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Boullier confident for 2013 prospects

Eric Boullier : 'This is the end of a chapter of rules, and in 2014 there will be a new chapter' © Sutton Images

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• Drivers:
• Eric Boullier

• Teams:
• Lotus F1

Lotus boss Eric Boullier has told Autosport that he believes Lotus will be much stronger in 2013 and will not be worried if the team starts next season where it ended 2012.

"I would be very happy to start the season with the same car performance we had last year relative to everyone else," he said. "I know both our drivers will be race fit and, let's say, delivering more than 12 months ago.

"On the team front, last year we lost a little bit of ground during the summer, but we know where and we know why it happened. We learned from our mistakes and we will not do the same strategy with next year's car development.

"I am positive, but also cautious. You don't know what the others teams are delivering, as you can only guess from statistics, but the regulations are quite stable, so there will only be evolutions of the 2012 cars. That could be good for us to help us keep the ground."

As with all teams, Boullier acknowledged 2013 would be a balance between building a competitive car and not committing too much resource ahead of major changes in 2014. "We obviously don't want to push too far to hurt ourselves with the big project for 2014," he said. "The boys here in Enstone have managed some work already on 2014, and I hope that what we saved already from 2012 has given us more flexibility for 2013.

"We have to be realistic. This is the end of a chapter of rules, and in 2014 there will be a new chapter. We cannot afford to start far from the others with these new regulations."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.