Lotus E20
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The Lotus E20 is a
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
racing car designed and produced by the
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-based
Lotus F1 Team Lotus F1 Team was a British Formula One racing team. The team competed under the Lotus name from until , following the renaming of the former Renault team based at Enstone in Oxfordshire. The Lotus F1 Team was majority owned by Genii Capital ...
for the
2012 Formula One season The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 66th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 63rd FIA Formula One World Championship, a motor racing series for Formula One cars, recognised by the Fédération Internatio ...
. The chassis was designed by
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,
Naoki Tokunaga Naoki Tokunaga (徳永 直紀, born 1966) is the Japanese former technical director of Renault Sport F1. Career Tokunaga studied in Japan and graduated Chuo University. He was a motorsport engineer at Nissan. In 2000, he started working at Enst ...
, Martin Tolliday and
Dirk de Beer Dirk Laurie de Beer (born 2 June 1963) is a South African Formula One aerodynamicist. He was most recently the head of aerodynamics at the Alpine team until March 2024. Biography De Beer joined Renault in 2008, where he worked under Dino Toso un ...
with
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
continuing to supply engines. The E20 was the twentieth Formula One car to be designed at Enstone since 1992, and was named in tribute to the contribution made by the facility and its personnel in their twenty-year history. The car was also the first from Enstone to carry the Lotus name, since the team ceased using the Renault name following their renaming from
Lotus Renault GP Renault, a French automobile manufacturer, has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine ...
at the end of 2011. The car, which was launched by the team on its website on 5 February 2012, was driven by
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World Drivers' Champion
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "the Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One ...
and reigning
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champion
Romain Grosjean Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a French and Swiss racing driver, who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Lamborghini and serves as a reserve driver in the IndyCar Series for Prema. Grosjean competed under ...
, both of whom returned to Formula One after a two-year absence. The car made its competitive debut at the
2012 Australian Grand Prix The 2012 Australian Grand Prix (formally, the 2012 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 18 March 2012 as the opening round of the 2012 Formula One season. It was the 77th race in the combined history of the ...
, and in the twenty races of the 2012 season, recorded a race win in
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and nine podium finishes to finish fourth overall in the
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.


Design


Ride height system

The Lotus E20 was planned to feature a "reactive ride height" suspension system — a mechanical device designed to maintain ride height under braking — at the start of the 2012 season. Lotus (and formerly both their immediate predecessors,
Lotus Renault GP Renault, a French automobile manufacturer, has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine ...
and Renault F1 Team) had been developing the system since January 2010. The system used hydraulic cylinders located in the brake calipers and suspension push-rods to make minute adjustments to the ride height of the car, thereby keeping the ride height at an optimal level throughout the race and providing stability during braking. This initially had the approval of the FIA, who reversed their position one week later ruling that such systems were in breach of their regulations, on the grounds that the primary function of such a device was improve the aerodynamic performance of cars, and was therefore in violation of Article 3.15 of the technical regulations, which states that "any device that influences the car's aerodynamics must remain immobile in relation to the sprung part of the car". The teams were notified of the FIA's decision on 20 January 2012, and as a consequence, the reactive ride height system did not feature on 2012 cars.


Testing problems

The team was forced to withdraw from the second pre-season test in
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when Romain Grosjean complained about a "strange" feeling in the chassis while driving on the opening morning of the test. The team gave no official diagnosis of the problem at the time, but speculation within the media suggested the problem was related to the front suspension and that the problem presented itself at the Circuit de Catalunya because of the higher lateral loads placed on the chassis at the circuit than those experienced at Jerez.
James Allison James Allison or Jim Allison may refer to: * James Allison (pirate) (fl. 1689–1691), pirate active near Cape Verde and the Bay of Campeche * James Allison Jr. (1772–1854), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania * James Wh ...
, the team's technical director, later confirmed that the team had identified the problem as being the mounting of the upper front wishbone on the rear suspension arm. Grosjean had been testing the chassis designated E20-02 at the time; the chassis E20-01 was returned to the team's Enstone facility following completion of testing at Jerez. Upon discovering the problem, Lotus initially prepared chassis E20-01 to be transported to Barcelona to complete the test, but simulations revealed that the problem was also present on E20-01, and so the team decided to withdraw from the remainder of the test with immediate effect. The problem was then corrected in time for the team to start the season.


"The Device"

The Lotus E20 was one of the only cars on the 2012 grid to use a version of the "double- DRS" system used by Mercedes on the rear wing of the W03 chassis. The wing used the
F-duct The McLaren MP4-25 is a Formula One racing car designed and raced by McLaren in the season. The chassis was designed by Paddy Lowe, Neil Oatley, Tim Goss, Andrew Bailey and John Iley and was powered by a customer Mercedes-Benz engine. The ...
concept developed by
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
in
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, which blew air across the surface of the wing to "stall" it, thereby cancelling out all downforce and drag running over the wing, allowing the car to achieve a higher top speed. The system developed by Mercedes was reported to create an F-duct effect over the front wing when the Drag Reduction System (DRS) flap in the rear wing opened. Opening the flap would expose two vents, which channeled air back through the car and over the front wing, cancelling out the downforce generated by the front wing with the intention of increasing stability in high-speed corners. Lotus initially opposed the system, and filed a formal protest as they believed it to be a moveable aerodynamic device and therefore in violation of Article 3.15 of the sport's technical regulations, the same Article under which the E20's reactive ride-height system had been challenged. The FIA ultimately rejected Lotus's protest, allowing Mercedes to continue using the double-DRS device and paving the way for Lotus to introduce their own version of it. Two days after the
2012 Hungarian Grand Prix The 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Eni Magyar Nagydíj 2012) was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Hungaroring circuit near Mogyoród, Hungary on 29 July 2012. It was the eleventh round of the 2012 season, and t ...
, the teams unanimously agreed to ban the use of double-DRS systems for the 2013 season. Nevertheless, Lotus continued their development of a double-DRS system, which they referred to as "The Device", and anticipated its introduction at the
Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix (; ; ) is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of Belgium was held in 1925 at the Spa region's race course, an area of the country that had been associated ...
, one month later. However, heavy rain in the first two practice sessions at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit delayed The Device's introduction. The team's plans were further put on hold after
Romain Grosjean Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a French and Swiss racing driver, who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Lamborghini and serves as a reserve driver in the IndyCar Series for Prema. Grosjean competed under ...
was banned from taking part in the
Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix () is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, motor racing Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been held since 1921 ...
for his role in a multi-car pile-up at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix. Grosjean was replaced by the team's testing and reserve driver,
Jérôme d'Ambrosio Jérôme d'Ambrosio (; born 27 December 1985) is a Belgian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Since October 2024, d'Ambrosio has served as deputy team principal of Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari in F ...
, but d'Ambrosio's inexperience with the 2012-specification of cars and the low-downforce nature of the
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— which meant that any gain a double-DRS system had to offer would be negated — prompted the team to delay The Device's introduction even further, naming the
Japanese Grand Prix The Japanese Grand Prix () is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the Japanese Grand Prix has been the venue for many title-de ...
in early October as their planned point of introduction. The team used the double-DRS system as planned during Friday practice, but shelved it until the third round of Young Driver Tests in November after being unhappy with their progress.
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "the Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One ...
admitted that using the system made finding the proper setup for the car much more difficult than without it. By comparison,
Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in ...
introduced their own variant on the system at the
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and Japanese Grands Prix, which was credited with aiding
Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to with Red Bull, and rema ...
in securing two race wins. By the end of the season and in spite its extensive development programme, "The Device" was never raced. However, the concept was carried over to the Lotus E20's successor, the E21, with the team pledging to continue development throughout the 2013 season. The system was finally raced for the first time at the
2013 British Grand Prix The 2013 British Grand Prix (formally the 2013 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, England, United Kingdom, on 30 June 2013 before 120,000 spectators. It was ...
, when it was fitted on Kimi Räikkönen's car; the team opted not to use it on the sister car of Romain Grosjean so as to evaluate its performance relative to the older specification of car.


Coandă-effect exhaust

With the double-DRS "Device" shelved for the foreseeable future, the team instead turned their attention to the exhaust, introducing a Coandă-effect system for the
Korean Grand Prix The Korean Grand Prix () was a Formula One race held in South Korea, from 2010 until 2013, when it was dropped from the Formula One calendar. History On 2 October 2006, it was confirmed that the event would take place in 2010, and would be ho ...
. The system, also used by
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
and
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
, used the curved shape of the bodywork at the rear of the car to guide the flow of exhaust gases, creating a low-pressure area over the car's diffuser. The team had previously considered launching the car with a Coandă-effect system, but opted to start the season with a conventional exhaust layout as they felt it was more important to start the season with a car that they knew was competitive rather than attempt to understand both the car and the complex properties of the Coandă effect at the same time.


Season review

The Lotus E20 showed its potential early in the season when
Romain Grosjean Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a French and Swiss racing driver, who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Lamborghini and serves as a reserve driver in the IndyCar Series for Prema. Grosjean competed under ...
qualified third for the
Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual Formula One motor racing event, taking place in Melbourne, Victoria. The event is contracted to be held at least until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Gran ...
. However, the team would go on to experience a difficult season in which they never quite made the most of the car's potential, let down by poor race management and frequent entanglements in on-track incidents. Despite predictions that the team would be competing for race wins — if not the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships' — as early as April, the team would remain winless by October. Grosjean's strong performance in qualifying for the race in Australia came to nothing when he made contact with
Pastor Maldonado Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (; born 9 March 1985) is a Venezuelan former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Maldonado won the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix with Williams. After winning the GP2 Series in 2010 with Rapax, Maldona ...
on the second lap and retired on the spot.
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "the Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One ...
, who had struggled in qualifying and started the race from seventeenth place, made the best of a bad situation to finish the race seventh. The team fared little better in the next race in
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; both Grosjean and Räikkönen qualified comfortably inside the top ten, but Grosjean made contact with
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
on the first lap and slipped down the order before spinning off, while Räikkönen was given a grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change and had to fight to recover to fifth. The team's troubles continued in
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; once again, both drivers qualified inside the top ten, but Räikkönen's race was compromised by poor tyre management and he lost eleven positions in a single lap. Grosjean, on the other hand, managed a clean race and was rewarded with his first points in Formula One. The
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represented a breakthrough for the team, with both Räikkönen and Grosjean finishing the race on the podium behind race winner
Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to with Red Bull, and rema ...
. Both drivers had challenged Vettel for the lead over the course of the race, and while neither managed to catch the reigning World Champion, it was an encouraging sign for team, and one that they would back up at the next race in
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, with Räikkönen scoring his second consecutive podium after attempting a daring strategy in which he tried to force race winner
Pastor Maldonado Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (; born 9 March 1985) is a Venezuelan former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Maldonado won the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix with Williams. After winning the GP2 Series in 2010 with Rapax, Maldona ...
and
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...
to drive beyond the life expectancy of their tyres. Räikkönen ran out of laps before Maldonado and Alonso ran out of grip, and the 2007 World Champion finished third, with Grosjean fourth. The team's fortunes came crashing back down to earth in
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when Grosjean was at the centre of a first-lap accident that put himself, Maldonado,
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and
Pedro de la Rosa Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (; born 24 February 1971) is a Spanish former racing driver, motorsport executive and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One between and . In Japanese motorsport, de la Rosa won the Formula Nippon Championship a ...
out of the race. Räikkönen, meanwhile, struggled after losing valuable track time during Friday practice, as he was unhappy with parts introduced onto the car for the race. He qualified eighth and went on to finish the race ninth. The team's poor form in Monaco proved to be an exception, rather than the rule, as Grosjean went on to finish the
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in second place after race leaders Alonso and Vettel fell victim to the ultra-sensitive
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tyres; Grosjean later admitted that he had not thought a podium was possible until he found himself running second with three laps left to run. Räikkönen, on the other hand, missed out on a spot in the top ten on the grid, and so had to work his way up from twelfth to eighth. Grosjean was in contention for his maiden race win in
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after an alternator failure forced race leader Sebastian Vettel to retire. Grosjean kept pace with new race leader Fernando Alonso, only to fall victim to the same alternator failure seven laps later. Räikkönen, meanwhile, took advantage of this to finish the race second behind Alonso. The
British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...
proved disappointing for Lotus, with Grosjean spinning off during qualifying and Räikkönen struggling with the wet conditions. In the race, Grosjean made contact with
Paul di Resta Paul di Resta (born 16 April 1986) is a British racing driver and broadcaster from Scotland, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot. Di Resta competed in Formula One between and . Born in Uphall and raised in Bathg ...
on the first lap; di Resta retired, while Grosjean was forced to pit for a new front wing, shuffling him back down the order to twenty-third. He later recovered to finish sixth behind Räikkönen, both drivers having struggled to match the leaders for pace all race long. Both drivers struggled in qualifying for the
German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix () was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history: the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hockenheimring in B ...
, with Räikkönen starting tenth after being caught out by heavy rain in the middle of the session, and Grosjean managing no better than fifteenth. Räikkönen, however, recovered in the race to finish fourth, inheriting a podium when Sebastian Vettel was given a twenty-second post-race penalty for passing
Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Jota. Button competed in Formula One from to , and won the World Drivers' Championship in with Brawn; ...
off the circuit. Grosjean, meanwhile, finished eighteenth, a lap behind race winner Alonso. The team bounced back once again in
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, with Grosjean qualifying on the front row and finishing third after the team managed to find a strategy for Räikkönen that saw him steal second place away from his team-mate. Disaster struck in
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. Romain Grosjean was once again involved in a first-lap incident when he cut across the circuit at the start, clipping
Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
and being launched into Alonso and
Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990) is a Mexican racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Pérez was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Red Bull, and won Gr ...
. The violent nature of the accident led to the stewards handing down a one-race ban for Grosjean. Räikkönen salvaged what he could to finish third, but expressed disappointment with the result given his previous achievements at the circuit, including four wins in five starts. With Grosjean forced to miss the
Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix () is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, motor racing Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been held since 1921 ...
, the team drafted their testing and reserve driver,
Jérôme d'Ambrosio Jérôme d'Ambrosio (; born 27 December 1985) is a Belgian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Since October 2024, d'Ambrosio has served as deputy team principal of Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari in F ...
, to drive car #10 for the race. D'Ambrosio qualified sixteenth and took advantage of high-profile retirements for Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button to finish thirteenth, the last car to be classified on the lead lap. Räikkönen had a quiet race, starting fifth and finishing seventh. Grosjean returned to the car in
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, and once again out-qualified Räikkönen, starting eighth while his team-mate could do no better than twelfth. In the race it was Räikkönen who performed better, finishing sixth, a second ahead of Grosjean. Despite not having won a race by this point, Räikkönen remained in championship contention, sitting in third place, forty-five points behind championship leader Fernando Alonso. While Alonso's nearest rival, Sebastian Vettel, would make significant in-roads into Alonso's championship lead in
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, Räikkönen went on to finish sixth after making contact with Alonso during the start that forced the Ferrari driver out of the race. Grosjean, on the other hand, was once again caught up in a first-corner melee, making contact with Mark Webber and earning a ten-second stop-go penalty for his troubles, the harshest in-race penalty available to the race stewards. With eight first-lap incidents from fourteen starts to his name in 2012 alone,
Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in ...
team principal
Christian Horner Christian Edward Johnston Horner (born 16 November 1973) is a British motorsport executive and former racing driver. Since 2005, Horner has served as team principal and chief executive officer, CEO of Red Bull Racing in Formula One, winning s ...
opined that Lotus "needed to control" Grosjean, describing the Frenchman as dangerous to himself and others. Both cars finished in the points once more at the
Korean Grand Prix The Korean Grand Prix () was a Formula One race held in South Korea, from 2010 until 2013, when it was dropped from the Formula One calendar. History On 2 October 2006, it was confirmed that the event would take place in 2010, and would be ho ...
, with Räikkönen and Grosjean finishing where they started in fifth and seventh place, but the team lost further ground to
Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in ...
and
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
in the World Constructors' Championship. The team scored another double points finish two weeks later in
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, with Räikkönen finishing seventh — having spent much of the race stuck behind
Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (; born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for TMG Racing, TMG and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Riley Technologies, Riley. Massa competed in Formula One from to , and w ...
— and Grosjean climbing from eleventh to finish ninth overall. Räikkönen would later claim that a podium finish was possible, but mistakes made during the final free practice session and qualifying cost him dearly. One week later in
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, Räikkönen picked up two positions off the start line to be second as the cars began their first lap, inheriting the lead when
Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
's
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
developed a terminal electrical fault that forced him out of the race. Räikkönen held onto the position for the remainder of the race despite a late challenge from
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...
, finally winning Lotus' first race in 2012 six months after it had been predicted.
Romain Grosjean Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a French and Swiss racing driver, who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Lamborghini and serves as a reserve driver in the IndyCar Series for Prema. Grosjean competed under ...
, on the other hand, was involved in early contact that forced him to pit to repair damage. He recovered to fifth, but retired when
Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990) is a Mexican racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Pérez was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Red Bull, and won Gr ...
veered sharply onto the circuit after being forced off by
Paul di Resta Paul di Resta (born 16 April 1986) is a British racing driver and broadcaster from Scotland, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot. Di Resta competed in Formula One between and . Born in Uphall and raised in Bathg ...
. Pérez and Grosjean made contact, pushing Grosjean into the path of Mark Webber, and the two retired with collision damage. The team were unable to continue their winning form in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
; despite Räikkönen's surprise at a strong qualifying performance when both he and Grosjean had struggled for grip throughout free practice, any potential for a podium finish was lost when Grosjean spun early in the race and a clutch problem held Räikkönen during his one and only pit stop. Räikkönen and Grosjean went on to finish in sixth and seventh places respectively, while Lewis Hamilton's race win put third place in the
World Constructors' Championship Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which ...
out of Lotus's reach. The team scored just a single point at the final race of the season in Brazil, when Räikkönen finished tenth. Grosjean spun out and crashed heavily early on in difficult conditions, while Räikkönen made a poor tyre choice and fell down the order. He was later running as high as sixth, but lost a considerable amount of time in a bizarre incident where he left the circuit and attempted to re-join using the support paddock pit lane, only to find that the way was blocked, which forced him to turn around and re-join the circuit another way. He recovered to eleventh, which became tenth when
Paul di Resta Paul di Resta (born 16 April 1986) is a British racing driver and broadcaster from Scotland, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot. Di Resta competed in Formula One between and . Born in Uphall and raised in Bathg ...
crashed out two laps from the end of the race.


Sponsorship and livery

Like the previous season's car, the E20 sported a black and gold livery adopted by the
John Player Special John Player & Sons, most often known simply as Player's, was a tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England. In 1901 the company merged with twelve other companies to become a branch of the Imperial Tobacco Company of Great B ...
Lotus cars from the early 1970s to mid-1980s. The team celebrated its 500th race entry in Monaco, and the team unveiled a special livery inspired by ''
Angry Birds ''Angry Birds'' is a Finnish media franchise created by Rovio Entertainment, and owned by Sega. The game series focuses on the titular flock of colorful angry birds who try to save their eggs from green-colored pigs. Inspired by the game ''Cr ...
'', and partnered with alternative rock band
Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bass ...
at the same event to promote an
iPad The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...
application. The team promoted the movie ''
The Dark Knight Rises ''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the final instal ...
'' at the
British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...
. The team promoted the game ''
Angry Birds Star Wars ''Angry Birds Star Wars'' was a 2012 puzzle video game developed and published by Rovio Entertainment in conjunction with LucasArts. The game is a crossover between the ''Star Wars'' franchise and the ''Angry Birds'' series of video games, launch ...
'' at the
United States Grand Prix The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...
.


Other appearances

The car featured in the music video '' Dangerous'' by Sam Martin and
David Guetta Pierre David Guetta (; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...
.


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.


Later uses

The E20 was run in the
Renault R.S.17 The Renault R.S.17 is a Formula One car, Formula One racing car designed and constructed by the Renault in Formula One, Renault Sport Formula One Team to compete during the 2017 Formula One season. The chassis was designed by Nick Chester, Chris ...
livery for demonstration laps by
Robert Kubica Robert Józef Kubica (; born 7 December 1984) is a Polish racing driver, racing and rally driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for AF Corse. Kubica competed in Formula One between and , and the World Rally Championship ...
throughout 2017. Aseel Al-Hamad completed a celebratory lap in the E20 car ahead of the
2018 French Grand Prix The 2018 French Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix de France 2018) was a Formula One motor race that took place on 24 June 2018 at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France. The race was the eighth round of the ...
. The car was also run in 2022 in the Alpine A522 livery for demonstration laps by Al-Hamad and
Abbi Pulling Abbi Jo Pulling (born 21 March 2003) is a British racing driver who is currently competing in the 2025 GB3 Championship for Rodin Motorsport. She is also the rookie and simulator driver for the Nismo, Nissan Formula E Team. Pulling is the 2024 F1 ...
.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lotus E20 E20