The bloom is officially off the new Lotus F1 effort — ex-McLaren F1 driver Heikki Kovalainen smacked his green and yellow T127 into a tire wall at Jerez during testing today. Lots Of Trouble, Usually... Scandanavian?
In the aftermath of Kovalainen's crash, engineers hustled to shield the car's exposed bits from prying eyes — drapes were thrown over the T127's nose and sides, and fabric barricades were brought in to close off the garage. The whole mess brings to mind a number of Chapman car-falling-apart jokes, most of which have spent the past sixteen years in a kind of light-makes-right slumber in our brains. Because we are sporting and fair individuals, we will resist the urge to crack wise. For now.
(Next time someone balls one of these things up, though, it's gonna be on like Anthony Colin Bruce Hethel Donkey Kong. Just sayin'.)
Note: The bald guy in the picture immediately below is Mike Gascoyne, Lotus's chief technical officer. Poll: Who wants to start a pub brawl with that bloke? He looks like a badass.
Photo Credit: Ker Robertson/Getty Images
Photo Credit: Ker Robertson/Getty Images