Lotus was a no-show for the first day of pre-season testing at Jerez.

The first day of testing, already one team down following the decision by Force India to skip the test and concentrate on Barcelona, when it will run its 2015 contender, was down to seven teams when the Lotus E23 failed to arrive.

Though the team's garage was prepared and its transporter in place, there was a worrying empty space where the car was meant to be.

However, as the session got underway the Enstone outfit tweeted that it was en-route to Spain, though the reason for its late departure remains unclear.

"E23 is in the air on its way to Jerez after firing up in Enstone yesterday, arrival expected later today" said the British team. "Inverting the wings for flight purposes took longer than expected, but the E23 is looking mighty fine."

Following a frustrating season with Renault in 2014, this season sees Lotus switch to Mercedes power, which in itself presents a number of challenges.

With Pastor Maldonado originally scheduled to drive the car today, it is unclear whether the Enstone outfit will follow its original schedule and hand the car over to Romain Grosjean tomorrow or re-jig its programme.