Romain Grosjean’s Australian Grand Prix lasted less than one lap after the Frenchman struggled to get off the line at the start in his Mercedes-powered Lotus E23 Hybrid.
The Frenchman then shuffled along the Albert Park Circuit only to head back to the pits and call it a day. This capped a nightmare start to the race for Lotus with team-mate Pastor Maldonado crashing out of the Grand Prix on the exit of Turn 2 just after the lights were out.
Following a solid qualifying that had seen both E23s make it to Q3, hopes of a solid initial point haul Down Under were high at Lotus.
“We lost engine power on the formation lap, we don’t know yet why,” Grosjean told French TV channel Canal+. “At the start, there was just no power at all so we had to retire. We don’t know yet what the cause of the issue is so we must investigate the problem.
“I am not too worried because the situation is different from last year. This time we have a good car. Today was just a case of sheer bad luck but I remain optimistic for the remainder of the season.
Click here for the full gallery from the Australian Grand Prix
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Red Bull has revealed that Max Verstappen's hopes of challenging Lando Norris for the Miami…
While his Miami Grand Prix ended outside the points zone, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri believed that…
George Russell concluded his Miami Grand Prix concerned and confused after experiencing in Sunday’s race…
Alpine F1 Pierre Gasly "We had a great race today even if we missed out…
Welcome to our index page of the 2024 Miami Grand Prix. From here you will…
Carlos Sainz was handed a 5-second penalty and one penalty point on his license for…