Lotus frustrated as power loss ends Grosjean’s race

2015 Australian Grand Prix

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Lotus deputy team principal Federico Gastaldi said it had been a “frustrating day” for the team after both its cars retired on the first lap of the Australian Grand Prix.

Romain Grosjean suffered a power loss on the formation lap and pulled into the pits to retire at the end of lap one.

“Romain suffered from a loss of power which we are investigating,” explained technical director Nick Chester.

“We ran very reliably in pre-season testing, but sometimes certain issues don’t manifest themselves until the season starts.”

Pastor Maldonado crashed out on the first lap after tangling with Felipe Nasr in turn on. “Racing is like this,” he said.

“It was quite busy start, going into a narrow corner. I just felt a big hit on the back and didn’t see what happened.”

2015 Australian Grand Prix

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    18 comments on “Lotus frustrated as power loss ends Grosjean’s race”

    1. I bet on Lotus…

    2. Having seen Maldonados crash several times I would say that any world class driver would have been able to save the situation by easing of a wee bit on the throttle to get the car under control.
      http://hasmaldonadocrashedtoday.com/

      1. That website is mean, but understandable.

      2. Totally agree with you, sticking to the raceline while he had 2 cars on the inside was just nonesense.

        1. Yeah, I think while he was technically not at fault, he should know that on the first lap of the race there are going to be 2-wide or 3-wide corners and that you need to give room

      3. next time we will put you in the car on the same corner and try to save it when someone touch you from behind with full throttle….smart a…..

    3. Shame for Lotus. Maldonado had a good start until he touched Nasr. They left a lot of points on the table today.

      1. It’s a shame Masr hit Maldonado! :0(
        Let’s hope for a good race in Malaysia, and some points for Lotus :0)

        1. Err Maldonado cut across the front if Nasr. He had miles of space.

          1. Yeah, he squeezed Nasr because that’s the racing line. On the other hand there was contact between Nasr and Raikkonen and that threw the Carlin at Maldonado.

            1. Yes but perhaps you don’t want to aggressively take the racing line in the 2nd corner of the race

          2. Err, referring to all post race comments, including:
            Planet F1. com, The Chequered Flag.co.uk, Sports Mole, GP Update, BBC NewsF1, and Motorsport News F1
            It was clearly NOT Maldonado’s fault.
            He was hit by Felipe Nasr who clipped the left side rear of the Lotus.
            Please refer to all their comments posted today, for any further clarification if needed.

      2. Felt bad for Maldonaldo on that one, there wasn’t really much he can do about that. Shame about Grosjean as well.

    4. They would have atleast 1 car in the top 10.

      1. They were meant to have both cars in the top 10, Maldonado probably would have finished 5th. Lotus has a good car this year so I’m betting on Maldonado being involved in more situations like this one.

    5. I’m going to defend Maldonado on this one, a reputation doesn’t mean it is always his fault

    6. My heart sank deeply when the opening lap was completed; especially because their race sim was on Ferrari’s level. It’s no use crying over spilled milk – says the proverb. Hot climate of Malaysia and E23 seem like a perfect combination. Looking forward to it!

    7. A very Maldonado crash, moving over on a car on L1 T2. They should give his superlicence to VdG.

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