Lotus deputy team principal Federico Gastaldi believes that there will be a positive changes in Lotus F1 Team’s fortunes in 2015 after switching to Mercedes engines for the new season.
The team ended a 20-year partnership with Renault in 2014 after encountering a number of problems with the French marque’s design, which restricted Lotus to just ten points across the course of the year.
For 2015, Gastaldi is predicting better things for Lotus, with a bigger development window and the growing experience of its driver line-up all working in the team’s favor.
“It will be a huge, huge change from last year with this new engine from Mercedes, so for us it’s a fantastic step forward,” Gastaldi said. “Also on the development of the car, we started working very early in the middle of last year. We learned a lot from all the things going through last year, so we are hoping and we are sure to have a very competitive year.
“Romain has been with us for a long, long time, so we know he is a very strong driver. Pastor will have his second year with us. He’s been very, very professional and positive for us. This year will be only better. For us, having Jolyon Palmer as a third driver is a mega plus also. He will be a great talent to have around us.”
2014 may have been a season that Lotus wanted to forget, but Gastaldi feels that the team learned plenty of lessons from such a miserable campaign.
“It was a very very long season where we learned a lot from all of the bad results and bad experiences,” he said. “However, we have a fantastic amount of experience and skilled people within the team, so we’re looking forward to bouncing back this season.”
