Grosjean admits Lotus won’t be ready

Grosjean in the new Lotus

Romain Grosjean had his first outing of this week's final pre-season test on Saturday, but his running amounted to just 33 laps amid two lengthy interruptions.

"In terms of preparation, we are not quite ready," Grosjean admitted.

"There are plenty of things we would like to try and do before we get to Melbourne, but tomorrow's session is only a few hours and we'll need to get on top as many things as we can.

"It's not going to be perfect for Melbourne, or even Malaysia, but we will try our best to improve everything.

"It will be nice if we can get a few points, but if we don't, then we understand that it's a chance to move forward,

"But honestly, it's not going be a straightforward season for anyone."

"If you have a small leak or need to change the battery, for example, it takes about three hours," he explained.

"It's been a big change in the regulations and it's hard for all of us – engine suppliers and teams.

"But the more we run the more we discover things and the more we can solve them.

"It's not ideal, but at least we can tick a few boxes in terms of reliability."