Lotus E21

The Lotus E21[8] is a Formula One racing car designed and built by the Lotus F1 team for use in the 2013 championship.[1] The chassis was designed by James Allison, Nick Chester, Martin Tolliday and Dirk de Beer with Renault supplying the team's engines. The car was driven by 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean,[6][7] both of whom remained with the team after competing in 2012. The E21 was the first of the 2013 season cars to be launched.[9]

Lotus E21
CategoryFormula One
ConstructorLotus
Designer(s)James Allison (Technical Director)[1]
Martin Tolliday (Chief Designer)
Nick Chester (Engineering Director)
Dirk de Beer (Head of Aerodynamics)
PredecessorLotus E20
SuccessorLotus E22
Technical specifications[2][3]
ChassisMoulded carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb composite monocoque, manufactured by Lotus F1 Team and designed for maximum strength with minimum weight. Installing the engine as a fully stressed member.
Suspension (front)Carbon fibre top and bottom wishbones operate an inboard rocker via a pushrod system. This is connected to a torsion bar and damper units which are mounted inside the front of the monocoque.
Suspension (rear)Carbon fibre top and bottom wishbones with pull rod operated torsion springs and transverse-mounted damper units mounted in the top of the gearbox casing.
EngineRenault RS27-2013 2.4 L (146 cu in) V8 (90°). Naturally aspirated, 18,000 RPM limited with KERS, mid-mounted.
TransmissionLotus 7-speed semi-automatic sequential titanium gearbox + 1 reverse.
Power750 hp (560 kW)
Weight642 kg (1,415.4 lb), with driver, cameras and ballast
FuelTotal[4]
Kevlar-reinforced rubber fuel cell by ATL.
TyresPirelli P Zero (dry), Cinturato (wet)[5]
OZ Wheels (front and rear): 13"[4]
Competition history
Notable entrantsLotus F1 Team
Notable drivers7. Kimi Räikkönen[6]
7. Heikki Kovalainen
8. Romain Grosjean[7]
Debut2013 Australian Grand Prix
RacesWinsPodiumsPolesF.Laps
1911402

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,[10][11][12] the E21 was launched with a passive DRS device of its own.[13]

Following criticism of the cars raced in 2012 for being "ugly" because of a visible step in the design of the nose,[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

Complete Formula One results

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

Year Entrant Engine Tyres Drivers Grands Prix Points WCC
AUS MAL CHN BHR ESP MON CAN GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN KOR JPN IND ABU USA BRA
2013 Lotus F1 Team Renault RS27-2013 P Kimi Räikkönen 1 7 2 2 2 10 9 5 2 2 Ret 11 3 2 5 7 Ret 315 4th
Heikki Kovalainen 14 14
Romain Grosjean 10 6 9 3 Ret Ret 13 19† 3 6 8 8 Ret 3 3 3 4 2 Ret

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

References
  1. Collantine, Keith (28 January 2013). "Allison expects rivals' cars to have stepped noses". F1 Fanatic. Keith Collantine. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Lotus E21 - F1technical.net".
  4. "Lotus E21 laser presentation". F1 Fanatic YouTube channel. YouTube. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  5. Noble, Jonathan; Beer, Matt (11 December 2013). "F1 teams expert enough to avoid early tyre struggles — Ross Brawn". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  6. "Kimi Raikkonen re-signs with Lotus for 2013". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  7. "Romain Grosjean will stay at Lotus for 2013 F1 season". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  8. "@Lotus_F1Team: 16 January". Twitter. Twitter, Inc. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  9. Beer, Matt (23 January 2013). "Lotus to unveil 2013 F1 car via YouTube channel on 28 January". Autosport. Haymarket Media Group. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  10. Cooper, Adam (4 September 2012). "Lotus postpones DDRS 'Device' debut until Suzuka". Adam Cooper's F1 Blog. WordPress. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  11. Collantine, Keith (31 August 2012). "Lotus to put Double DRS 'device' on hold". F1 Fanatic. Keith Collantine. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  12. Collantine, Keith (9 October 2012). "Lotus focus on exhaust after Double DRS problems". F1 Fanatic. Keith Collantine. Retrieved 28 January 2013. Allison admitted the team had run into difficulty with its Double DRS, which has appeared several times in practice but hasn't been raced yet [...] "We're going to take it away, have another think and most likely give it another go in the Abu Dhabi Young Drivers' Test where we'll have more time to develop it in a systematic fashion."
  13. "Lotus persists with passive double DRS". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  14. Broad, Ben (15 March 2012). "Formula 1 cars are ugly: Red Bull driver Mark Webber". Herald Sun. News Corporation. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  15. Noble, Jonathan (27 September 2012). "FIA approves plan to hide stepped noses". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  16. Collantine, Keith (28 January 2013). "Lotus E21 launch: First pictures and video". F1 Fanatic. Keith Collantine. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
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