The former Renault team pulled out of this week's Barcelona test after the unspecified problem was identified early during the opening day's running on Tuesday.

With pre-season preparations limited to just three tests in 2012, next week's Barcelona running will be the last before the championship begins in Australia.

F1 race commentator Oskari Saari, working for the Finnish broadcaster MTV3, said Lotus has confirmed to him that it will seek permission to make up for this week's lost running in the form of a three-day private test.

"As they are based in Britain, then you would think that it would be at Silverstone," he said.

motorsport.com