Nick Chester satisfied with Lotus performance

Lotus technical chief Nick Chester has said that his team were able to run more laps than they initially predicted on day two of pre-season testing in Jerez.

The Enstone-based outfit managed 41 laps of the Spanish circuit with Pastor Maldonado behind the wheel, before mechanical issues developed in the afternoon.

However, Chester is adamant that Lotus enjoyed a productive day.

He told reporters: "We had predicted that we'd probably just be able to complete a couple of shakedown laps today, but thanks to some fantastic work overnight we were able to run the car from this morning. The feedback from Pastor has been positive at what is a very early stage in the car's test programme.

"We had a drivetrain issue this afternoon, but didn't lose out on too much running as it started raining shortly afterwards. We can't wait to get back out on track tomorrow."

Lotus ditched its Renault engines over the winter and will run Mercedes power units from the start of the 2015 season, which gets underway in Australia next month.