Formula One: Lotus pull out from testing

BARCELONA: Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus team pulled out of the second pre-season Formula One test in Barcelona after a problem with its new car. The team had earlier called a halt on the first day of the session at the Circuit de Catalunya after Frenchman Romain Grosjean had completed just seven laps in the second chassis. Lotus had said they would return the car to the factory in Britain and replace it with the first chassis used in Jerez last month, where returning 2007 champion Raikkonen was fastest on the first day, but that plan was later abandoned. Meanwhile, technical director James Allison said that the team had identified what needed fixing.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2012.