Lotus: Difficult start for Grosjean and Maldonado in Melbourne

Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado had a frustrating first day of the 2014 Formula 1 season in the Lotus E22 at the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit with both drivers having limited track time.

Romain Grosjean
Free Practice 1: No laps completed
Free practice 2: P18, 1:33.646, 12 laps
 
“If we take the positive aspects we can say that we have completed a couple of test starts, and we have shown that Renault has done a good job from the laps we have completed. Of course we have a lot of work to do and we still need to learn the tyres, the brakes and find a good setup. We are making a few steps forward every time we go in the car and we will definitely get to where we want to be.”
 
Pastor Maldonado
Free practice 1: P21, No set time, 2 laps
Free Practice 2: No laps completed
 
“We had some problems, which I think are normal with these new cars. It's clear that we are not the only ones suffering on the track and we have to work very hard, and perhaps more than the others, to try to recover and be ready for tomorrow. We need to sit down with the engineers and re-plan our free practice strategy.”

Australian Grand Prix – Photo Gallery