85 replies to this topic

[Marklar]

 

“I was the only one, I was the new guy in F1,” Maldonado said in an interview with F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast.

 

“It’s like [Max] Verstappen at the moment. Like Robert Kubica at his time. I was the guy at the time. People were coming to me, they were happy to talk to me, and they were happy to discuss me.

 

“What was not clear was the relationship with the sponsors [Venezuelan oil firm PDVSA], of course. It was a lot of conflict of interest against the sponsors and we were negotiating about that. My sponsors were open to maybe not to be on the car or be with another company, they were open to find a solution to my career.

 

"At some point we got very close to Ferrari. I was expecting the move at the time.

 

“That was my time. It was the moment to have a second chance, not to fight to try to show [my ability] every day, because it was impossible.”

 

Maldonado believes any chance of ever joining Ferrari was eliminated in 2014 when first Stefano Domenicali stepped down as team boss and then president Luca di Montezemolo left.

 

“We lost the contacts and the communication and we focused on [elsewhere],” he said. “I’ve never been to Maranello but we had a few meetings at the track. I met Domenicali a few times and I met also di Montezemolo.”

https://www.motorspo...lliams/4530975/

ngl I feel like entering an alternate reality, especially with the first bit   

[potmotr]

Andrea de Cesaris was also considered for Ferrari back in the 80s and was supposed to drive their Indycar in 1988...

[1Devil1]

https://www.motorspo...lliams/4530975/

ngl I feel like entering an alternate reality, especially with the first bit 

 

“It’s like [Max] Verstappen at the moment. Like Robert Kubica at his time. I was the guy at the time. People were coming to me, they were happy to talk to me, and they were happy to discuss me.

 

Is he nuts   ?

[Jovanotti]

As a test/reserve driver with his huge sponsorship - why not?

 

Although you gotta say he's a pretty confident guy

[Nemo1965]

“It’s like [Max] Verstappen at the moment. Like Robert Kubica at his time. I was the guy at the time. People were coming to me, they were happy to talk to me, and they were happy to discuss me.

 

Is he nuts   ?

 

Every F1-driver believes he is the best of any particular year. Until reality bounces them back.

[SilverArrow31]

I want to know what he has been smoking!

Edited by SilverArrow31, 05 September 2019 - 10:15.

[Pete_f1]

To be fair, he did drive a good Spanish GP from lights to flag. I don't this he was rubbish but not quite from the top draw.

[Anja]

Although you gotta say he's a pretty confident guy

 

I remember reading about him in that aspect once - that he was/is pretty naive about it and the sensationalism created by Venezuelan media and the people close around him caused him to really believe that he's an absolute top driver. I don't know if I would believe it 100% but listening to him you really get the feel that it might not be far from the truth. 

[noikeee]

Well this is gonna go well under the word delusion in the dictionary.

[Laster]

Maldonado was fast, that Spanish win does prove it. But the following 9 races where he contrived to not even get a single point (eventually scoring in Japan) also proves he was hopelessly inconsistent and so very crash happy - I will never forget him turning right for a corner, changing dials on his steering wheel and continuing to turn right off track as he came on to the straight and failing to notice.

Not sure what universe he’s living in but at no point was he ever in consideration for a Ferrari drive, it is laughable - genuinely made me laugh reading it. I mean he compares himself to Verstappen and Kubica, it comes across as borderline delusional.

[sopa]

 

 

 I was the guy at the time.

 

 

Pastor Maldonado. The man around who the driver market was revolving.

 

Who needs Lewis, Fernando, Sebastian, et al, when you have Pastor available?

[krapmeister]

That was some weird interview... 

[ANF]

I guess I should update my post from April below (from a thread called 'Perez: "I was a Ferrari member, I was going to get a contract for 2014"').
 

Wasnt Hulkenberg's Ferrari contract for 2014 basically ready as well until they decided to go for Kimi?

Not doubting him of course, but to me it looks like staying another year at Sauber would have ended up in the same scenario as Hulkenberg.

Maybe Pérez and Hülkenberg almost joined Ferrari for 2014 because Webber almost joined Ferrari for 2013, which maybe was a result of Kubica almost joining Ferrari for 2012?

[TomNokoe]

Rubbish. Drivers are good at driving, but not podcasting.

Massa was on a few months ago and told the story about Ferrari were deciding who to back for the WDC at Spa in 2008, but he told the story and mis-remembered it as 2007. Tom Clarkson near had a fit trying to unpick the consequences of this incredible revelation.

[NixxxoN]

Maldonado was fast, that Spanish win does prove it.

 

That 2012 Williams was also really good on some occasions. Proof is even Bruno Senna got some good results with it. 2012 year was a really weird year anyway with several weird/lottery results, with the banned blown diffuser and the top teams having problems the first half of the season, and with so many ups and downs

That spanish win was a incredibly freak result

Edited by NixxxoN, 05 September 2019 - 10:54.

[SpeedRacer`]

Rubbish. Drivers are good at driving, but not podcasting.

Massa was on a few months ago and told the story about Ferrari were deciding who to back for the WDC at Spa in 2008, but he told the story and mis-remembered it as 2007. Tom Clarkson near had a fit trying to unpick the consequences of this incredible revelation.

 

It was 2007 wasn't it? 

 

I thought another interesting revelation was that the FIA mandated a minimum 7 second pit stop time for Williams in 2013.

[Risil]

I thought another interesting revelation was that the FIA mandated a minimum 7 second pit stop time for Williams in 2013.

 

Eh? Why?

[absinthedude]

That was a strange interview. No doubting Maldonado's speed, and when he held it together he was very effective.....but equally there's no doubting that he binned it more often than not. I can't see Ferrari actually being close to giving him a drive in 2014. Maybe a development role if they felt they could coach him? But it all seems rather exaggerated.

 

As for de Cesaris, I don't recall him ever being on Ferrari's radar....and that 1988 Indycar was not really serious...it was a rehash of an aborted mid 80s Alfa Romeo Indycar concept car which was presented in order to frighten the FIA into thinking that Ferrari would jump ship from F1 to indy. 

[Beri]

That 2012 Williams was also really good on some occasions. Proof is even Bruno Senna got some good results with it. 2012 year was a really weird year anyway with several weird/lottery results, with the banned blown diffuser and the top teams having problems the first half of the season, and with so many ups and downs
That spanish win was a incredibly freak result

Yet Maldonado could have gone for more podium finishes that season, had he not c*cked things up. Like ruining his Monaco weekend already on Friday, albeit him being one of the faster drivers that weekend and the false start at Belgium to name just two examples. His Singapore qualifying then showed what Maldonado really could achieve if he keeps his mind right.

I truly think he was a good driver in 2012. He just made an error or two too much to prove how good he actually was when Venus, Mars, the Moon, Zork863 and Asgard lined up like at Barcelona.

[SpeedRacer`]

Eh? Why?

 

Because of wheels falling off after pitstops.

 

As far as I remember that was never made public.

[CSF]

Pastor Maldonado was the only driver that could have ended the Mercedes/Hamilton tyranny in Formula One. 

[Risil]

Because of wheels falling off after pitstops.
 
As far as I remember that was never made public.

 

Very interesting. I suppose such a mandate would've been unenforceable directly, but rather an understanding that if Williams flouted the 7 second limit and then a wheel did fall off, the FIA would throw the book at them, Renault in Hungary 2009 style.

[Lotus72b]

I needed a good laugh this morning      

[Marklar]

I needed a good laugh this morning      

I recommend to listen to the whole podcast. These 1.5 hours was the funniest **** I've heard in a while 

[messy]

Maldonado was potentially very good wasn't he. He won GP2 in a manner only comparable to Stoffel Vandoorne, feature race win after feature race win, bang bang bang. 

 

He just couldn't hold it together long enough to do anything useful (aside from that one day in Spain), then when he reined things in the following year he seemed to lose his edge, being outqualified by Bottas then Grosjean. Always think he actually did some of his best stuff (in the races) those last three years. 

[pitlanepalpatine]

Every F1-driver believes he is the best of any particular year. Until reality bounces them back.

 

I'm pretty sure Maldonado bounced himself plenty.

 

Also Shell...

[TomNokoe]

It was 2007 wasn't it?

OT but it was 100% 2008

[Spillage]

I would like to take this small opportunity to urge everyone to listen to the excellent Beyond the Grid podcast. Haven't heard the Maldonado one yet, but last week's episode with Tony Brooks was fantastic.

[goldenboy]

How strange. And sad.

Edited by goldenboy, 05 September 2019 - 12:09.

[Spillage]

Maldonado was potentially very good wasn't he. He won GP2 in a manner only comparable to Stoffel Vandoorne, feature race win after feature race win, bang bang bang. 

 

He just couldn't hold it together long enough to do anything useful (aside from that one day in Spain), then when he reined things in the following year he seemed to lose his edge, being outqualified by Bottas then Grosjean. Always think he actually did some of his best stuff (in the races) those last three years. 

I agree with this. In GP2 he won six feature races in a row, and showed occasional flashes of great promise in the Williams. At that time he looked very fast but very ragged, as a  lot of really talented young drivers do. 

 

All he had to do was dial out the mistakes and the retain the speed. Instead he somehow did the opposite, and the strong performances vanished while he continued to make dumb mistake after dumb mistake.

[SpeedRacer`]

OT but it was 100% 2008

 

Didn't he say that Ferrari would choose who to back for the rest of the season after the Spa result.

 

2007 fits as Kimi won. In 2008 Massa, won Kimi crashed out and Massa was ahead in the drivers championship

 

Why in 2008 would they choose to back Kimi after seeing Massa win the race?

[Imperial]

Pastor needs to put this at the top of his CV and resend it to the US and bag that IndyCar drive I keep recommending him for.

[TomNokoe]

...

I'll PM you

[Jon83]

Absolute bollocks, I'd suggest.

Edited by Jon83, 06 September 2019 - 11:18.

[Imateria]

That 2012 Williams was also really good on some occasions. Proof is even Bruno Senna got some good results with it. 2012 year was a really weird year anyway with several weird/lottery results, with the banned blown diffuser and the top teams having problems the first half of the season, and with so many ups and downs

That spanish win was a incredibly freak result

Not that freak, Singapore and Abu Dhabi were races where the Williams was also capable of getting in amongst the top teams and that was late season where everyone had got on top of the tyres, I also think Maldonado drove better in those two races than he did in Barcelona, it's just unfortunate that they were both scuppered some what by reliability problems. The biggest reason that they won that day was because McLaren cocked up with the fuel and ran out on the slowdown lap with Hamilton, running foul of a rule brought in to stop them from doing just that.

 

It's not actually that big of a surprise, Ferrari were looking for a replacement for Massa and Maldonado was putting in some good drives, had good backing and was still pretty new, many of us were hoping he'd be able to cut out the mistakes. As No.2 to Alonso it kind of makes sense looking long term, but I suspect the way his 2013 season went had more to do with scuppering any kind of deal. Claiming your team is deliberatly sabbataging your car in a live interview is not a good look, I'm pretty sure that if Lotus didn't desperately need PDVSA's money he wouldn't have got a drive at all after that.

Edited by Imateria, 05 September 2019 - 12:28.

[theflyingwheel]

Maldonado was potentially very good wasn't he. He won GP2 in a manner only comparable to Stoffel Vandoorne, feature race win after feature race win, bang bang bang.

He just couldn't hold it together long enough to do anything useful (aside from that one day in Spain), then when he reined things in the following year he seemed to lose his edge, being outqualified by Bottas then Grosjean. Always think he actually did some of his best stuff (in the races) those last three years.

In his 6th season, sure I’m gonna play a soccer match against kindergartner kids and call myself the next Pele

[SCUDmissile]

Pastor     

[gillesfan76]

https://www.motorspo...lliams/4530975/ngl I feel like entering an alternate reality, especially with the first bit   

Has Maldonado been talking to Alonso?

[Ross Stonefeld]

It's one thing to say "I could have gone to Ferrari" but he's claiming they had talks. Getting to Montezemolo level is....decent interest. That said, everyone is linked to Ferrari at some stage so who knows how Serious-serious it was vs just checking what's out there, having leverage over whomever else they wanted to sign at the time, etc etc. 

 

Plus you know, if Ferrari signed every driver they were destined to over the past 10 years...

 

I think Maldonado was a classic over-driver. A la Sato. Now before you titter at the crash image, for either, you have to look a the wider picture. When they are given front running cars(the Spanish GP for Maldonado, some non-F1 racing for Sato) they're freakishly error free and quick. But they don't seem to have the ability to take a 5th or 15th place car and finish 5th or 15th. They try to get on the podium. And trying to put a 15th place car in P3 usually puts you in PWall. 

[taran]

I agree with this. In GP2 he won six feature races in a row, and showed occasional flashes of great promise in the Williams. At that time he looked very fast but very ragged, as a  lot of really talented young drivers do. 

 

All he had to do was dial out the mistakes and the retain the speed. Instead he somehow did the opposite, and the strong performances vanished while he continued to make dumb mistake after dumb mistake.

 

Assuming its true that Maldonado and Ferrari talked, I don't see why people find it so unbelievable. He was impressive in GP2, actually won a Grand Prix with Alonso in a Ferrari in Spain on his tail and came with a very healthy sponsorship package. Maldonado's outright speed has never been in question, just his ability to tame it. Ferrari has a long history of such drivers, most recently Massa in 2006.

 

At the same time, Ferrari was looking for a replacement for an underperforming Massa. Having had Latin American drivers for over a decade, maybe this was an important market for Ferrari/Marlboro?

 

So it all makes sense in a way. Ferrari would have been remiss if they didn't explore options in 2013 and he says he spoke to Domenicalli and di Montezomola. That's as far up the food chain at Ferrari as you could get in 2013 so it must have been serious discussions.

 

I think Ferrari opted in the end for the perceived reliability and speed of Raikkonen (coming off 2 successful seasons at Lotus) as a backup to Alonso, hoping he would help Alonso finally get a title in 2014 by being closer to him and acting as a rear-gunner in a way Massa couldn't. Maldonado was too much of an unknown. Fast but erratic.

 

And Maldonado maybe mistook Ferrari's interest for being more than it was, just a serious sounding out of options.

Edited by taran, 05 September 2019 - 13:08.

[OneAndOnly]

So ganja in Venezuela is really good. Didn't know that...

[maximilian]

This is among the most ludicrous things I've read in motorsports history.

[Anderis]

Yet Maldonado could have gone for more podium finishes that season, had he not c*cked things up. Like ruining his Monaco weekend already on Friday, albeit him being one of the faster drivers that weekend and the false start at Belgium to name just two examples. His Singapore qualifying then showed what Maldonado really could achieve if he keeps his mind right.

I truly think he was a good driver in 2012. He just made an error or two too much to prove how good he actually was when Venus, Mars, the Moon, Zork863 and Asgard lined up like at Barcelona.

I don't think he had quite the pace to podium at Monaco, he did try his best in Q and yet that was only good enough for P9 and it's not like he was P1 in FPS or something. More obvious wasted opportunity was Valencia when he crashed trying to overtake Hamilton for P3 with much better pace with like 2 laps to go?

Also he was quite unfortunate that year, two of his 3 best races were met with mechanical problems (DNF at Singapore and KERS failure at Abu Dhabi, when he had been pulling away from Alonso, who eventually finished P2) and he had some strange issues like destroying his floor over debris at Nurburgring or puncture in Bahrain. But other than that, he destroyed almost every second of his races with his own mistakes. That car was capable of at least something like 150 WDC points if not more towards 200 but he only scored 45 while Senna 31.

 

It's also interesting how he completely anihiliated Senna in Q and Senna was somewhat impressive in Q after jumping to the car mid-season in 2011. That allowed him to build a reputation of kind of being a Q specialist only to find out he was much better in races than in qualifying while being paired with Bottas and Grosjean.

 

But as much as people like to make fun of him, he had very good seasons in 2011 and 2013. In 2011 he almost matched Barrichello as a rookie (which was not an easy task, ask Hulkenberg about 2010) and in 2013 he generally beat Bottas more often than not in races, despite Bottas finishing ahead in WDC due to one race where he scored points and having a slight advantage in Q. In neither of those years he was making anywhere near as many mistakes as in 2012. Had he been able to perform on his 2013 level with his 2012 car, his F1 career might have gone completely different.

Edited by Anderis, 05 September 2019 - 13:37.

[Atreiu]

Now I wish we had three car teams.

[Dennista]

[Touchdown]

I'm actually pretty amazed by the number of people here who seem to think Pastor was actually quite quick.

 

Only team-mate he beat in F1 was Bruno Senna (who actually scored points far more frequently than Maldonado), he took an absolute kicking off Grosjean, and I can only think of a handful of decent performances from him. Pretty much all in 2012, which, with the benefit of hindsight, was most probably down to a very good Williams car.

 

As for the Ferrari interest, I don't believe a word of it. 

[noikeee]

I think Maldonado was a classic over-driver. A la Sato. Now before you titter at the crash image, for either, you have to look a the wider picture. When they are given front running cars(the Spanish GP for Maldonado, some non-F1 racing for Sato) they're freakishly error free and quick. But they don't seem to have the ability to take a 5th or 15th place car and finish 5th or 15th. They try to get on the podium. And trying to put a 15th place car in P3 usually puts you in PWall. 

 

I think you're spot on with this. He was very good at leading from the first to the last lap in GP2 too, and occasionally monstrously quick in WSR even before that. Now get a few quicker cars and/or drivers in front of him, and he suddenly looks like a liability...

 

You know a guy that's just like this too? His last team-mate, Grosjean. Whilst he could get good results in the Lotus in late 2013, felt quicker than Maldonado so managed to look good just from that, or felt regularly quicker than Gutierrez in the first half of '17, it was all good. As soon as he felt the pressure again, against Magnussen as he has to beat Magnussen convincingly to impress but just doesn't have the pace to do that, he's all over the place.

[Anja]

he took an absolute kicking off Grosjean

 

Did he? I remember him being consistently behind, but not by a big margin. And that was when Grosjean himself was pretty highly rated.

Edited by Anja, 05 September 2019 - 13:45.

[messy]

He was consistently behind Grosjean in qualifying I recall, but actually their race pace was often pretty much identical. 

 

Possibly because the car was so poor in 2014, in truth. 

 

Similarly though, in 2013 he was beaten by Bottas in qualifying but stronger than him in the races. I think he definitely changed his approach slightly after making such a mess of scoring points in a capable car in 2012. Although possibly Senna made him look quicker than he was that year too....

Edited by messy, 05 September 2019 - 13:49.

[Collective]

I'm actually pretty amazed by the number of people here who seem to think Pastor was actually quite quick.

 

Only team-mate he beat in F1 was Bruno Senna (who actually scored points far more frequently than Maldonado), he took an absolute kicking off Grosjean, and I can only think of a handful of decent performances from him. Pretty much all in 2012, which, with the benefit of hindsight, was most probably down to a very good Williams car.

 

As for the Ferrari interest, I don't believe a word of it. 

 

He definitely had the raw pace. He looked quicker than Barrichello in his rookie season, and would have outscored him if Hamilton hadn't went for a crazy move in St Devote. I think he was in route to a 6th place in Monaco. Pace was never the issue with this guy. He simply was not adaptable, if things weren't in his sweet spot, he would just overdrive and do very questionable things.