Romain Grosjean joked that a shortcut would help Lotus's chance of progressing up the field after he was eliminated from Q2 during qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. Grosjean and Lotus have struggled throughout the weekend and the French driver was the slowest of the 16 runners in Q2 - although will start from 15th following Sergio Perez's penalty. "It’s no secret that we’ve struggled so far this weekend," he said. "I had a very good Q1 session but Q2 was much more difficult. It’s […]

The Canadian Grand Prix turned out to be a disappointing affair for Lotus as neither Romain Grosjean nor Pastor Maldonado were able to complete the race. Grosjean suffered rear wing damage and was retired late on due to safety reasons. "Today was not great in terms of pace for me, however there are some positives looking forwards," he said. "We can see that a Renault team can win a race so we have a target there, especially when the win came at a circuit that […]

Pastor Maldonado has been reprimanded by the stewards after failing to adhere to the required procedure during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix. Maldonado set the 17th quickest time during Q1 before stopping on track to avoid damaging his power unit. The stewards deemed that 'the driver left the car without the steering wheel being in place'. Maldonado was given just a reprimand - his first of 2014 - as the stewards decided that his Lotus E22 was not left in a dangerous place. "We […]

Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado says he is hoping to end his points drought at this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix. Maldonado has not finished in the top 10 of a race since the Hungarian Grand Prix last July, but the Venezuelan - who was unable to start in Monaco due to a fuel pump failure - is hopeful of ending that barren run. "I think it would be good to have a trouble free weekend and finish the race strongly in the points," he said. "With […]

Romain Grosjean expressed his happiness after finishing the Monaco Grand Prix for the first time in his career. Grosjean, who crashed out of the event in 2012 and 2013, came home ninth - which later became eighth following a penalty for Marussia's Jules Bianchi. "It’s good to finish the race here for the first time in my career and it’s good to get some points too," he said. "It started as a pretty bad Sunday for us with a puncture for me on the first […]

Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat has collected his first reprimand of the season after impeding Lotus's Pastor Maldonado during qualifying. The stewards deemed that the Russian held up Maldonado at turn 19 during the opening qualifying session. Both drivers made it through to Q2, with Kvyat eventually progressing through to the top 10 shootout. The 20-year-old, making his first appearance in Monaco, wiped the front nose off of his STR9 when he made a mistake under braking at the Nouvelle Chicane in Q1. "This was […]

Romain Grosjean has admitted that Lotus simply lacked pace as they were eliminated during the second segment of qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix. Grosjean was 14th quickest in qualifying, one position ahead of team-mate Pastor Maldonado. "Unfortunately we were not fast enough," he said. "We were hoping that the warmer conditions might help a little bit today but it wasn’t to be. It was a difficult qualifying session despite the car balance being okay but I think that the car is struggling a bit […]

Felipe Massa is a better driver than Valtteri Bottas. That is the claim of Pastor Maldonado, the Lotus driver who last year was paired with the then rookie Finn Bottas at Williams. The Grove based team had a horror 2013 season, but with a much improved package this year, Bottas has apparently outperformed his new teammate - the highly experienced former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa - so far. But Venezuelan Maldonado said: "I don't think he (Bottas) is a very tough rival. "I think Felipe […]

Lotus duo Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean say they are struggling because of tyre temperature issues in Monaco. Maldonado and Grosjean were 14th and 16th quickest during the second free practice session but both drivers say that the main problem with the E22 is getting the tyres up to temperature. "It was a difficult session because the track was not [there], but there’s no problems in the car," said Maldonado. "This morning we ran a lot and did some tests. We are struggling a bit […]

Pastor Maldonado has denied his sponsorship backing is ending. Early this week, the new Venezuelan sports minister Antonio Alvarez warned the country will not spend "one more dollar" on motor racing. But until now, 29-year-old Maldonado, famously close to Venezuela's late president Hugo Chavez, has been powered by state millions through the oil company PDVSA. For 2014, that lucrative backing was moved from Williams to Lotus, where Maldonado has endured a nightmare start to his fourth season on the grid. But in Monaco on Wednesday, […]

Venezuela's new sports minister has hinted that Pastor Maldonado's funding could be at risk. Maldonado's racing career has been hugely financed by Venezuelan state-owned oil giants PDVSA, but the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013 sparked a period of unrest in the South American country. Maldonado, who moved from Williams to Lotus at the start of 2014 and has yet to claim a championship point, had a good relationship with Chavez but the new sports minister has indicated that Maldonado's funding could soon run dry. […]

A confident Pastor Maldonado says he is not ruling out the possibility of Lotus claiming its first podium of 2014 at next weekend's Monaco Grand Prix. Maldonado finished the second test in Barcelona at the front of the field after setting the quickest lap time on super soft tyres. The Venezuelan, who has previously shown good form around the streets of Monaco, refused to rule out the possibility of claiming a top three finish. "You never know," he said when asked about his podium prospects. […]