Here we go again, another season of Formula 1 images starting in the best place on the calendar, Australia! You can relive the 2015 season opener after the break with our gallery of 89 images, all clickable to 2560px mega image sizing.
Category: Lotus
The Lotus F1 Team has revealed these computer generated images of the E23, the team’s 2015 F1 car. You’ll recall last year the E22 had that shocking twin tusk nose. Thankfully, this season, it looks like we’re back on the way to having visually pleasing F1 cars once more.
Lotus will line up again with Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, which means the most significant off season change is the switch to Mercedes-Benz power.
Matthew Carter, Lotus F1 Team CEO, says his team is ready for better things, after a disappointing 2014.
“The E23 Hybrid represents a new era for Lotus F1 Team,” said Carter. “Not only in the change to a Mercedes-Benz Power Unit, but also it is the fruition of a busy winter behind the scenes.
“Improvements within our Design, Aero and Simulation departments have all contributed to the development of a car which is a huge step forward.
“It is time to put the disappointment of last season behind us and benefit from 12 months of hard work; we are ready to return to our rightful place at the pinnacle of the sport.”
Ayrton Senna’s bright yellow helmet peeking out of the iconic Lotus 98T‘s black and gold livery is one of Formula 1’s most evocative images. Bruce Thomson has captured that perfectly with his digital illustration of Senna at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Thanks again Bruce!
Bruce Thomson is an all round good guy. We know this because he hits our inbox from time to time with some seriously cool automotive drawings. Over the last few days he’s been sharing with the world a few illustrations showing how he would like the F1 cars of 2015 to look.
So far he’s given us the Ferrari F15, McLaren MP4-30, the Mercedes AMG W06 and the Red Bull Racing RB11.
If you follow those links then you’ll be treated to much larger versions of these images where you can further appreciate the detail.
Even better, there’s the promise of a Lotus and Williams concept to follow. Keep up the great work Bruce!
UPDATE 11 January: Now with Williams FW37 and Lotus E23 concepts.
Another Formula 1 season has come and gone and, as usual, it’s been a hell of a ride. Lews Hamilton’s win in Abu Dhabi secured his second world crown and put the perfect exclamation mark on a season of dominance for Mercedes AMG.
It’s a big job for a sole contributor compiling a season’s worth of F1 images too. Apologies for the delay in getting these images to you, but I’m not scared to admit there’s a sense of relief in posting the last gallery of photos for the year.
Never fear, the lure of F1 is great and I’ll be back again in 2015, hope to see you here.
When teams such as Lotus are crying poor about the costs associated with running a Formula 1 team the last thing you’d think they’d be doing is a stunt like this. Still, it’s fodder for the masses and a great promo for the team’s IT sponsor EMC2.
Really, who doesn’t want to see a massive truck jumping over an F1 car?!
Romain Grosjean has announced via his Facebook page that he will remain with Lotus F1 Team in 2015.
This season has been one of disappointment for Lotus. They were late to the pre-season party after suffering problems with the new Renault power unit and haven’t really recovered. Next year, though, Lotus will have Mercedes power and understandably this has Grosjean expecting better times ahead.
“I’m very pleased, happy and proud to be part of Lotus F1 Team for next year and excited at the prospect of being powered by the Mercedes engine which has looked so strong this year,” Grosjean on the Lotus F1 Team website. “The E23 should be a good step forward, building on all the lessons from 2014.
“I’ve spent a lot of time at the factory working with everyone, and the relationship I have with the team is very strong. We’ve had some good moments and tough ones and we always stay together, which makes it even more attractive for the future.”
No announcement has been made on who will partner Grosjean next season.
[Source: Lotus F1 Team]
Nico Rosberg’s win at the 2014 Brazilian Grand Prix will give his confidence a nice boost going into the title deciding double points bonanza in Abu Dhabi.
Wouldn’t it be the ultimate troll on British F1 fans if Nico could beat Lewis Hamilton to the title with four fewer race wins!
Before you wake up at ungodly hour to follow the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend here’s your pictorial reminder of what went down in Austin last weekend.
With his tenth win of 2014 Lewis Hamilton became the winningest British driver in Formula 1 (to use the bastardised US vernacular). The 2008 world champ now has 32 career wins, one more than Nigel Mansell.
In the world of serious Lego play MOC stands for My Own Creation and Luca Rusconi aka RoscoPC is king of Formula 1 MOCs. So far he has published 12 designs ranging, from a Lotus 43 through to the Williams FW14B you see above.
We’ve assembled a simple gallery below, but make sure you follow the link through to his website’s gallery, the level of detail is quite incredible. Luca’s work has seen him earn Lego Ambassador status and you can even buy the instructions to recreate these designs for yourself.
The fun has come and gone from the Sochi sun and the Russian Grand Prix passed by without any idiot from the Formula 1 world threatening to “shirtfront” Putin. Which, in some ways, in just as bad as it would have been if some idiot did engage his mouth before his brain.
Anyway, enough of that, let’s just try and enjoy the images from the race. Hopefully, they’re not quite as dull as the on track action ended up.
Lotus is having a crap year in Formula 1 this year. After being underdog darlings in previous years, now they’re just dogs. Their 2014 got off to a slow start following dramas with the Renault power unit.
They’ll be hoping 2015 is a lot better thanks to a new deal that will see them race with Mercedes power next year. The switch also means dropping Total lubricants in favour of Petronas.
“We are pleased to have been chosen by Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains in a significant long term deal,” said Matthew Carter, CEO, Lotus F1 Team. “The Mercedes-Benz Power Unit has shown good performance on track and it is our goal to marry this motive force to Enstone’s chassis expertise. It is our desire that the E23 Hybrid, powered by Mercedes-Benz, heralds a new era of success for Enstone.”
With the McLaren-Honda reunification in 2015 Mercedes said it was important to continue supplying three customer teams with power units; Lotus will join Force-India and Williams.
“It was strategically important for Mercedes-Benz to continue to supply three customers throughout this generation of Power Unit,” said Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. “It was therefore clear that we would be looking for a new customer from 2015.
“Lotus F1 Team is an impressive organisation that has delivered competitive on-track performances in recent seasons. We are pleased to welcome them to the Mercedes-Benz family and look forward to building a productive and performant working relationship in the years ahead.”
Meanwhile, Renault will work more closely with Red Bull in 2015 in a bid to improve the performance of its often troublesome V6 power unit.