Ral wrote:I think Lotus need to hire someone to think outside the box for strategies during the race. They have the car, they have the drivers and even the pit-stop times are slowly coming down now. The only thing missing is the race strategies. More specifically, I think they're aiming too low and covering the wrong drivers.
I agree with the strategy fault for Lotus this year, and I think part of it has to do with the lack of continuity for the drivers. Last year, with Petrov and Heidfeld, they were able to make good points at the start of the year, but trailed as the season went on (because of FEE? Petrov? Heidfeld? The Lotus-Name Fiasco? No importa). While their ending performance wasn't all that great, even that experience would've been good to pass on rather than just data. Especially with the driver's feeling of the tires as they approach the cliff matter more and more, not having that past dealing with the pirelli tires' eccentricity has negatively affected the strategy calls by drivers and the pit wall. While Grosjean and Kimi are, indeed, fast (no one doubts that Gro drove a great race and Silverstone and Kimi was robbed at least once this season from a great points finish due to tires), their inexperience with the variability of the pirelli compound has hindered the team when it's been up to the driver's to make that final call to pit or not.
That could very well be what's affecting STR this year, with two new drivers that haven't had the season-long run with last year's pirelli's, it could be a rude awakening in terms of race pace and strategy.
