A turbo intake issue curtails a potentially positive qualifying session for Pastor, however he insists motivation is still running high.

Pastor explained why he needed to pull the car over at the end of Q1: "I could feel that I was losing power from the car, and had a call from the engineers on the radio to stop the car which was a shame as we probably could have been competing in Q2, perhaps not Q3, but the potential was there. I had to stop the car to avoid any damage to the engine, and we've analysed that it is a turbo-related issue, rather than a power unit one, and thankfully there should be nodrama for tomorrow's race. We haven't had any problems with the engine in the past few races so from that perspective, things are looking positive."

It was another bout of bad luck for the Venezuelan, however Pastor shrugged it off; "Many people ask if I'm unlucky, but I think from our side we just need to work harder to fix all the problems that we have come across.

"This weekend we knew that we were not in a position to fight for the top ten. We have done our best and tried to compensate for the lack of power plus our car is not very good on the slower speed corners. We thought Q2 was possible and realistic and it would have been, if not for the problem. We have good traction, but not much grip in the slower speed corners. This type of track is not helping us and I hope that the next one will be much better for us as a team, it's quite similar to Barcelona, so we should be much more competitive than here in Canada.

"I feel really good with the team to be honest, for sure we're having problems, but there is a great atmosphere here and I feel very welcome, which is important. Lotus F1 Team is a big and established team, so there is no reason not to be happy. We just need to work harder."

And the plan for tomorrow?

"When the car is quicker, I'll be there. There's no point to be down, we have to keep the motivation high - I feel very motivated - and tomorrow I will do my best, as always. I will try to gain as many places as I can if it's possible."