Team Lotus have this week announced that they will be expanding their wind tunnel operations after completing a deal with Williams to use one of their two wind tunnels from September.
The team will now be running two tunnels – in addition to the Williams facility in Grove, Oxfordshire, the team currently use the services of Aerolab in Italy. Work continues on the team’s own wind tunnel in Hingham, Norfolk and, once that facility is operational, all of Team Lotus‘ wind tunnel operations will be transferred to the teams’ own site.
“There are a number of reasons why I am delighted that we have signed this deal [with Williams],” said Team Principal Tony Fernandes. “From a practical perspective there are the obvious benefits of increasing our wind tunnel activity and using a state of the art facility in the UK, and I am sure that will immediately help Marianne Hinson (Head of Aerodynamics and CFD) and her team to work even more effectively in one of the key areas of the ongoing development of our team.
“The other side of the agreement is that I owe a great deal of thanks to Frank Williams, Patrick Head and Adam Parr as they were the first people I ever worked with in Formula 1. AirAsia was a proud sponsor of their team and Frank, Patrick and Adam played key roles in introducing me to the Formula 1 world, so I am very pleased that we are able to keep working together as Team Lotus continues to establish itself as a serious force in Formula 1.”
