Pastor Maldonado says there's "lots of potential" for Lotus to have a strong season after scoring his first points of the year.
While Lotus has been much more competitive this year than last, Maldonado has struggled to turn the improved pace of the E23 in to a top ten finish. He finally broke that run in Canada with seventh place at a track which suited the Lotus and Maldonado believes it can mark the start of a much more successful rest of the season.
"Of course it’s good and there’s a lot of potential yet to come," Maldonado said. "There are twelve races left in the season so still a lot of opportunity to do well.
"It’s been frustrating waiting for a points finishing race to come, but now it’s happened it’s like the monkey is off my back and we can push forward for a good season. Certainly, it was a positive weekend for the team in Canada and there’s still lots of potential in the season ahead."
And Maldonado says he has been motivated by the "fantastic reaction" he received from Lotus when he got back to the garage after the race in Montreal.
"There was a fantastic reaction from everyone in the team and it was great to be part of the team at that moment when I walked back to the garage seeing how everyone was happy for me. Everyone has worked so hard this year and last year too, so it’s really great when you finish a race in the points. This is what we want to do at every Grand Prix and what we want in Austria next."
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