Maldonado insists Lotus not disheartened by missed chances

The Venezuelan and his teammate Romain Grosjean were involved in an opening lap collision at Silverstone last weekend, which meant both cars were forced out early.

It was the fourth time this season that Lotus had failed to score any points in a season when its Mercedes-powered challenger has made a good step forward in form.

Maldonado admits that things have not been ideal, but insists that spirits remain high and there is a determination to make sure its situation improves.

"It's frustrating but it's not the first time it happened," he told Motorsport.com. "It's racing. We'll keep pushing and do our best.

"It was a good day to be in the points. The car felt quite good, especially on long runs. Hopefully at the next one we can recover a few points.

"The car has been quite good for all the tracks, we've been always fighting for the points. Let's see in Hungary what we can do."

Ricciardo to blame

Maldonado reckons that Daniel Ricciardo had to take the blame for the Silverstone incident.

"I just felt the big contact with Romain," he explained. "Looking at the video I think Ricciardo put Romain into my car. He touched his front right with Romain's rear left, and Romain just couldn't avoid the crash.

"My radiator was broken, I was losing oil, and the oil pressure was dropping. So we immediately stopped the engine."