Brake problem caused Maldonado's testing crash - Lotus

Pastor Maldonado's crash in Sunday's Barcelona Formula 1 test was caused by a brake problem rather than any form of driver error, says Lotus.

The team's test was brought to an early end when Maldonado went into the barriers at Turn 4 on the final afternoon of pre-season F1 running.

Lotus technical director Nick Chester underlined that there was nothing Maldonado could do to avoid the accident.

"Pastor was unfortunate to have a braking-related issue which meant he wasn't able to slow sufficiently into Turn 4 and the car was damaged," he said.

"There was nothing Pastor or any driver could have done to avoid this accident, which was systems related, and we're investigating thoroughly to ensure it doesn't happen again.

"It was a pity we weren't able to run any low fuel laps later in the day."

Maldonado ended up seventh on the timesheets due to his curtailed programme, but said he remained very optimistic after Lotus's stronger winter.

"It was a shame to end the day early, but that was the only issue we've had like this during testing so we can look to the positive that we have a lot of information to take the car in the right direction," he said.

"My braking was compromised coming into Turn 4, meaning I went off the track and hit the barriers.

"I was able to brake and slow, just not as much as the maximum otherwise possible.

"The car was not too badly damaged and I am fine, but it's a shame we had this issue as we would have been looking at running the softer tyres in the afternoon and putting in some fast laps.

"I'm looking forward to getting back in the car in Melbourne as I think we have good potential this season."