Joan Villadelprat is full of praise for Lotus, a team he says still has the blood of Benetton and Renault flowing in its veins. Spaniard Villadelprat, who was team manager at the Enstone based team when Michael Schumacher won his first titles in 1994 and 1995, was speaking the day after Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean finished second and third in Hungary in the black and gold-liveried Lotuses.
"What counts is that the team has always maintained its competitive structure and the only changes in personnel were the ones that were needed," he wrote in his El Pais column. "This has given them a stability that most don't have. It's a solid and flawless team. They have demonstrated in the past that they can make a winning car: we did it with Schumacher and they did it again must more recently with Fernando Alonso. Although the owners have changed, the structure has survived. Eric Boullier, the team boss, and James Allison, the technical head, are doing an outstanding job, having restored a winning feeling again."
The team's last win was Alonso's at Fuji in 2008. (GMM)
Winning structure still in place at Lotus - Villadelprat
- Published on 31 Jul 2012 16:33
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- By: Rob Veenstra
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Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
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Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
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Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
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Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
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Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia
Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
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Circuit de Catalunya
26 - Jun 28
Austria
Red Bull Ring
3 - Jul 5
United Kingdom
Silverstone
17 - Jul 19
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
24 - Jul 26
Hungary
Hungaroring
21 - Aug 23
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
Driver profile
- Team Aston Martin
- Points 631
- Podiums 9
- Grand Prix 204
- Country ES
- Date of b. Jul 29 1981 (45)
- Place of b. Oviedo, ES
- Weight 68 kg
- Length 1.71 m
- 188,072 comments on Aston Martin
78 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Fernando Alonso
Team profile
- Team name Renault
- Base Enstone, France
- Fernando Alonso 1
- Daniel Ricciardo 3
- Fernando Alonso 5
- Fernando Alonso 5
- Fernando Alonso 7
- Romain Grosjean 8
- Fernando Alonso 8
- Fernando Alonso 8
- Pastor Maldonado 13
- Jenson Button 15
- Kevin Magnussen 20
- Nico Hülkenberg 27
- Jolyon Palmer 30
- Esteban Ocon 31
- Carlos Sainz jr 55
- 236,941 comments on Renault
- 26 members have this team as their favourite
- Tweets about Renault
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