Barcelona, Spain - Pastor Maldonado led the timesheets for Lotus on the first day of Formula One testing on Thursday while world champion Lewis Hamilton was sidelined by sickness and McLaren by power unit problems.
Dutch teenager Max Verstappen completed the most laps on a day interrupted by a collision between Susie Wolff's Williams and the Sauber driven by Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr.
Maldonado, whose only career Grand Prix win came at the Circuit de Catalunya with Williams in 2012, completed 69 laps with a best time of 1m25.011s.
Kimi Raikkonen was second fastest for Ferrari with Daniel Ricciardo third in a Red Bull.
Champion Mercedes, which has completed far more laps than rivals in five days of pre-season testing in Jerez and Barcelona, had a mixed day after a high fever ruled out Hamilton following 11 laps in the morning.
German reserve Pascal Wehrlein, who was testing Force India's 2014 car, was recalled to replace the champion despite Hamilton’s team-mate Nico Rosberg being at the circuit.
ROSBERG’S PAIN IN THE NECK
Rosberg also complained of a sore nerve in his neck and his presence in the car on Friday remained uncertain.
Verstappen, who will be Formula One's youngest ever driver when he makes his debut with Toro Rosso in Australia on March 15, completed a hefty 94 laps - the most he has done in a single day.
McLaren called an end to its day before lunch when a problem with the energy recovery system on Jenson Button's car required lengthy work on the power unit.
Reuters