Lotus F1 Team
Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado has put his absence from Q3 at the Chinese Grand Prix down to continued struggles with the balance on his E23 Hybrid.
Maldonado set the 11th quickest time in qualifying, missing out on a berth in the top 10 shootout, and says he has been having problems this weekend.
"I expected to fight in Q3 but it’s been harder for me so far this weekend than it has in the previous two races," he explained.
"For whatever reason we’ve struggled through the weekend to find the right balance from the car which means I can’t be fully confident to push on this type of track."
Team-mate Romain Grosjean made it through to Q3 and is chasing his first points since last year's Monaco Grand Prix.
"It was a very tight qualifying session which made it very exciting in the car and I’m sure exciting to watch too," he said.
"We made some good changes from yesterday which gave me a nice balance and I think that was about the best possible from the car at the moment.
"It’s going to be a long race and I think the key will be to take care of your front left tyres."
