Pastor Maldonado has suggested that the way his Lotus works could provide a "good opportunity" for a points finish at the United States Grand Prix next weekend.

The Venezuelan has finished in the top 10 in his last two races – taking eighth place at Suzuka before coming home in seventh at the last round in Russia.

However, Maldonado is hoping that Lotus can have a repeat of their performance in last year's race at the Circuit of the Americas.

He told reporters: "Certainly, everything went relatively well for us last year in Austin when you compare the performance to the season we'd been having.

"There's no reason to say we can't have a great weekend this year. The circuit shouldn't pose any particular problems as long as we can get the tyres working as we want.

"At this point of the year we're pretty on top of things like set-up and getting the most out of the car so it's a case of getting the laps and simulations done in practice, qualifying as well as possible then targeting points in the race."

Lotus are sixth in the constructors' standings.