"We're on the home run now, and that's the first Lotus Cosworth that's fired up for 27 years, so that's a big milestone, " he said.

BBC: Successful start for Lotus' new Cosworth V8 engine

The Cosworth V8 was successfully started at Lotus Racing in Hingham, Norfolk, on Saturday after some minor technical delays.

BBC: Successful start for Lotus' new Cosworth V8 engine

Lotus, who are the most competitive of the three new teams on the grid this season, currently use Cosworth engines.

BBC: Lotus set to switch to Renault engines next season