Just seven days after starting the new Formula One season on a high with Kimi Raikkonen's superb victory in Australia, the tables turned on Sunday as Lotus found themselves some way off the pace.

From sixth and eighth on the grid, Raikkonen and team-mate Romain Grosjean finished seventh and sixth respectively, 48 and 35 seconds adrift of controversial race winner Sebastian Vettel.

Ahead of the next two races in China and Bahrain on April 14 and 21, which will again be a contrast in conditions with the former cool and the latter hot, Boullier is expecting Lotus to be back at the front.

"On Sunday it was not the best start we've ever made, and then after we lost a lot in the first stint compared to the leaders, especially Mercedes," said Boullier.

"If you then compare the race pace after we were not bad, we were there, so our level of confidence going into the next two races is much, much higher and we're looking forward to racing there.

"Of course, if there are special conditions it is always difficult, but if there are normal racing conditions then we will be back in the fight for the podium, and maybe the win."

Despite Sunday's unexpected result, with the Lotus duo even behind the struggling McLaren of Jenson Button until he retired, Boullier is convinced his team are one of the frontrunners.

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