Heikki Kovalainen insists his comments comparing Lotus with F1’s defunct perennial backmarkers Minardi were "taken out of context".
The 28-year-old driver was quoted by Finland’s Turun Sanomat this week as saying his new T127 car is "missing more aerodynamically" than the Minardi he tested at Vallelunga in late 2003.
Kovalainen wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that his comments were "taken out of context" and the reports therefore "not fair for our team".