Alexander Rossi Impressed with Team Lotus F1 Test and Ready for next step in his career

Team Lotus Team Lotus F1 Test Alexander Rossi Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Friday November 18, 2011 Alexander Rossi with Team Lotus F1 Test.jpgAmerican, Alexander Rossi was pleased with his first full day with Team Lotus in the T128-04 at ËœYas Marina Circuit. The American driver supported by AirAsia and Team Lotus drove last weekend at ËœYas for Caterham AirAsia in the GP2 finale where he is finished 13th and 7th. Rossi is a graduate from World Series by Renault in 2011, finishing 3rd overall in championship with 2 wins and 7 podiums.

Today’s was Rossi’s second opportunity behind the wheel for Team Lotus F1 squad, after driving in demonstration event on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia earlier this year. Rossi up to speed in the morning session set a top five pace before the mid-day break. He completed 74 laps for the team with a combination of development and performance runs and finishing the day with a best time of 1:44.283, placing him Rossi 9th overall on the day. Jody Egginton, Chief Engineer Team Lotus “It has been another good day. Alexander familiarized himself with the car very quickly and adapted to the new tyres comfortably which meant we could make progress all day. Our initial runs were to get him used to the car and settled with the tyres and the team. Part two of the run plan was the second part of the damper programme that we ran yesterday, which provided us with some very interesting data and Alexander gave excellent feedback on the changes we made. We also gained some good data regarding the rear suspension work in general. We then progressed to working on some of prototype Pirelli tyres which reconfirmed what we learned earlier in the week which was good. We then did some performance runs on two compounds “on the supersoft tyres he put in consistent laps although we felt we didn’t extract the optimum time due to the red flag that was shown. He has done a brilliant job on his day’s running and he now has a basis on which to build upon. We can see a few areas where he can improve and there is a lot more potential there. With another set of tyres on the final performance run you could expect a half second improvement with Alexander’s lap times. The test session has been very useful overall. The various departments at the factory gave us a big list of work to carry out and we accomplished the vast majority of that list which is excellent and the boys have worked extremely hard throughout the test. There were a number of rear end changes as we worked on the suspension, so the team have done a fantastic job to turn everything around and so quickly. Reliability has been good and the drivers have worked very well. I feel they have enjoyed themselves and have provided us with clear, useful feedback and data, so all in all a very successful test indeed. Alexander Rossi This morning we started off with getting used to the car and finding my way with the T128, as obviously it’s a big step up from GP2, and I felt comfortable quickly as we worked up to a good setup level. Then our focus was on the damper work for the team, which involved various runs and looking ahead to the 2012 season, plus a few changes to the rear of the car and a few runs with the 2012 Pirelli tyres. In the afternoon we did some performance runs, which I wasn’t entirely pleased with, as I felt I could have achieved more, however my first day in the car was positive, and I feel there is a lot more potential to unlock. To get behind the wheel and have that much time was really good. I was surprised at how much you learn during a day’s testing. There’s so much to take in, for example the briefing and debriefing sessions, it’s a whole step up from GP2, so it’s been an extremely valuable day. The team is pretty special and being able to work with the team as a driver was brilliant as I was able to further my relationship with them, with the mechanics and engineers. I now know the team on a personal level and it’s really important to build those relationships. It’s been a good day, and I’m happy to get the experience behind the wheel and I think there is a lot more to come. I’m looking to further my roll with Team Lotus as there many exciting things in the works. We should have some news to announce on the next step in my career very soon. I must thank Tony, Din, Riad and everyone at Team Lotus for their confidence and faith in my abilities, as they have made it possible. Rossi 2011 Partners include: Team Lotus, AirAsia, Alaska Coffee Roasting, INTEL, SunCore, Read Investments, FIA Institute Young Driver’s Excellence Program, Air Asia Team Lotus Driver Development Program, InterVision, Astech Consulting, Kial James Design, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Alan K. Wong M.D, Leader’s Choice Insurance, Meyers Investment Group, North Miami Travel, Century Equipment Company, AlpineStars, McSweeney and Associates Alexander Rossi in 40 Seconds From 138 Formula car starts, 19-year old Alexander has: 38 wins, 63 podiums, 33 poles and current win percentage of 27.53 2011 World Series by Renault ” 3rd Overall and Rookie Champion 2011 AirAsia Team Lotus Driver Development Program 2011 FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy 2010 ART Grand Prix GP3 - 4th Overall Championship 2009 BMW Sauber F1 Testing - F1 Superlicense Qualifications 2009 GP2 Asia / Meritus Racing and Ocean Racing - 9th Overall, 3 Top 5 Finishes 2009 International Formula Master Championship / ISR Racing - 4th Overall and Rookie Champion 2008 Formula BMW World Champion, 1st Place 2008 Formula BMW Americas 1st Champion, 10 wins 2007 Formula BMW Americas 3rd Overall, 3 wins 2006 Skip Barber National Series, 3rd Overall, 4 wins 2006 Skip Barber Western Regional Series, 1st Champion About Alexander Rossi: D.O.B. 9/25/91 Hometown: Nevada City, California, U.S.A Resides: Milton Keynes, England Current Team: Caterham Team AirAsia - http://www.gp2series.com/Teams-and-Drivers/Teams/Team-Air-Asia/ Current Series: GP2 Series - http://www.gp2series.com Follow Alexander on Twitter @alexanderrossi and on Alexander Rossi Official Facebook About the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy The FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy is a project to develop young driver talent worldwide. It offers a fully-funded training program that helps drivers develop their motor sport careers, whilst increasing safety skills and actively promoting the principles of safety, fairness and responsibility on and off the track. In its first year the Academy has selected 12 drivers to take part, with at least one driver chosen from each of the following five regions: North, Central and South America; Western and Northern Europe; Central and Eastern Europe; Middle East and Africa; Asia and Oceania. The Academy program is fully funded by the FIA Foundation, and managed by the FIA Institute, as part of the Motor Sport Safety Development Fund’s Young Driver Safety Program. About the FIA Institute The FIA Institute is an international not-for-profit organization that develops and improves motor sport safety and sustainability. It leads projects that encourage the rapid development of new and improved safety technologies, that facilitate higher standards of education and training, and that raise awareness of safety and sustainability issues. It also promotes excellence and achievement in all areas of motor sport.