Examining Pastor Maldonado’s F1 Legacy of Crashes, Penalties and 1 Magical Win

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: February 7, 2016

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In 66 seasons of the Formula One World Championship, just 95 different drivers have won a grand prix (10 others won the Indianapolis 500 when it counted towards the championship). Improbably, Pastor Maldonado is one of them, and it is difficult to imagine another driver on that list whose talent behind the wheel is more lightly regarded.

Maldonado recently lost his race seat at Lotus when the team was bought by Renault. With economies crumbling across South America, Maldonado's sponsor—the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA—could not come up with an estimated £35 million to pay for his drive, per the BBC's Andrew Benson.

When it comes to Maldonado's reputation, that sponsorship is part of his problem. He is often regarded as nothing more than a pay driver, who would not be in F1 without the financial support from his homeland. But the reality is more nuanced.

Entering the 2014 season, Lotus wanted to sign the talented Nico Hulkenberg, as then-team principal Eric Boullier told ESPN F1's Abhishek Takle, but the German could not offer any sponsorship cash. Eventually, the team opted for Maldonado.

Aside from his pay driver status, Maldonado also gained a reputation over his career as somewhat wild and unpredictable on the circuit. He was nicknamed "Crashtor" and a website called Has Maldonado Crashed Today? was created to track his many mishaps.



But 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.

After 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). The next year, he graduated to GP2, winning at Monaco in just his fourth start.

In 2010, he won the GP2...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Formula 1

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