Maldonado: Lotus must learn from tough 2014 Formula 1 season

The Enstone-based outfit lost several key staff - including technical director James Allison - ahead of last season and then realised early on that the design of the car was fundamentally flawed.

As a result, the team scored just 10 points and never finished higher than eighth in a race as it ended up eighth in the constructors' championship, having finished fourth in 2012 and 2013.

But this season, a better chassis, the arrival of Mercedes as its new engine supplier and continuity in staffing has created a completely different mood in the team and a smoother pre-season testing campaign.

"This is a new project," said Maldonado. "We are gaining and have very good mileage which is quite positive. I think we are much better prepared compared to last season.

"The car feels much better. The entire package is working well, although we need to improve. I do not think we have 100 per cent of the car's potential the moment."

Maldonado said the switch from Renault to Mercedes is already paying dividends, but believes that Lotus needs to learn from its difficulties last season, rather than assume that everything will simply be fixed by the change.

"You can never forget, you need to learn about the past," said Maldonado when asked by AUTOSPORT if 2015 was a fresh start for the team.

"We have to learn about the mistakes we made last year - it was difficult from the beginning to manage all of the technical problems.

"Who knows what we can achieve. First we need to solve all the problems we had last year.

"Most of the problems were down to the engine but on our side we had a few as well."

In terms of Lotus' expectations for the season, the Venezuelan is realistic.

"We do not expect to be at the level of Mercedes," he said. "We are competing against powerful teams so we need to reach different targets.

"I hope to be in the top 10. Hopefully we can be very solid."