racing driver, competing under the French flag in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 28 Honda for Andretti Autosport. Grosjean had previously ...
was banned from taking part in the
Italian Grand Prix
The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...
for his role in a multi-car pile-up at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix.
Grosjean was replaced by the team's testing and reserve driver,
Jérôme d'Ambrosio
Jérôme D’Ambrosio (born 27 December 1985) is a Belgian former professional racing driver, motorsport executive and former Team Principal of Venturi Racing in Formula E.
He has previously driven for Marussia Virgin Racing and Lotus F1 in t ...
,
but d'Ambrosio's inexperience with the 2012-specification of cars and the low-downforce nature of the
Monza circuit
The Monza Circuit ( it, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, , National Automobile Racetrack of Monza) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit af ...
— which meant that any gain a double-DRS system had to offer would be negated — prompted the team to delay The Device's introduction even further, naming the
Japanese Grand Prix
The Japanese Grand Prix ( ja, 日本グランプリ, Nihon-guranpuri) is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the Japanese Gran ...
in early October as their planned point of introduction.
The team used the double-DRS system as planned during Friday practice, but shelved it until the third round of Young Driver Tests in November after being unhappy with their progress.
Kimi Räikkönen admitted that using the system made finding the proper setup for the car much more difficult than without it. By comparison,
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing, also simply known as Red Bull or RBR and currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing, is a Formula One racing team, racing under an Austrian licence and based in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Formula One teams owned ...
introduced their own variant on the system at the
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
and Japanese Grands Prix, which was credited with aiding
Sebastian Vettel in securing two race wins.
By the end of the season and in spite its extensive development programme, "The Device" was never raced. However, the concept was carried over to the Lotus E20's successor, the
E21, with the team pledging to continue development throughout the
2013 season. The system was finally raced for the first time at the
2013 British Grand Prix, when it was fitted on Kimi Räikkönen's car; the team opted not to use it on the sister car of Romain Grosjean so as to evaluate its performance relative to the older specification of car.
Coandă-effect exhaust
With the double-DRS "Device" shelved for the foreseeable future, the team instead turned their attention to the exhaust, introducing a
Coandă-effect system for the
Korean Grand Prix
The Korean Grand Prix ( Korean: 코리아 그랑프리) was a Formula One race held in South Korea, from 2010 until 2013, when it was dropped from the Formula One calendar.
History
On 2 October 2006 it was confirmed that the event would take ...
. The system, also used by
McLaren and
Ferrari, used the curved shape of the bodywork at the rear of the car to guide the flow of exhaust gases, creating a low-pressure area over the car's diffuser. The team had previously considered launching the car with a Coandă-effect system, but opted to start the season with a conventional exhaust layout as they felt it was more important to start the season with a car that they knew was competitive rather than attempt to understand both the car and the complex properties of the Coandă effect at the same time.
Season review
The Lotus E20 showed its potential early in the season when
Romain Grosjean
Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a Swiss-French professional Auto racing, racing driver, competing under the French flag in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 28 Honda for Andretti Autosport. Grosjean had previously ...
qualified third for the
Australian Grand Prix. However, the team would go on to experience a difficult season in which they never quite made the most of the car's potential, let down by poor race management and frequent entanglements in on-track incidents. Despite predictions that the team would be competing for race wins — if not the
Drivers' and
Constructors' Championships' — as early as April, the team would remain winless by October.
Grosjean's strong performance in qualifying for the race in Australia came to nothing when he made contact with
Pastor Maldonado
Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (; born 9 March 1985) is a Venezuelan professional racing driver, who competed in Formula One for the Williams (2011–2013) and Lotus (2014–2015) teams and as a Pirelli test driver until 2017. Before entering ...
on the second lap and retired on the spot.
Kimi Räikkönen, who had struggled in qualifying and started the race from seventeenth place, made the best of a bad situation to finish the race seventh. The team fared little better in the next race in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
; both Grosjean and Räikkönen qualified comfortably inside the top ten, but Grosjean made contact with
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
on the first lap and slipped down the order before spinning off, while Räikkönen was given a grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change and had to fight to recover to fifth.
The team's troubles continued in
China; once again, both drivers qualified inside the top ten, but Räikkönen's race was compromised by poor tyre management and he lost eleven positions in a single lap. Grosjean, on the other hand, managed a clean race and was rewarded with his first points in Formula One.
![012 Canadian GP - Romain Grosjean Lotus E20 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/012_Canadian_GP_-_Romain_Grosjean_Lotus_E20_02.jpg)
The
Bahrain Grand Prix represented a breakthrough for the team, with both Räikkönen and Grosjean finishing the race on the podium behind race winner
Sebastian Vettel. Both drivers had challenged Vettel for the lead over the course of the race, and while neither managed to catch the reigning World Champion, it was an encouraging sign for team, and one that they would back up at the next race in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, with Räikkönen scoring his second consecutive podium after attempting a daring strategy in which he tried to force race winner
Pastor Maldonado
Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (; born 9 March 1985) is a Venezuelan professional racing driver, who competed in Formula One for the Williams (2011–2013) and Lotus (2014–2015) teams and as a Pirelli test driver until 2017. Before entering ...
and
Fernando Alonso to drive beyond the life expectancy of their tyres. Räikkönen ran out of laps before Maldonado and Alonso ran out of grip, and the
2007 World Champion finished third, with Grosjean fourth.
The team's fortunes came crashing back down to earth in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
when Grosjean was at the centre of a first-lap accident that put himself, Maldonado,
Kamui Kobayashi
is a Japanese professional racing driver who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) and in the Super Formula Championship for KCMG . He previously competed in Formula One, Formula E, the GP2 Series, and ...
and
Pedro de la Rosa
Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (; born 24 February 1971) is a Spanish former Formula One driver who has participated in 107 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren, Sauber and HRT teams. He made his Formula One debut on 7 March 1999, becoming ...
out of the race. Räikkönen, meanwhile, struggled after losing valuable track time during Friday practice, as he was unhappy with parts introduced onto the car for the race. He qualified eighth and went on to finish the race ninth. The team's poor form in Monaco proved to be an exception, rather than the rule, as Grosjean went on to finish the
Canadian Grand Prix
The Canadian Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix du Canada) is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a spor ...
in second place after race leaders Alonso and Vettel fell victim to the ultra-sensitive
Pirelli tyres; Grosjean later admitted that he had not thought a podium was possible until he found himself running second with three laps left to run. Räikkönen, on the other hand, missed out on a spot in the top ten on the grid, and so had to work his way up from twelfth to eighth. Grosjean was in contention for his maiden race win in
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
after an alternator failure forced race leader Sebastian Vettel to retire. Grosjean kept pace with new race leader Fernando Alonso, only to fall victim to the same alternator failure seven laps later. Räikkönen, meanwhile, took advantage of this to finish the race second behind Alonso.
![2012 Singapore GP - Raikkonen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/2012_Singapore_GP_-_Raikkonen.jpg)
The
British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...
proved disappointing for Lotus, with Grosjean spinning off during qualifying and Räikkönen struggling with the wet conditions. In the race, Grosjean made contact with
Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta (born 16 April 1986) is a British racing driver from Scotland, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot Sport in their LMH entry. He drove in Formula One for Force India from to , and became a reserve driver ...
on the first lap; di Resta retired, while Grosjean was forced to pit for a new front wing, shuffling him back down the order to twenty-third. He later recovered to finish sixth behind Räikkönen, both drivers having struggled to match the leaders for pace all race long. Both drivers struggled in qualifying for the
German Grand Prix
The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in Rh ...
, with Räikkönen starting tenth after being caught out by heavy rain in the middle of the session, and Grosjean managing no better than fifteenth. Räikkönen, however, recovered in the race to finish fourth, inheriting a podium when Sebastian Vettel was given a twenty-second post-race penalty for passing
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super G ...
off the circuit. Grosjean, meanwhile, finished eighteenth, a lap behind race winner Alonso. The team bounced back once again in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, with Grosjean qualifying on the front row and finishing third after the team managed to find a strategy for Räikkönen that saw him steal second place away from his team-mate.
Disaster struck in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. Romain Grosjean was once again involved in a first-lap incident when he cut across the circuit at the start, clipping
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...
and being launched into Alonso and
Sergio Pérez. The violent nature of the accident led to the stewards handing down a one-race ban for Grosjean.
Räikkönen salvaged what he could to finish third,
but expressed disappointment with the result given his previous achievements at
the circuit, including four wins in five starts. With Grosjean forced to miss the
Italian Grand Prix
The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...
, the team drafted their testing and reserve driver,
Jérôme d'Ambrosio
Jérôme D’Ambrosio (born 27 December 1985) is a Belgian former professional racing driver, motorsport executive and former Team Principal of Venturi Racing in Formula E.
He has previously driven for Marussia Virgin Racing and Lotus F1 in t ...
, to drive car #10 for the race.
D'Ambrosio qualified sixteenth and took advantage of high-profile retirements for Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button to finish thirteenth, the last car to be classified on the lead lap. Räikkönen had a quiet race, starting fifth and finishing seventh.
![2012 Japanese GP opening lap](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/2012_Japanese_GP_opening_lap.jpg)
Grosjean returned to the car in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, and once again out-qualified Räikkönen, starting eighth while his team-mate could do no better than twelfth.
In the race it was Räikkönen who performed better, finishing sixth, a second ahead of Grosjean.
Despite not having won a race by this point, Räikkönen remained in championship contention, sitting in third place, forty-five points behind championship leader Fernando Alonso. While Alonso's nearest rival, Sebastian Vettel, would make significant in-roads into Alonso's championship lead in
Japan, Räikkönen went on to finish sixth after making contact with Alonso during the start that forced the Ferrari driver out of the race. Grosjean, on the other hand, was once again caught up in a first-corner melee, making contact with
Mark Webber and earning a ten-second stop-go penalty for his troubles, the harshest in-race penalty available to the race stewards. With eight first-lap incidents from fourteen starts to his name in 2012 alone,
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing, also simply known as Red Bull or RBR and currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing, is a Formula One racing team, racing under an Austrian licence and based in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Formula One teams owned ...
team principal opined that Lotus "needed to control" Grosjean, describing the Frenchman as dangerous to himself and others.
Both cars finished in the points once more at the
Korean Grand Prix
The Korean Grand Prix ( Korean: 코리아 그랑프리) was a Formula One race held in South Korea, from 2010 until 2013, when it was dropped from the Formula One calendar.
History
On 2 October 2006 it was confirmed that the event would take ...
, with Räikkönen and Grosjean finishing where they started in fifth and seventh place,
but the team lost further ground to
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing, also simply known as Red Bull or RBR and currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing, is a Formula One racing team, racing under an Austrian licence and based in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Formula One teams owned ...
and
Ferrari in the World Constructors' Championship. The team scored another double points finish two weeks later in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, with Räikkönen finishing seventh — having spent much of the race stuck behind
Felipe Massa — and Grosjean climbing from eleventh to finish ninth overall. Räikkönen would later claim that a podium finish was possible, but mistakes made during the final free practice session and qualifying cost him dearly. One week later in
Abu Dhabi, Räikkönen picked up two positions off the start line to be second as the cars began their first lap, inheriting the lead when
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...
's
McLaren developed a terminal electrical fault that forced him out of the race. Räikkönen held onto the position for the remainder of the race despite a late challenge from
Fernando Alonso, finally winning
Lotus' first race in 2012 six months after it had been predicted.
Romain Grosjean
Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a Swiss-French professional Auto racing, racing driver, competing under the French flag in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 28 Honda for Andretti Autosport. Grosjean had previously ...
, on the other hand, was involved in early contact that forced him to pit to repair damage. He recovered to fifth, but retired when
Sergio Pérez veered sharply onto the circuit after being forced off by
Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta (born 16 April 1986) is a British racing driver from Scotland, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot Sport in their LMH entry. He drove in Formula One for Force India from to , and became a reserve driver ...
. Pérez and Grosjean made contact, pushing Grosjean into the path of
Mark Webber, and the two retired with collision damage.
The team were unable to continue their winning form in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
; despite Räikkönen's surprise at a strong qualifying performance when both he and Grosjean had struggled for grip throughout free practice, any potential for a podium finish was lost when Grosjean spun early in the race and a clutch problem held Räikkönen during his one and only pit stop. Räikkönen and Grosjean went on to finish in sixth and seventh places respectively, while Lewis Hamilton's race win put third place in the
World Constructors' Championship out of Lotus's reach. The team scored just a single point at the
final race of the season in Brazil, when Räikkönen finished tenth. Grosjean spun out and crashed heavily early on in difficult conditions, while Räikkönen made a poor tyre choice and fell down the order. He was later running as high as sixth, but lost a considerable amount of time in a bizarre incident where he left the circuit and attempted to re-join using the support paddock pit lane, only to find that the way was blocked, which forced him to turn around and re-join the circuit another way. He recovered to eleventh, which became tenth when
Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta (born 16 April 1986) is a British racing driver from Scotland, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot Sport in their LMH entry. He drove in Formula One for Force India from to , and became a reserve driver ...
crashed out two laps from the end of the race.
Sponsorship and livery
Lotus celebrated its 500th race in Monaco, and the team unveiled a special livery inspired by
Angry Birds
''Angry Birds'' is a Finnish action-based media franchise created by Rovio Entertainment. The game series focuses on the eponymous flock of angry birds who try to save their eggs from green-colored pigs. Inspired by the game ''Crush the Castl ...
, and partnered with alternative rock band
Linkin Park at the same GP to promote an
iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating ...
application. The team promoted the movie
The Dark Knight Rises
''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is th ...
at the
2012 British Grand Prix
The 2012 British Grand Prix (formally the 2012 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England on 8 July 2012. It was the ninth roun ...
. The team promoted the game
Angry Birds Star Wars
''Angry Birds Star Wars'' is a discontinued puzzle video game, a crossover between the ''Star Wars'' franchise and the ''Angry Birds'' series of video games, launched on November 8, 2012, first for Windows, iOS, and Android devices, later also ...
at the
2012 United States Grand Prix.
Complete Formula One results
(
key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as they had completed greater than 90% of the race distance.
Other appearances
This car was also featured in the music video for '
Dangerous' by Sam Martin and
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
.
Later uses
The E20 was run in the
Renault R.S.17 livery for demonstration laps by
Robert Kubica
Robert Józef Kubica (; born 7 December 1984) is a Polish racing and rally driver. He was the first and, , the only Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test d ...
throughout 2017. The car was also run in 2022 in the
Alpine A522 livery for demonstration laps by
Aseel Al-Hamad
Aseel Al-Hamad is a Saudi Arabian interior designer, engineer, and motorsport enthusiast. She became the first female board member of the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation and is a member of the International Automobile Federation.
Biography
Asee ...
and
Abbi Pulling
Abbi Pulling (born 21 March 2003) is a British racing driver. She currently competes for Racing X in the W Series, and is a member of the Alpine Affiliate programme.
Career
Karting
Pulling started karting competitively in 2013 at the ag ...
.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lotus E20
E20