Lotus has overcome a serious chassis flaw to lead the field as the final pre-season test began at Barcelona.
The former Renault team had to sit out last week’s running at the Circuit de Catalunya as designers grappled to fix a problem with the front suspension mounting.

“The mounting of the suspension is now the strongest part of the car,” an unnamed team member is quoted by SID news agency.

At the end of his return to action on Thursday, Romain Grosjean was quoted by France’s Auto Plus: “It (the E20) feels the same, there’s not much difference really.”

Indeed, the revised car is 1 kilogram heavier, but the biggest issue is the four lost days of testing, which after an FIA clarification cannot now be made up.

“To miss four days is not ideal as suddenly we have to try to work twice as hard to catch up,” continued Grosjean.

“It’s true that it’s not great, but it’s not as problematic as it might have been.”

He is referring to the fact that, so far, the Lotus appears intrinsically fast.

Asked if the E20 felt as good around Barcelona’s demanding layout as it had at Jerez last month, the reigning GP champion enthused: “Yes, exactly the same.

“You can trust the car, push it, play with it.

“You can attack, and if you attack too much, you know what will happen — if you have understeer, you know that by attacking less, you’ll have less understeer.

“On this aspect, the car is very good.”

1982 world champion Keke Rosberg told the Finnish broadcaster MTV3 that while the Lotus looks as good in Barcelona as it had at Jerez, it is still not clear if it will be able to compete against F1′s regular top teams.

Auto Motor und Sport quotes Grosjean as saying: “I think there are a couple of teams ahead of us — Red Bull and McLaren look very strong.

“Behind them, it’s a lot closer than it was before.”

However, amid F1′s now extremely limited track testing regime, there is no ignoring the four lost days of running.

Asked if he is ready for 2012, Grosjean said according to Finland’s Turun Sanomat: “I have to be.

“Of course, the more time you have with your car, the better you feel. However, it is what it is.

“We have this four days prior to Melbourne and that’s better than nothing,” he added.

* Caterham had to replace Heikki Kovalainen with his teammate Vitaly Petrov on Thursday, as the Finn recovered at his nearby hotel with food poisoning.

The F1 world is continuing to adjust to its new surroundings in India.
Bruno Senna revealed to O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper that he is carrying around in his pocket a bottle of disinfectant.

“Each time I greet someone, I use it (on my hands),” said the Brazilian, referring to the risk of food poisoning.

Rubens Barrichello, meanwhile, laughed when he revealed that one of his rivals – believed to be Sebastian Vettel – is carrying around a bottle of whiskey.

“Someone told him to rinse out his mouth after eating anything,” said the Williams driver.

Felipe Massa is remembering his mother’s advice to think positively whenever he sees a cow. “They’re everywhere!” exclaimed the Ferrari star.

The smiling Barrichello added: “I heard a bell outside my hotel room and came out to the terrace — it was an elephant passing by.”

At the new Buddh circuit, the drivers think the layout will be exciting, but there are some off-track dramas.

A recurring one was clearly apparent during Thursday’s official driver press conference when a blackout struck mid-sentence.

“Listen, mate,” an unnamed engineer told the Guardian, “the place is chaos. The electricity doesn’t work, the gas doesn’t work and there are problems with the plumbing.”

Blick correspondent Roger Benoit revealed that a coffee machine exploded on Thursday due to faulty wiring.

Team Lotus driver Karun Chandhok told the Times of India: “These are only small issues and I am sure they will be sorted out soon.”

Brazilian Massa, also referring to the inescapable poverty suffered by residents just outside the circuit, told the Independent: “It reminds me very much of my country 20 or 30 years ago.

“Brazil has grown a lot since then, and so now, I believe, with events such as this, will India.”

Christian Klien will be back in action for the HRT team at this weekend’s Brazilian grand prix.

The Austrian also replaced Japanese Sakon Yamamoto in Singapore due to food poisoning, but no reason has been given for the change of drivers ahead of the Interlagos event.

“I am very happy to get a second opportunity to do another grand prix here after Singapore and I hope that we are doing a good weekend with positive results,” said Klien, 27.

He has raced at Interlagos twice before, most recently in 2005 with Red Bull.

The Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung said recently Klien might return to the Cosworth-powered F110 cockpit in Brazil or Abu Dhabi in a last-ditch effort to help HRT beat Lotus to tenth place in the constructors’ championship.

After Sunday’s Korean grand prix, Christian Klien could return to the wheel of the HRT for one or both of the remaining races of 2010.

That is the claim of the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung, recalling the 27-year-old’s strong performance with the struggling Spanish team in Singapore recently.

With his apparent food poisoning gone, Japanese pay-driver Sakon Yamamoto returned to the Cosworth-powered car in Japan and Korea.

But Kleine Zeitung said HRT is now considering putting reserve driver Klien back in the car for Brazil or Abu Dhabi, in a last-ditch effort to beat Lotus to tenth place in the constructors’ world championship.

Lotus has been the best of the three new teams in 2010, but neither it, HRT or Virgin has scored a single point.

Lotus is currently tenth due to Heikki Kovalainen’s 12th place finish at Suzuka, but an eleventh for HRT or Virgin at Interlagos or Yas Marina next month would see Lotus overhauled.

Only the top ten constructors share in the annual distribution of prize-money under the provisions of the Concorde Agreement.

Klien said in Yeongam that 2010 has shown that some pay-drivers are not necessarily the best value for F1 teams relying on the lucrative Bernie Ecclestone income.

“There is one at Virgin and Renault, and possibly two at Hispania,” he said.

But Klien acknowledged that a surprise result for HRT with the F110 car is unlikely.

“We are the only team that, since the season opener in Bahrain, has not aerodynamically improved its car,” he said.

He is therefore more hopeful about 2011.

“In March next year, I definitely see myself in a formula one cockpit,” said Klien.

HRT will publish the names of its race drivers for the Japanese grand prix “as soon as possible”, a team spokesman said on Wednesday.

The struggling Spanish outfit sent out a confusing message on Tuesday by issuing a pre-Suzuka press release that didn’t mention any of its four contracted drivers.

Team boss Colin Kolles later clarified that the lineup will be Bruno Senna alongside Sakon Yamamoto, but declined to guarantee the pair will actually drive all weekend in Japan.

A team spokesman then said that after travelling from Europe to Japan, he will endeavour to provide driver’s quotes to the media “as soon as possible”.

Another team spokesperson told Auto Motor und Sport that HRT is not planning to change its regular driver lineup for Suzuka, after Christian Klien replaced Yamamoto in Singapore because the Japanese apparently had food poisoning.

“As normal it will be Sakon Yamamoto and Bruno Senna,” she said.

Austrian media reports said reserve driver Klien travelled to Japan on Tuesday.

As far as the FIA is concerned, Yamamoto will be at the wheel of one of the Cosworth-powered F110s this weekend, having summoned him to Thursday afternoon’s official press conference.

“But no knowing if that means he’ll be in the car on Friday,” wrote BBC commentator Jonathan Legard on Twitter. “Sushi food poisoning this time?”

HRT will deploy its “regular drivers” at Suzuka this weekend, Colin Kolles moved to clarify on Tuesday.

The struggling Spanish team earlier sent out a confusing message about its Suzuka campaign by declining to mention any of its contracted drivers in a pre-event press release.

Karun Chandhok, Bruno Senna, Sakon Yamamoto and Christian Klien have all occupied the two race seats at times in 2010.

Japanese Yamamoto was believed to have moved into a permanent role at HRT, but he was sidelined in Singapore two weeks ago with what the team described as food poisoning.

Austrian Klien stepped into Yamamoto’s cockpit and impressed, while one of his personal sponsors took a prominent place on the roll hoop of the F110 car.

Asked to nominate HRT’s race lineup for Suzuka, Kolles told Germany’s motorsport-total.com on Tuesday: “We’re planning with our regular drivers.

“They are Senna and Yamamoto,” he said.

However, he declined to guarantee that will be HRT’s lineup in Japan this weekend.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” said Kolles.  “What happens if someone breaks a leg?”

Singapore was a “one-off” stint at the wheel of team regular Sakon Yamamoto’s car, HRT reserve driver Christian Klien said after Sunday’s night race.

Despite the struggling Spanish team saying Yamamoto was sidelined due to food poisoning, Klien’s graduation to the race seat coincided with the arrival of the logo of a new Austrian sponsor on the Cosworth-powered car.

Paddock sources also said one of Yamamoto’s personal sponsors was removed from the car in Singapore.

So just as Karun Chandhok and Bruno Senna have also been sidelined by HRT earlier in 2010, paddock cynics now expect the Japanese to have to make way for the better-funded Klien.

The 27-year-old former Jaguar and Red Bull driver also performed well in Singapore, considerably outqualifying teammate Senna before retiring from the race with an hydraulic problem whilst running 18th.

When asked about the future, Klien answered: “Singapore was a one-off to replace Sakon Yamamoto.  Anything else is not in my hands.

“It was really great to be feeling like a proper racing driver again and I do hope I could make my mark this weekend.”

He was less flattering about the Dallara-designed F110 car.

“It behaves just like a rally car,” he told Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, before joking: “I should probably ask Kimi Raikkonen for advice.”

Another possible reason for Christian Klien’s graduation to the HRT race cockpit became clearer at Singapore on Saturday.

On Friday, team boss Colin Kolles announced that the Spanish team’s reserve driver would be taking over from Sakon Yamamoto for this race due to the Japanese driver suffering from food poisoning.

Asked if Yamamoto will be back in the car at Suzuka in two weeks, he said: “This is what we expect, yes.”

But it should be noted that Klien’s surprise chance in Singapore coincided with the emergence on the car of a new sponsor sticker.

The ‘Upsynth’ branding on the rollhoop of the Cosworth powered F110 under the Singapore lights was not present two weeks ago at Monza.

Upsynth is an Austrian brand of absinthe, a highly alcoholic beverage, hailing from Vorarlberg. Klien, 27, was born in the same west Austrian state.

“It’s nice that we succeeded in getting at very short notice a new partner like Upsynth,” he confirmed.

His HRT race cockpit debut has been very successful so far, outqualifying team regular Bruno Senna by more than a second on Saturday night.

“If I manage to help the team as reserve driver, then my mission is fulfilled for the time being,” said Klien.

“It has been quite difficult because it is a new track and practically a new car for me. But we are a long way from Lotus and Virgin.”

Klien told German television Sky that he is hoping to secure a full race seat for the 2011 season.

“You have to make the best of your chances and I think I did that in qualifying. Of course my goal is a race seat and for sure this weekend is very important,” said the Austrian.

His new sponsorship should help pay for a whopping EUR 14,400 in FIA fines for twice breaching the 60kph pitlane speed limit.

Karun Chandhok on Saturday refused to buy into a conspiracy theory surrounding the occupant of his old HRT race cockpit this weekend.

Many paddock figures were bemused on Friday when, as it emerged that Sakon Yamamoto was holed up in his Singapore hotel with food poisoning, it was Christian Klien who was called up to replace the Japanese.

Indian Chandhok started the season in the Cosworth-powered car, and has been attending every race since he was sidelined in the hope of returning to the wheel.

“He had his chance,” team boss Colin Kolles said. “I think Christian also deserved a chance.”

And as for whether Yamamoto really has food poisoning, amid suggestions his sponsor funding might simply have dried up, Chandhok would not be drawn.

“I haven’t spoken to Sakon. I have no idea if he is sitting on the toilet or not,” he smiled.

Yamamoto, 28, in fact watched qualifying from within the HRT garage, as his stand-in Klien outqualified Bruno Senna’s sister car by more than a full second.