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Updates for E20 as Boullier warns against resting on laurels

The Lotus E20 will have some Monaco-specific updates for next weekend © Sutton Images

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• Drivers:
• Eric Boullier

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• Lotus F1

Lotus boss Eric Boullier has warned his team not to rest on its laurels after two very solid results at the last two races.

In Bahrain both drivers were on the podium in second and third and in Spain Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean finished third and fourth. Given the unpredictability of results this year, Boullier said he was pleased with the consistency and that if the team continues to push he may revise its goal of finishing fourth in the constructors' championship.

"After a difficult first few races - where our pace on track did not convert to results at the chequered flag - it's true to say we have had two strong results and if we continue to score like this we may have to revise our expectations," he said. "That said, nothing stands still in Formula One and we would be foolhardy to underestimate the opposition. We have had two good results, yes, but we have not scored a win. Things change very quickly so we won't be resting on our laurels."

Lotus scored two podiums in the first two races last year as it surprised the field with its novel front-exiting exhaust. This year the team has a more conventional design, which Boullier is confident will not hit a dead end as it is developed.

"This time last year we also had some good feelings from podiums in Australia and Malaysia, but we had a design concept which would frustrate our potential," he added. "This year we have had a great sniff of victory and that is driving everyone forwards, making us all work harder. We're hungry and we know what we want."

The team is set to make a few changes to the E20 for Monaco to try to tailor the car to the demands of the track.

"We've got a bigger rear wing as you need more downforce at Monaco than you need anywhere else," technical director James Allison said. "If you look closer, or if you are a very keen fan of bodywork changes then you'll see that the area around the side pods and the rear drums will be different too.

"We have to make modifications to the suspension to enable the necessary lock to get around Loews Hairpin and Rascasse. We have also made some changes, for Kimi in particular, to make the steering a little more reactive for Monaco."

The car has had a tendency to be stronger in high-speed corners than slow speed corners, but Allison says that won't necessarily mean it is slow at Monaco.

"There are other things about Monaco that are different entirely, which are much harder to gauge. For starters the corners are so slow that the strength we've seen in very fast corners compared with moderate corners is not really any sort of form guide for competitiveness around Monaco's twists and turns. Secondly, driver skill plays a relatively bigger part at Monaco than at most tracks, and we are fortunate to have a pair of decent peddlers.

"Finally, a large part of Monaco is confidence from the driver. Confidence that they can lean on the car and know that it's not going to misbehave. So far, the E20 has proved to be a very predictable, straight-forward car to drive - a quality it shares with the R30. So hopefully they will be able to lean on it to good effect. We'll have to see."

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