In a race packed full of pit stops, LRGP advanced on yesterday’s qualifying positions by finishing in P7 (Nick) and P8 (Vitaly). After scoring another 10 valuable points, Lotus Renault GP remains fourth in the Constructors Championship.

Vitaly scored another couple of points as he finished P9 at the Shanghai International Circuit, while teammate Nick came home in P12.

• Both Vitaly and Nick ran two-stop strategies.
• Vitaly started on softs, took another set of softs on lap 17, and switched to hards on lap 37
• Nick also started on softs, took more softs on lap 18, then finally ran the hards from lap 30

A dramatic qualifying session saw Vitaly qualify in P10 and Nick in P16, after the Russian’s car lost power and halted what could have been a very strong session for the team.

• Vitaly’s car was halted when the air supply to the engine was cut off, causing the engine to lose power. At the moment we believe there is no reason to change the engine.

• Both Nick and Vitaly used one set of hard and soft tyres in Q1. Nick used two sets of softs in Q2, while Vitaly used one set.

Nick and Vitaly began their Chinese quest today as free practice got underway at the Shanghai International Circuit.

LRGP secured its second podium in as many races to give the Enstone team a flying start to the season

• Second podium in a row podium for LRGP
• Both drivers were on three stops: soft, soft, hard, hard
• Vitaly went off track on lap 52, and after his car hit the curb and took off, the steering column mount broke when landing
• LRGP is now placed fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, 26 points ahead of nearest rival.

It was a strong recovery from LRGP after the team showed improvements in final practice before both drivers qualified in the top eight.

• Nick qualified on third row (6th) and Vitaly the fourth row (8th)
• Both drivers did one run for Q1, Q2 and Q3, allowing tyres to be preserved for tomorrow’s race
• The two cars ran on option tyres (soft for the whole of qualifying) and times got faster in each of the qualifying sessions

What we learned today?
Both cars encountered problems with their front suspension uprights in the first free practice session. After careful analysis, the team identified a material defect linked to a specific batch of components. For the afternoon session, the team reverted to a different batch and ran without any issues.

LRGP opened its 2011 account in fine style as Vitaly scored his first podium in just his 20th Formula 1 race.

• Both Nick and Vitaly adopted two-stop strategies: soft / soft / hard
• Nick stopped on laps 15 and 30, while Vitaly made his stops on laps 16 and 36.
• Vitaly set his best time on lap 55, while defending his third place from Fernando Alonso
• Vitaly makes history as the first Russian to stand on a Formula 1 podium

It was a day of mixed fortunes for LRGP as Vitaly qualified on the third row, while Nick missed out on a place in Q1 after getting caught up in traffic.

Nick and Vitaly kicked off their 2011 campaigns today as free practice got underway at Melbourne’s Albert Park.

Ideal weather conditions prevailed in Barcelona as Nick wrapped up the team’s pre-season preparations ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.

Driver: Nick
Chassis: R31-01
Fastest Lap: 1:22.073
Position: P4
Total laps: 67

Vitaly and Nick shared driving duties again today as the team tested in sunny conditions in Barcelona.

Driver: Vitaly / Nick
Chassis: R31-01
Fastest Lap: Vitaly: 1:24.233 / Nick: 1:23.541
Position: Vitaly: P8 / Nick P6
Total laps: Vitaly: 24 / Nick: 32

Vitaly remained in the R31 for day two of the Barcelona test as he clocked up 115 laps to demonstrate a clear step forward in terms of the car’s overall reliability.

Driver: Vitaly
Chassis: R31-01
Fastest Lap: 1:22.670
Position: P3
Total laps: 115

The final pre-season test got underway in Barcelona today. Nick drove this morning, but was suffering with a cold, so Vitaly took over for the afternoon.

Driver: Nick / Vitaly
Chassis: R31-01
Fastest Lap: Nick: 1:24.735 / Vitaly: 1:22.937
Position: Nick P5 / Vitaly P3
Total laps: Nick: 20 / Vitaly: 27

The final day in Barcelona saw Nick back in the R31 as the team wrapped up its third pre-season test session.

Driver: Nick
Chassis: R31-01
Fastest Lap: 1:23.657
Position: P4
Total laps: 95

A damp start in Barcelona turned to sunshine in the afternoon as Vitaly got back behind the wheel of the R31. Nick will be in the car for the final day of testing tomorrow.

Driver: Vitaly
Chassis: R31-01
Fastest Lap: 1:23.463
Position: P2
Total laps: 93

It was a more productive day at the track as Vitaly drove the R31 this morning, before Nick took over driving duties in the afternoon.

Drivers: Vitaly / Nick
Chassis: R31-01
Fastest Laps: Vitaly: 1:26.884 / Nick 1:24.242
Position: P11 Vitaly & P5 Nick
Total laps: 61 for Vitaly & 41 for Nick

Nick and Vitaly got behind the wheel of the R31 today in Barcelona. Despite a problem with the KERS, which took most of the day to solve and prevented the team from completing its scheduled programme, both drivers managed some useful pit stops practice.

Drivers: Nick / Vitaly
Chassis: R31-01
Fastest Laps: Nick 1:44.324 / Vitaly: 1:35.173
Position: P13 Nick & P12 Vitaly
Total laps: 27 for Nick & 20 for Vitaly

Some photos from testing in Jerez last week - courtesy of Lotus Renault GP

Bruno Senna enjoyed his first experience of the R31 today as the team gave the Brazilian mileage on the final day of testing in Jerez.

Driver: Bruno
Chassis: R31-01
Fastest Lap: 1:21.400
Position: P5
Total laps: 68

Nick Heidfeld got his first taste of the R31 today in Jerez and ended session at the top of the timesheets.

Driver: Nick
Chassis: R31-01
Fastest Lap: 1:20.361
Position: P1
Total laps: 86

Vitaly remained in the R31 today as the team completed 65 laps in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.

Driver: Vitaly
Chassis: R31-01
Fastest Lap: 1:22.493
Position: P9
Total laps: 65

Vitaly was back in the R31 as the team got its second winter test underway in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.

Driver: Vitaly
Chassis: R31-01
Fastest Lap: 1:23.504
Position: P8
Total laps: 57

Lotus Renault GP has revised its driver line-up for this week's test session in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain after Robert Kucia's accident at the weekend.

* Kubica crashes in rally in Italy

* Italian news agency says he is seriously injured

* Renault say he is conscious, in hospital

What we learned today:
- The team measured the downforce produced by the car with some aero runs this morning. This involves running the car at constant speed on the straight. Everything ties up well with the wind tunnel figures.

- Initial set-up work was very productive and the team found some good directions.

Lotus Renault GP ’s latest signing takes on development role for Group Lotus

The iconic Senna name is once again united with Lotus as Bruno Senna signs with Lotus Renault GP as third driver and also becomes the latest ambassador for Group Lotus. Bruno’s test driving role with Group Lotus is very development focussed and will see him provide valuable input into all Lotus cars, both track and road.

What we learned today:
- Robert ran with a new steering wheel design and felt happy with the new button layout, which makes it easier to manage the heavy workload associated with KERS and the adjustable rear wing....

Some pictures from Lotus Renault GP taken at Valencia pre-season testing day 1

No mix up with car numbering, model types or anything - this is an R31 (the R standing for Renault .... say no more!). For all you Lotus fans a very well designed, engineered and tested badge sits on the front.

Lotus Renault GP is pleased to announce Fairuz Fauzy as a reserve driver for the 2011 season.