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Monaco preview quotes: Lotus

Jarno Trulli: "It's something very special in Monaco. Whether you're driving or just walking around, you can almost breathe in how exciting it is. Every driver in the world wants to win here, and I was lucky enough to do so in '04, but the whole experience can be tough - it's important for us to concentrate on the race, and here you're under so much pressure it can be difficult to get the time to think, and concentrate on the actual race, but that's how it is, so we deal with it

"Getting in a good lap is also a challenge, but if you can manage the traffic it's very satisfying. One of the most important parts of the circuit is through the swimming pool - you change direction at high speed, then brake for the next chicane, which is slow but you still need to get through it quickly. You jump over the kerbs there, not too much or you launch yourself into the wall, but just enough to carry the speed through. That's why concetration levels are important - get that right every time and you're ok - if not, you're out."

Heikki Kovalainen: "I obviously didn't get the chance in Barcelona to build on the step forward we took with the updates so I'm looking forward to getting back on track and pushing on. It's so busy on track in Monaco there's no time to relax, and there are no run off areas so you pay heavily for any little mistakes, but I really like street circuits as they reward good car control, and I think we'll be pretty good here from how the car felt in Spain. I've managed to get a round of golf in with Tony since we left Barcelona, and it's probably not fair to say how he got on... but generally it'll be good to get out on track again and keep up the momentum we've had all year."

Mike Gascoyne: "Monaco is obviously a unique place. I enjoy walking around as you realise what a mad place it is to race cars! Engineering wise it's a major challenge - it's very bumpy with lots of slow corners and qualifying is critical as it's almost impossible to overtake, but I still love it! We should do ok here - we're good in the slow speed sectors and both our guys are experienced in dealing with the bumps and the traffic, particularly Jarno whose win here was very special, so all in all I'm looking forward to it."

Tony Fernandes: "I've been coming to Monaco ever since AirAsia first came into the sport as a sponsor, and it's somewhere I love coming to. It'll be great being here with Lotus Racing - pretty emotional as Lotus has so much history here. It'll be a special moment for me and a huge amount of fans to see the green and yellow on track again, so I can't wait for Thursday and to see the cars out there at what's almost their third home race!"

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