Lotus E21

Design

Despite the perpetual troubles the team experienced with the "passive Drag Reduction System" device on the E20 chassis, which spent most of the 2012 season in development without ever being raced, the E21 was launched with a passive DRS device of its own.

Following criticism of the cars raced in 2012 for being "ugly" because of a visible step in the design of the nose, the 2013 technical regulations allowed teams to use a "modesty panel", or a small piece of carbon fibre designed to cover the nose of the car for aesthetic purposes. However, the E21 was launched without a modesty panel, as the team felt that it offered no aerodynamic benefit, and that the aesthetic qualities it offered were not worth the added weight, however slight the weight gain might be.

Season summary

The E21 proved to be a competitive car across the 2013 season with one victory at the season opener at Australia, and the car would claim 14 podiums by the end of the season. Eventually, the team finished 4th in the Constructors' Championship with 315 points.

Sponsorship and livery

Lotus went into the 2013 season with subtle livery changes. While the overall design was similar, the only difference was an additional red accents.

In Monaco, the team collaborated with Daft Punk to promote their latest album, Random Access Memories. The Daft Punk logo appeared on the rear wing, while the chassis sported their helmet designs as they appear on the album cover on each side of the car. In Korea, the Renault logos were badged as Renault Samsung.

The car also notably featured a different hashtag at every race, often referencing food of the visited country or other pop culture elements through puns. In pre-season testing in Jerez, the hashtag was "#SexyAndIKnowIt". In Abu Dhabi, to tie in with the Halloween festivities, the hashtag was "#AlloWin?" with a pumpkin design, referring to a pun in french: "Allô Win? Ici Trouille!".

Quantum Motorsports

Mansoor Ijaz, head of the Quantum Motorsports consortium, was involved in a proposed but ultimately unsuccessful deal to acquire a 35% stake in the team in summer 2013. The deal, which would have seen Quantum acquire the stake from majority owner Genii Capital, was announced in the summer of 2013 but faced repeated delays. While Ijaz claimed the deal was complete from his side, the transaction was never finalized.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as they had completed greater than 90% of the race distance.

References

References

1. Collantine, Keith. (28 January 2013). "Allison expects rivals' cars to have stepped noses". Keith Collantine.
2. (17 December 2012). "Romain Grosjean will stay at Lotus for 2013 F1 season". [[Haymarket Media Group.
3. "Lotus F1 Team :: Chassis E20".
4. "Lotus E21 - F1technical.net".
5. (28 January 2013). "Lotus E21 laser presentation". [[YouTube]].
6. (11 December 2013). "F1 teams expert enough to avoid early tyre struggles — Ross Brawn". [[Haymarket Group.
7. (16 January 2013). "@Lotus_F1Team: 16 January". Twitter, Inc..
8. Beer, Matt. (23 January 2013). "Lotus to unveil 2013 F1 car via YouTube channel on 28 January". Haymarket Media Group.
9. Cooper, Adam. (4 September 2012). "Lotus postpones DDRS 'Device' debut until Suzuka". [[WordPress]].
10. Collantine, Keith. (31 August 2012). "Lotus to put Double DRS 'device' on hold". Keith Collantine.
11. Collantine, Keith. (9 October 2012). "Lotus focus on exhaust after Double DRS problems". Keith Collantine.
12. (28 January 2013). "Lotus persists with passive double DRS". [[Haymarket Media Group.
13. Broad, Ben. (15 March 2012). "Formula 1 cars are ugly: Red Bull driver Mark Webber". [[News Corporation (1980–2013).
14. Noble, Jonathan. (27 September 2012). "FIA approves plan to hide stepped noses". [[Haymarket Media Group.
15. Collantine, Keith. (28 January 2013). "Lotus E21 launch: First pictures and video". Keith Collantine.
16. "All championship race entries, in a Lotus E21". ChicaneF1.