Heikki Kovalainen: “Straight after Canada I headed down to New York with Tony, Mike, Ansar Ali from Caterham Cars and some of the team to take part in the GE announcement. We had a very good couple of days in NYC and at GE’s HQ and I’m really pleased for the whole team that we’ve been able to bring GE on board. Signing them up is massive news for us and is exactly the sort of partner Tony and Mike told me they were targeting when I first joined the team in 2010.
 
“After New York I went home for a few days before the trip to Valencia. I’m looking forward to the European GP as I think the heat and the demands of the circuit should suit our car well. It’s not exactly a street circuit, it’s a semi-street circuit with a very smooth track surface with almost no bumps and low kerbs. It has long straights and a number of tight corners that means finding the right downforce level is critical to maximising performance. Pirelli is bringing the softs (option) and the mediums (prime) which we haven’t raced yet this season so I think we will have some work to do on Friday to look at how to get the most out of them. We’ve been easy on the tyres all season so hopefully that will be the case again in Valencia, giving us strategic options that we’ve used well all season – Q2 is still the goal for qualifying and then let’s see what happens on Sunday.”


Tony Fernandes: “The Canada weekend was definitely one of highs and lows. Our performance in qualifying was especially pleasing and the aim is to build on that again in Valencia and throughout the season, but the race was obviously a missed opportunity.  It is important that we learn from that experience, cut out the same mistakes again and make sure we are in the right place to take advantage of such extraordinary circumstances in the future. It is all part of the learning curve and you have to have the lows to truly appreciate the highs.
 
“With that in mind it felt like perfect timing to go straight to the US and unveil our partnership with GE. Just before I went on CNN to make the announcement I was shown a picture of all of our staff back in Hingham crowded around a TV waiting to see me make the announcement and that was a special feeling. GE is obviously good news but seeing how much it meant to the people back at the factory drove home just how important that announcement is for each and every one of us in Team Lotus. We have definitely taken a huge step forward with the GE partnership and, on a personal level, I am delighted that a company that has supported AirAsia since day one has seen the same potential in this team. We are still very much in our infancy so to attract a brand of the calibre of GE at this early stage in our development sends out a very strong message to our fans, existing and future partners and the other teams in the pitlane that we are going to be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come.
 
“Now our attention turns to Valencia. This is our sixth trip to Spain this year and a venue I particularly enjoyed in 2010. Valencia is similar to Montreal and Monaco in the way Formula 1 is embraced across the whole city and that level of support creates a fabulous atmosphere, on and off track. On track the goals are clear – repeat the qualifying performance from Canada and keep up our much improved reliability record to bring both cars home on Sunday. It would also be good if the other drivers on the grid could avoid using either of our cars as launch ramps this year…..”