Lotus F1 team boss Eric Boullier was happy following testing this week at Jജerez, although he is more than aware it is still 'very early days'.

Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean both completed plenty of laps over the four-days, with the former topping the times on day one and managing 192 tours in total over days one and two. Grosjean also went well on days three and four, after taking over at the wheel of the new E20, finishing up second quickest on Thursday and ending Friday with 212 laps under his belt. His time on Thursday was also incidentally the quickest of the week of the new cars [see combined times - here.

"This was a very positive test for us," Boullier summarised. "Kimi and Romain both did great jobs in the car. The E20 has been reliable stra♍ight out of the box. We were not in Jerez to chase fast lap times, but o💧f course it's always good to show strong pace.

"Of course, it is very early days;🐲 Melbourne is one month away and that is when we will see where we are. The E20 looks good out on track, it's a nice shape and it's very well finished which is a credit to everyone at Enstone."

Lotus trackside operations director, Alan Permane and technical di💃rector, James Allison were similarly encouraged.

"Our main focus for this week has been orientated around accumulating♛ mileage and testing reliabilꩲity," Permane explained. "The E20 has proved to be reliable, meaning we've been able to include some performance work too.

"Our general prಞogramme has been to conduct performance work in the morning, when the track is a little cooler and there's less wind. In the afternoons, when the temperatures and winds are higher, we have conducted longer runs with heavier fuel loads.

"Overall during this test we've completed almost 1800 km with the car. We did have a few minor radiator leaks o🔥ver the course of 🍌this test but they were easily identified and we have a solution for Barcelona."

"The most encouraging aspect from this week is the feedback from the drivers," Allison chipped in. "Their comments have been fu🌸ll of encouraging statements, including praise🥂 for a very secure rear end, good traction and good balance.

"W𝓰e haven't heard positive comments like those dur🍌ing the past couple of seasons. Even ignoring the lap times, the driver comments give us a warm feeling and the best sense of whether we've done an okay job."