Lotus Renault GP Secure Second Consecutive Podium.

By Charles Oladeji.

Sebastian Vettel has increased RBR’s championship points lead, winning the Malaysian Grand Prix ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button who finished the race in 2^nd place.  Vettel had led from the front while Button who’d started the race in 4^th, dropped down the grid but  later managed to gain 2^nd position thanks to an imprecise pit stop by Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton finished the race in 7^th , which cuts  into his championship challenge at these early stages.

Intriguingly, Nick Heidfeld whose route into the 2011 F1 championship was as a replacement driver for an injured Robert Kubica at Lotus Renault, finished the race in 3^rd place. It’s a second consecutive podium position for Lotus Renault, in a race not many had predicted the team to do well following   lack lustre practice and qualifying sessions.

Lotus Restores Pre-Season Confidence.

The podium position at Sepang ultimately serves to reaffirm confidence that many commentators had in Renault pre-season. However, a large part of that confidence placed in the Brackley (UK) based team was initially intertwined with the apparent driving potential of Renault Driver Robert Kubica piloting a competitive R30 Lotus Renault car, prior to a serious arm injury .  Yet, without Kubica, the R30 with iconic black and gold JPS style livery is signalling intent to measure up to the legend attached to those classic F1 colours.

Lotus Renault GP under the aegis of French Team Principal Eric Boullier is proving a genuine contender.  Boullier is decidedly less flamboyant than his larger than life Italian predecessor at Renault F1, but has begun to raise his profile. He was recently appointed Vice-Chairman of the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA); replacing high profile Ferrari Team Principal Stefano Domenicali.  Martin Whitmarsh,  Mclaren Team Principal remains in place as FOTA Chairman.

On the track, should Ferrari or McLaren slip up during the chase for F1 supremacy this season Lotus Renault Drivers won’t shy away from pick anyone of them off, as demonstrated by Heidfield on Lewis Hamilton at the beginning, and end of the Malaysian GP.

Petrov’s Flying Advertisement.

Vitaly Petrov may have not finished the race at Malaysia, but the sight of his car briefly flying through the air at Sepang will make great viewing during F1 TV opening credits for years to come. Petrov might go from ‘hero to zero’ having been on the podium in Australia, then attempting to re-enact a WRC Finland rally jump at Sepang, hence a DNF,  but  it’s all good visibility of the Lotus Renault brand.  Furthermore, Petrov’s team mate challenged  the top of grid from the beginning of the race by manoeuvring his car from 6^th  to  2^nd  place,  squeezing Lewis Hamilton out into 3^rd and maintaining the position till a pit stop dropped him  back down the grid before fighting back.

Lotus Renault Gaining Momentum.

With an incident between Alonso and Hamilton, the former pitted first. Hamilton Lewis was forced to give way to Heidfield as the McLaren mans’ race went down south following a  bad pit stop, a hit from Fernando Alonso, and another additional pit stop which ironically placed  behind Alonso in 7^th position till the end of the race.

Nonetheless, Hamilton’s loss is Lotus Renault’s gain. As the next round of the F1 season moves to China next weekend,  all podium contenders would be advised to keep an eye on that black and gold livery R30 gaining momentum alongside them.