Lotus F1 team boss Eric Boullier was happy following testing this week at Jerez, although he is more than aware it is still 'very early days'.

Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean both completed plenty of laps over the four-days, with the former topping the times on day one and managing 192 tours in total over days one and two. Grosjean also went well on days three and four, after taking over at the wheel of the new E20, finishing up second quickest on Thursday and ending Friday with 212 laps under his belt. His time on Thursday was also incidentally the quickest of the week of the new cars.

“This was a very positive test for us,” Boullier summarised. “Kimi and Romain both did great jobs in the car. The E20 has been reliable straight out of the box. We were not in Jerez to chase fast lap times, but of course it's always good to show strong pace.

“Of course, it is very early days; Melbourne is one month away and that is when we will see where we are. The E20 looks good out on track, it's a nice shape and it's very well finished which is a credit to everyone at Enstone.”

Lotus trackside operations director, Alan Permane and technical director, James Allison were similarly encouraged.

“Our main focus for this week has been orientated around accumulating mileage and testing reliability,” Permane explained. “The E20 has proved to be reliable, meaning we've been able to include some performance work too.

“Our general programme has been to conduct performance work in the morning, when the track is a little cooler and there's less wind. In the afternoons, when the temperatures and winds are higher, we have conducted longer runs with heavier fuel loads.

“Overall during this test we've completed almost 1800 km with the car. We did have a few minor radiator leaks over the course of this test but they were easily identified and we have a solution for Barcelona.”

“The most encouraging aspect from this week is the feedback from the drivers,” Allison chipped in. “Their comments have been full of encouraging statements, including praise for a very secure rear end, good traction and good balance.

“We haven't heard positive comments like those during the past couple of seasons. Even ignoring the lap times, the driver comments give us a warm feeling and the best sense of whether we've done an okay job.”

Crash.net