Disaster scenario for Lotus

With both cars in the top 10 and Valtteri Bottas' package before the start of the Australian Grand Prix, Lotus had a card to play in this opening round at Albert Park in Melbourne. But suddenly, Pastor Maldonado then Romain Grosjean had to give up in the first round in a real disaster scenario for the stableenstone. After contact with the Sauber of Felipe Nasr in the second corner, the Venezuelan went into the wall causing the safety car to enter the track.

"I just felt a big impact in the back and I didn't see what happened, says Maldonado. It's disappointing because we had a chance to have a very good race. The car's pace seemed much better than in qualifying. It's been a good weekend so far, and it's very promising. »

For Romain Grosjean, it was the mechanics of his E23 Hybrid that played tricks on the Frenchman, forcing him to stop at the end of the first lap. “We had a loss of power during the formation lap, admits the former GP2 champion. We are investigating this technical issue. It's not the way you want to end your race, but we know the car is good and we're in a much better place than where we were last season. » Grosjean therefore remains optimistic for the future, starting in Malaysia on March 29. “We have a good base with the E23 and a good engine. We also have new parts for the next races, so more performance to come. »

Find the full report of the Australian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Melbourne, in issue 2003 of AUTOhebdo, available from tomorrow evening in digital version, and from next Wednesday on newsstands.