More of the ‘same’ in Italy for Lotus

Having achieved their first podium of the season at Spa, Alan Permane sees no reason why Lotus won't have the pace to add another at Monza.

Last Sunday Romain Grosjean returned to the podium, the tenth of his F1 career, as he finished third behind the Mercedes drivers at the Belgian GP.

It was a great result for the Enstone team as their future, which includes a possible buy-out by Renault, remains uncertain.

And there could be more good news on the horizon as trackside operations director Permane believes there could be more of the same next time out at Monza.

Asked for his predictions for Monza, he told Motorsport.com: "Same again. We can be as quick. We were quick in Montreal, we were quick as Spa.

"There is no reason why we will not be in Italy, and the podium would be a dream again. There is no reason why we cannot be well into Q3 and have a good race."

Permane revealed that Lotus' new front, which was tested at Spa, could make its race debut at the Italian Grand Prix.

He said: "We tested it, and it was very similar [in performance]. There are further updates to bring it on and it will be the way to go."