After months of speculations, finally Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro will have a new and improved Lotus engine for the weekend for the Toronto Grand Prix.
"The new engine has been installed and I will be driving it on the track in Toronto," de Silvestro told reporters. "IndyCar last week approved upgrades for Lotus intended to help the struggling manufacturer, but I think it could be a month before HVV Racing sees on-track improvement."
Sources claim that the improved version of Lotus engine was installed after Monday's test at Mid-Ohio, which was the first session for HVM participating in the event since the pre-season.
"Lotus is going to bring us an update, we think, before every race. We'll see how Toronto works out, but we think we keep focusing on what we are doing, if we get to Baltimore (Sept. 2) and can run in the top 10 that would be really good for us," de Silvestro said. "I think we are going to go to Toronto pretty open and excited to see what this new engine can do."
Auto experts believe Simona has not tested the new engine anywhere since the start of the racing season. And going by the records, she has finished only three of the nine races this year and was black-flagged after 10 laps at the Indianapolis 500.
"It is a bit frustrating in the sense we've had some pretty strong race cars, especially in Detroit and Iowa, but it's so hard for us to pass," she said. "We can have a pretty good race pace, but when it comes time to pass, we don't have the speed and it's been so hard.
"And we've only finished three races, which is not a good record, and it's made it difficult to focus on the area that really needs improvement. We focused on two areas of the test, and we'll keep moving forward and hope our speed improves with the updates."
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