F1: Lotus "not that bad," Maldonado says

Lotus Formula 1 driver Pastor Maldonado is pleasantly surprised by how close the pack behind Mercedes is, and by his car's pace relative to those currently fighting for the podium.

The Venezuelan and teammate Romain Grosjean proved that Lotus has taken a step forward when both cars qualified in the top 10 at the Australian Grand Prix. However, the team's race was over after just one lap when Maldonado was tapped into a spin and subsequently the barriers while Grosjean retired with a loss of power.

Maldonado, however, remains positive about the potential of the car. Although he had a poor Q3 lap, Grosjean was within 0.8s of a second-row spot.

"It's quite surprising that the gaps are close, not against Mercedes, but the people behind Mercedes," Maldonado said. "We are not that bad.

"We need to make progress and we need to remember that this is not a progression of the car we had last year – it's a new project. I think we can get better and better through the races because we show good pace and a consistent car."

He suspects Lotus could have a stronger run in the second grand prix of the season in Malaysia this weekend.

"It's still very early in the season so there will still be surprises as teams learn their cars and unlock their potential," he said. "Certainly, everything we've seen so far with the E23 suggests that it should be a good all-rounder.

"Sepang can get very hot, and our car seems to like hot conditions so that could be a point in our favor."

Originally on Autosport.com