Lotus F1 Team technical director James Allison thinks the team's E20 should perform well on the fast circuit of Silverstone during the British Grand Prix.

The Lotus E20 proved that it was competitive when it was hot. “Tires have a certain window in which they work; get them too cold and they don’t grip, get them too hot and they don’t grip,” said Allison.

Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus, 2012 Grand Prix of Canada (Photo: LAT/Lotus)

“There’s a reasonably wide band in the middle where they work well. It seems like the E20 generates a little less heat in the tires than some of our opponents’ cars, meaning we can live with on a hotter track when some of our competitors are starting to move out of the tire window,” Allison explained.

However, Silverstone is known for its unpredictable weather... and rain. It could be rather cool on race day, so that could be an issue. “The track itself will put plenty of energy through the tires thanks to its layout of high speed corners and the abrasion of its surface,” Allison continued.

“While we would be delighted if the UK managed one of its occasional heat waves, there’s certainly potential for the surface temperature to be cooler than Valencia. Low track temperatures would only cause us grief in qualifying, and if we can manage that ourselves rather than needing the track to heat up our tires then it will be okay,” the engineer said.

Will Silverstone suit the Lotus E20? “It’s the first track for a while with challenging high speed corners. Things went reasonably well for us in Mugello, Barcelona, Sepang and Melbourne, so we’re quite hopeful that the E20 will prosper,” Allison concluded.