Grosjean rues “sheer bad luck”

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.

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