Lotus chassis problem like 2011 Force India

[John S]

Front suspension mounts are too soft claims auto-motor-und-sport.                  
If you can read past the poor translation it's all about carbon composites not being up to strength. Now wether it's the new ex Red Bull man or the team in general that has got it wrong they should take heart, FIF1 cured their problem last year so it can be assumed Lotus can crack it as well.

Lotus went seven laps in Barcelona, then stopped Romain Grosjean.  The engineers noted a soft chassis. Since then, speculation, where the vulnerability is located. Meanwhile transpires that the fault lies in the area of ​​the front axle.  As with Force India last year.

The test drive for Lotus in Barcelona deserved an entry in the record books.  Romain Grosjean took seven rounds or 32.585 km.  Then came the roll bar of the Lotus garage and the doors were never seen again.

 Alarm at Enstone.  The chassis is soft.  First it was thought that there was at the new chassis number 02  However, a bench test with chassis 01 at the factory revealed that these carbon tube in Barcelona would have got a problem.  Then, the test was blown off completely.

 Lotus chassis not up to the transverse forces
 
 Since then, it is speculated to give way at which point the Lotus chassis is advised.  And why you have not noticed in Jerez.  There were only a small hint: Kimi Raikkonen recorded a strange feeling with the steering.  Perhaps you would want to go deeper to the bottom, instead of changing only the setting of the power steering.
 
Barcelona puts on a Formula 1 chassis greater demands than Jerez. Although only 15 percent, but the big difference is in the nature of the forces acting on the carbon tube.  Force India technical director Andy Green said: "In Jerez there are more forces in the longitudinal direction, in contrast, more lateral forces in Barcelona."

 The former Jordan designer Gary Anderson suggested that the soft spot is in the carbon hull in the engine mount.  Then you would have but to remember even in Jerez.  Meanwhile transpires that the problem area is where the front suspension is bolted.  Apparently, the metal deposits between the two carbon fiber layers have moved.

Force India 2011 with a similar problem
 
The same Force India's happened a year ago.  Fortunately, the technician discovered the problem was already on the last day of testing at Jerez.  It was resolved by Test in Barcelona  "We have only lost one day of the next test in Barcelona," recalls Green.  Problem was the use of a new resin.  It wiped out not the way it should.

Lotus is said to have recruited in the last year, a carbon-specialists of Red Bull.  Now there is speculation that this has put his new team, perhaps with the information about the weight of the Red Bull chassis has a new, ambitious benchmark.  The chassis of the new Lotus will be easier than all the E20 chassis in recent years.  If you are overdoing it with the light?

 Lotus stays silent
 Lotus saying nothing is childish.   The damage is done.  Everyone knows that there is a problem with the chassis.  Then one can also say no matter where. The information about the competition would betray any secrets they could use to their advantage.  A typical example of the paranoia in Formula 1

The good news is that the Lotus E20 is operational on time to start testing next week. Nachlaminieren at this point must mean no great handicap.  The Force India last year it did not hurt either.

Google translation of Auto-motor-und- sport web page,