A great driver like Fangio will take that curve at ninety-nine point nine every single time. Let's say a certain curve can be taken at a hundred miles an hour. While Maldonado might view his willingness to cross the limit as a strength, top drivers can approach the limit repeatedly without surpassing it-that is the kind of consistency that wins championships.Īlfonso de Portago, who raced for Ferrari in 19 before dying in a crash at the Mille Miglia, explained the difference between a driver like himself and five-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio to Robert Daley for his book, The Cruel Sport:Įvery curve has a theoretical limit. I won in Formula One with a not competitive car, competing against Ferraris, McLarens, Red Bulls. I have been winning in everything in the past. I think I have the big balls to cross the limit every time. To find the limit, you need to cross the limit. Speaking with the Telegraph's Daniel Johnson last year, Maldonado said: With all those crashes and penalties, Maldonado has racked up 32 DNFs and just 14 points finishes in 95 career starts. Maldonado clearly has the speed to race in F1, but to be competitive over a 20-race season, you must also be consistent. Reached by email, Zuber described Maldonado as "super-quick." Asked whether he considered he former team-mate a fair and clean driver, Zuber said, "He was very hard when you fight man-to-man, but never really unfair." In 2010, he won the GP2 championship over Sergio Perez, Jules Bianchi and several other future F1 drivers.Īndreas Zuber raced against Maldonado for three years in GP2 and was his team-mate in 2008. The next year, he graduated to GP2, winning at Monaco in just his fourth start. RONALDO SCHEMIDT/Getty Imagesīut is his poor reputation completely justified? After all, Maldonado has been a winner at every level of motorsport, including-need we say it again-F1.Īfter winning the Italian Formula Renault 2.0 title in 2004, he finished third in the 2006 Formula Renault 3.5 championship, taking three wins and five pole positions (and losing the title thanks to a disqualification for technical noncompliance). In January 2019, DragonSpeed crew appeared at Daytona International Speedway and took the LMP2 class victory at 24 Hours of Daytona.Maldonado's PDVSA sponsorship was key in getting him a race drive for Lotus. With one victory, at Spa, Maldonado finished third in the LMP2 class standings, Later, Anthony Davidson joined them in six races. Nathanael Berthon was their co-driver in two races, including 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours race, where they finished fifth in class. His full-time co-driver was Roberto Gonzalez. In 2018, Maldonado joined DragonSpeed in the FIA World Endurance Championship to drive the #31 Oreca LMP2 prototype. Switching to FIA WEC in 2018, Daytona 24h win in 2019 Unable to find a proper full-time racing engagement, he signed with Pirelli as a test driver and never returned to Formula 1. Renault bought Lotus team in a meantime and Maldonado was planned as one of the drivers for 2016, but in February it was announced that he will be replaced. The Venezuelan driver was in Top 10 in six races and amassed a total of 27 points before finishing 14th in the standings. Maldonado stayed with Lotus in 2015 and despite still having numerous accidents his results improved. Pastor Maldonado spent two seasons with Lotus The only good moment was in the US Grand Prix when Pastor finished 9th and collected two points before taking the 16th place in the final standings. Maldonado caused numerous accidents during qualifying and races and lost many points of his FIA Super License. What he is (not) capable of was seen during the season. He signed with Lotus, this time almost exclusively thanks to the financial backing of his Venezuelan sponsor. Move to LotusĪlthough having the infamous reputation, Maldonado was able to find a drive in 2014. Maldonado later accused his team of sabotage in the US Grand Prix, so it wasn’t a surprise when Williams parted ways with ’ Crashtor’ what was the nickname that Venezuelan driver earned after causing too many accidents. The only race in which he collected point was the Hungarian Grand Prix where he was 10th. The FW35 car wasn’t as competitive and the fact that Pastor had fewer accidents than in the previous years hasn’t helped a lot. Many were expecting that his progress will continue but the results again were disappointing. The season of 2013 was last in which Maldonado drove for Williams. Maldonado celebrates his only Formula 1 victory
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