Lotus says Pastor Maldonado's crash during the final day of pre-season testing was the result of a brake issue.
Maldonado hit the barrier on the outside of Turn 4 early in the afternoon session while on an out lap, damaging the left front corner of the car and ending the team's running. Technical director Nick Chester says a brake problem caused the incident, which Lotus will investigate ahead of the first race in Australia.
"Pastor was unfortunate to have a braking-related issue which meant he wasn’t able to slow sufficiently into turn four and the car was damaged," Chester said. "There was nothing Pastor or any driver could have done to avoid this accident which was systems related and we’re investigating thoroughly to ensure it doesn’t happen again."
Maldonado himself says he is not too disheartened by the lack of running, saying the car's reliability and pace throughout pre-season gives him confidence for the coming year.
“It was a shame to end the day early, but that was the only issue we’ve had like this during testing so we can look to the positive that we have a lot of information to take the car in the right direction," Maldonado said. "My braking was compromised coming into turn four, meaning I went off the track and hit the barriers.
"I was able to brake and slow, just not as much as the maximum otherwise possible. The car was not too badly damaged and I am fine, but it’s a shame we had this issue as we would have been looking at running the softer tyres in the afternoon and putting in some fast laps. I’m looking forward to getting back in the car in Melbourne as I think we have good potential this season.”
The final day of testing as it happened
Click here for the gallery from day four of the final test
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