MGU-K issues cause double DNF for Lotus
Lotus recorded a double DNF at Australia in the season opener of F1. Romain Grosjean started from the pitlane but saw his run halted by an MGU-K issue, the same component that also stopped Pastor Maldonado.
Romain started from the pit lane on new soft tyres, changing to new soft tyres on lap 28. He completed a pit lane drive-through on lap 1 and exited the race on lap 44. Pastor started with new soft tyres, changing to new soft tyres on lap 29. He exited the race on lap 29.
Romain Grosjean, P16/DNF, E22-03: “In a way, it was a pretty positive day. I expected to do around 15 to 20 laps in the race after all the issues we’ve had this weekend, and we managed 45! We’ve learnt a lot today and all the changes made to the car have been positive. We still have a long way to go, but at least I know more about tyre usage, all my engineers know where we need to improve with the chassis, and we’ve learnt a lot about aero balance and fuel consumption. Of course there's more to do with the energy management and recovery and some work yet with the braking. We’ve still got lots of work to do, but we’re definitely heading in the right direction."
Pastor Maldonado, P17, E22-01: “It was obviously very disappointing, but if you look at the positives we did more laps than in the pre-season which is quite encouraging as we have more data which is very important for making progress. We had a very negative free practice but we did plenty of laps during the race which is very positive for the team. I'm looking forward to the next race and we'll keep pushing."
Federico Gastaldi, Deputy Team Principal: "Though the results do not show it, everyone in the team has done a fantastic job in very challenging circumstances. Both our cars finished with problems related to the same MGU-K component so we and Renault F1 Sport both know where we have to focus for our improvements heading to Malaysia. It’s clear we also have other improvements to make, but the team spirit and resolve has not diminished. We know what we have to do and we will do it.”
