Pastor Maldonado

[steveaki13]

So he has been give a 5 place gird drop for China (half of what Ricciardo got for accidental pit release)

He also gets 3 points only, meaning he can flip 3 more cars before he gets a ban.

So what do you think. Is this punishment enough?

I mean I would say a 10 place drop and 6 points would be more justified

[Robinho]

He had the harshest available in race punishment short of a disqualification, the 10 second stop go, so the 5 place drop is probably appropriate, and let's face it, in that car that will put him on or close to the back row. However, what he did today was as brainless as grosjean at spa a couple of years ago, just with only 1 driver taken out. Maybe he should have had more points on his licence also.

[dj_bytedisaster]

RoGro was banned for a race after he tried to kill Alonso at Spa - I think Maldonado should be banned for a race, too.

[henners88]

The guy is a fool and glad he's got a grid penalty, but it should be a 10 place not a 5! A race ban wouldn't go a miss as its not just this incident. He's been using his car as a weapon for his frustration for years now and its not being taken seriously enough. He rammed Perez in a Monaco practice session, he did the same to Hamilton after Lewis overtook him on a qualifying lap and he also took him out in Valencia. Pastor just doesn't have what it takes to compete in F1 and the sooner the money dries up the better as far as I am concerned.

[ShiftingGears]

He's lucky he didn't cop a ban for that, that was completely moronic.


HOWEVER it completely highlighted the problem with the lower nose - the risk of one car going under another is much higher this year. Last year that impact would've spun Gutierrez around, no question.

[dj_bytedisaster]

He's lucky he didn't cop a ban for that, that was completely moronic.


HOWEVER it completely highlighted the problem with the lower nose - the risk of one car going under another is much higher this year. Last year that impact would've spun Gutierrez around, no question.

Problem is - the wrong designer foresaw that. I think Newey said it would happen as early as last year. Now we've already had it happen twice. First Koba in Melbourne and now the axe murderer from venezuela. But since it was Newey, everybody dismissed it as 'Red Bull whining'. Maybe listening to them once in a while would help. Same was last year - everybody was up in arms against Merc and RB, because they complained about the tyres. That was, however, before Alonso nearly got killed by chunks of rubber flying past him at 300 kph.

[Robinho]

Except it was the tyres touching, not the low nose, that flipped the sauber yesterday.

[steveaki13]

Except it was the tyres touching, not the low nose, that flipped the sauber yesterday.

This. If you watch its the tyre contact that does it, Surprising as it may seem.

[anfield5]

Without sounding smug, this is what I said in the low-nose debate forum. When one car flips another usually (sure there are cases when this isn't so) it is contact from the tyres that launches a car, the only way to stop this is either go to enclosed wheels i.e. sports car racing or do away with spinning wheels.

[The Black Knight]

So he has been give a 5 place gird drop for China (half of what Ricciardo got for accidental pit release)

He also gets 3 points only, meaning he can flip 3 more cars before he gets a ban.

So what do you think. Is this punishment enough?

I mean I would say a 10 place drop and 6 points would be more justified

I agree completely. I think he should just be banned full stop and his F1 license removed. He's an incompetent dangerous driver who is going to responsible for a serious accident if not fatal one. Not alone that but he has just tried to defend himself as well saying that Guttierez gave him no room, which is a load of rubbish. It shows that there is sometime not teaching anyone about their mistakes no matter how much you punish them. He is, unfortunately, one of these drivers and F1 is better off without the fool.

[rjbetty]

Totally with you Black Knight. I well remember the crash in Monaco in Renault 3.5(?) where he hit a marshal, under yellow flag conditions IIRC. He was banned for the rest of the year. That could easily have been a fatal accident.

I think the writing was on the wall when he didn't learn from that and didn't regard it with humility.

I too think it's absurd he hasn't received a ban yet... It's his attitude more than anything which is scary.

[MacFeegle]

Pastor has been a prick since first school. Failed South American who thinks he's Brazillian but without the talent. Watch out America cause another Montoyas on the way

[Zico]

I agree completely. I think he should just be banned full stop and his F1 license removed. He's an incompetent dangerous driver who is going to responsible for a serious accident if not fatal one. Not alone that but he has just tried to defend himself as well saying that Guttierez gave him no room, which is a load of rubbish. It shows that there is sometime not teaching anyone about their mistakes no matter how much you punish them. He is, unfortunately, one of these drivers and F1 is better off without the fool.

This ^ +1

[MacFeegle]

Is there any way to like posts here or agree with someone cause Zico and Black Night get my vote

[steveaki13]

Is there any way to like posts here or agree with someone cause Zico and Black Night get my vote

Welcome to the forums.

Agree 100% about Maldonado.

We used to have a like button, and the admin have been remodelling and re setting the forum and say they are hoping to implement it again soon.

[Whyzars]

Pastor is the reason Bahrain 2014 is being talked of in such an "oh wow" pitch and not as the 3rd slow train to nowhere of the year.

Think about how the race would've been if Maldonado doesn't T-bone someone.

F1 have handed down their verdict and what is the message I get from the penalty? That they might consider putting him on a retainer to ensure he keeps doing it.

[steveaki13]

I thoroughly enjoyed the race even before the SC TBH.

It was a good race through the field before the SC and the SC just added to the final flourish.

[zako85]

I used to be one of the biggest defenders of Maldonado after 2012 Valencia crash with Hamilton, but by now he appears to be a basket case. In 2012, he had a car capable of winning GPs, yet it's shocking how many times he failed to score points and finished 15th in WDC. In 2013 he failed to beat a rookie teammate.

[Doc Austin]

I don't think there is a lot of argument that pastor deserves the donkey award, but I don't think he is quite as guity as some people are making it out t be. He didn't drive into the the Sauber ..... the Sauber came down on the road that the Lotus was already on. Perhaps Maldonado did a bit of a die bomb, but once he was under Guteteriez , there was nothing he could do to get out of the Sauber's way. Guiterrez only needed to give him a little bit of room and he would have sailed right past.

I think Pastor gets the blame on this one partially because he deserves some of it, but also because he has been a bonehead so many times in the past. However, Guteteriez couild have moved over a few feet and gotten away unscathed.

For Guteteriez it doesn't matter a bit whether Pastor was right or wrong. That part is irrelevant. What is relevant is the car got tore up and Guteteriez lost a chance at a finish, simply because he didn't gave an inch to a guy we knew was going to wreck him the moment we saw the two go side by side. Who did not see that coming?

OK, Guteteriez, you are blameless. Does that help you any now?

If I am Kaltemborne, I'm a bit miffed at Guteteriez for allowing it to happen. You know Pastor is going to do something stupid even before he does it, so why squeeze him into the curb? Why get so close to a guy who wrecks so much stuff?

In the end Guteteriez might be completely blameless, but if he had not gone onto the road where there was already another car, he might have had had a good finish, or at least some sort of finish, which is what Sauber needs right now.

[anfield5]

The sad thing about Maldo is that he does have some real driving talent hidden away. There have been occasions (far too few) where he has had his brain in gear and driven beautifully i.e. Spain 2012. On that day he kept his head down and was a picture of perfection. His problem seems to be that he is too impatient, he doesn't seem to be able to bide his time and wait for an opportunity, he has to do everything NOW!! If he can somehow learn the dark art of waiting for the right moment he will be able to compete at a F1 level, if not this could very well be his final season of Gp racing before heading of to the Indy League.

Looking at the crash last week, he didn't intentionally run in to Estoban's car, he just decided he was going to get into the corner NOW!! without even thinking of looking in his mirrors or realizing that the blue lights at pit exit meant there was someone coming up from behind him. I haven't heard or read any comments from Pastor, but I would expect him to say that he thought the corner was his because he was ahead as he exited the pits (or something to that effect)

[easy rider]

I began to despise Maldonado, as a result of his actions during qualy for the 2011 Belgian GP at Spa. To deliberately swipe Hamilton's car during the cool down lap, because of whatever is running through his mind, shows what a complete moron, and danger that Maldonado is.

http://vimeo.com/44828857

[zako85]

I don't think there is a lot of argument that pastor deserves the donkey award, but I don't think he is quite as guity as some people are making it out t be. He didn't drive into the the Sauber ..... the Sauber came down on the road that the Lotus was already on. Perhaps Maldonado did a bit of a die bomb, but once he was under Guteteriez , there was nothing he could do to get out of the Sauber's way. Guiterrez only needed to give him a little bit of room and he would have sailed right past.


This type of crash is very common in motorsports, so there are some conventions for judging who is at fault. The car that's ahead has the right to its racing line. Both pilots may certainly be involved in some type of a game of chicken, but often the driver ahead does not even see the nose of the car on the inside turn. If the crash happens, the car on the inside is usually judged guilty.

[henners88]

Regardless of what happened last weekend I think the pressure is on Pastor and he knows it. He's had his fair share of bad luck in the opening rounds and he's moved to a team that aren't as good as he expected. It must be painful to see the pace of the Williams knowing how much he criticised them and walked out in a huff. This latest incident could be the making of him, we don't know ;)