Furious Perez demands action on Maldonado

2012 British Grand Prix

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Sergio Perez had harsh words for Pastor Maldonado after retiring in a collision with the Williams driver in the British Grand Prix.

Perez was trying to pass Maldonado on the outside of Brooklands on lap 11 when the pair made contact.

Speaking to the BBC afterwards, Perez called on the FIA to take action against Maldonado: “Pastor is a driver who doesn’t respect other drivers. It’s just a matter of fact.

“I was already in front, and if not he should have given me enough space not to crash, but he tried to push me all the way to the outside. I don’t understand the way he is driving.

“I really hope the stewards can make something because the last three or four races he has done something.

“It is not the first time he has damaged my weekend. He did the same in Valencia, and they gave him a drive-through, which I think is not enough.

“This guy will never learn if they don’t do something, because he is a very dangerous driver and he can hurt someone.”

Maldonado collided with Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the European Grand Prix.

Afterwards Maldonado said: “It was a very disappointing moment because the race was going well for us.”

Describing the incident he said: “The corner was mine. Sergio was on the outside of the corner trying to take the position from me. I tried to defend and on the entry I lost the rear of the car, I think on cold tyres.”

Update: Maldonado handed reprimand and fine

2012 British Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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136 comments on “Furious Perez demands action on Maldonado”

  1. Also when asked by Lee McKenzie, he said that all the drivers have their concerns about him.

    1. Maldonado receives reprimand and fine:

      Maldonado and Kobayashi fined after incidents

    2. Was he penalized or not?

    3. Not defending his character here, but in the incident on track today, I really don’t think he did anything wrong. It was just a racing incident. They were both going hammer and tongs, side by side through a sweeping corner. He simply lost the back end and couldn’t gather it up in time. Unfortunately Perez was in the way at the time.

      I think we can all agree, in this instance, he did nothing malicious.

      1. @nick101 The stewards said “In view of the serious nature of the incident the stewards have decided under Article 18.1 to apply two penalties.”

        Whether those penalties are sufficiently harsh is a matter of considerable debate here:

        Maldonado and Kobayashi fined after incidents

        As to whether the collision was Maldonado’s fault, I think the answer is clearly yes. The replays shows Perez had left Maldonado ample space. But in trying to keep Perez behind Maldonado had gone too fast into the corner and – by his own admission – lost the rear of his car, hitting Perez.

        I wouldn’t say this was “malicious” in the way Monaco ’12 or Spa ’11 seemed to be, but it was clearly Maldonado’s fault and so if anyone should be punished it’s him.

        1. I agree, his behaviour needs to be looked at, but the punishments need to be dished out with more thought.

          Whether or not the stewards were simply getting him back for past indiscretions is irrelevant. What it boils down to is they have given a financial penalty for an on track racing incident. Yes, it was Maldonado’s fault that they came together, but it was simply a racing incident and not intentional, and as such, I don’t think even a drive through was called for.

          Every time that drivers come together now, someone gets a penalty – it’s stupid! IT IS CAR RACING – you know, auto mobiles travelling at very high speeds at very close proximity – drivers are going to come together, but that’s racing!

          Yes, he deserves to be punished for the crap that he pulled at Monaco and Spa, but on track incidents should be just that and left on the track – unless a driver does something completely stupid and reckless of course. And before you all jump in, no, losing the back end of your F1 car whilst doing God knows what speed through a sweeping corner with a car RIGHT beside you is not stupid or reckless, it’s just racing.

          And no, I am in no, way, shape or form a supporter of Maldonado!

      2. How about he is incompetent? How about being a danger to everyone on track? Maldonado is an idiot who has no place in F1. F3 maybe, but he is too inexperienced for F1.

    4. He makes me so mad,. One race at he treats it like Mario Kart,.

  2. I’m amazed he wasn’t harshly punished after hitting Perez at Monaco to be honest, and I agree the stewards should come down on him like a tonne of bricks. A suspended race ban I think would send a very clear message that his standard of driving cannot continue.

    1. I think that they’re being lenient on him as he’s propping up Williams…

    2. I feel like a straigth race ban is already justified.

      1. It was justified after he deliberately drove into Hamilton at Spa last year…

        1. And another for deliberately driving into Perez at Monaco. They wouldn’t have tolerated this kind of behaviour 15 years ago.

        2. @Steph, I think that’s the crucial point. Maldonado should have received a much severer penalty for his deliberate collision with Hamilton last year – we’re not even talking about a momentary flash of anger during an on-track dispute, but a bout of uncontrolled road rage, going after a driver long after the incident and deliberately crashing into him. Unbelievable that this behaviour was given such a lenient penalty.

        3. Yeah, possibly if they had been clear with him there, he might have already cooled off instead of having these kind of things again and again.

    3. Maldonado sai, not many days ago, he won’t change his driving style :)

      1. It’s not his driving I’m worries about. It’s his crashing style.

    4. It always hurt me when there are news like these, especially during such a fantastic season. I simply could not recall any worse kinds of sportsmanship in the history of the sport. The FIA should perhaps plan for further rules or sanctions or whatever policies to stop such exploitation of any potential grey areas between the line of “aggresiveness” and “unfairness”. Together with Senna’s performance, regardless of whether that is his real potential or if there is anything preventing him from performing, I wonder what would be going through Barrichello’s minds at these times……

  3. Hopfully now thanks to his public outburst Maldonado will get his long deserved race ban. This time might have been an accident, but it was still his fault and its ANOTHER driver he’s taken out of a race.

    1. Not only does he take the other driver out, but his car always seems to be able to continue! Quite lucky.

    2. I think we need to think rationally about it here…

      Yes, Pastor has had some incidents in the past (Spa and Monaco) which have deserved more than just a slap on the wrist and a grid drop, but they were (allegedly — and most likely) deliberate. The incidents he’s been involved in for the past two races have been accidents over which no-one can be solely blamed, and previous “deliberate” collisions can’t really be compared just to make the point.

      If the stewards start judging incidents based on previous occurrences, things will get unfair. Certainly today, Pastor was not entirely at fault. It takes two to tango, as the saying goes, and Perez tried a risky move. Maldonado lost control mid-corner and accidentally made contact. Maybe that was his fault, but it happens when you’re racing. There may always be someone at fault, but do we really have to have a penalty even when this is the case? It seems to me that the stewards are contractually obliged to penalise someone in every single incident where two drivers make contact. It’s a bit silly in my opinion.

      1. Well said and I completely agree. A similar incident occurred in 2011 at the same corner between MSC and Kamui. Sergio, to me looked aggressive in this race and he tried to pull off an aggressive move and nothing wrong in that but then incidents do happen.

      2. @damonsmedley: “Perez tried a risky move”. So you would also call Webber’s overtake on Alonso a risky move too? Both overtaking drivers left plenty of room on the inside

  4. Cooler heads have learnt to give MAL a wider berth – so should Checo. You must first finish your race!!! He had pace & setup to give a great race and to see it ruined like this…

    1. @aquataz68 So just because Maldonado makes reckless moves his rivals should make life easier for him? That sounds like a classic case of reinforcing negative behaviour to me.

      This is exactly why the stewards should be there to provide the sort of discipline that will stop Maldonado from making moves like this.

      In many respects it’s such a shame we’re having this discussion. I really thought he’d got on top of his temperament after his win in Spain. But this is his third unacceptable move since then (and his second with Perez).

      1. Agree Keith but then who is paying the price of “educating” MAL ? This is being expensive in so many ways. Williams really ought to step in and protect his legacy from being embarrassed like this!

        1. Frank Williams loves Maldonado. He was lavishing praise on him at the team headquarters the other day.

          I don’t expect the drivers to give Maldonado quarter just because he’s a liability. They will expect him to have to learn the hard way.

          1. “Frank loves Pastor” Looking at it from Franks viewpoint, $50 million + a race win + a lot of “on camera” time for the sponsors, equates to a lot more than a famous name circulating mid-pack. But for everybody else it’s totally unacceptable bully-boy tactics, yes it was not deliberate (this time) but it was totally avoidable.

      2. This is exactly why the stewards should be there to provide the sort of discipline that will stop Maldonado from making moves like this.

        Compare this episode to Valencia, and there’s a whole world of difference.

        In Valencia, Maldonado went off the circuit and rejoined in a dangerous manner. But here, he was the defender rather than the attacker, and he had the defensive line. The back end clearly stepped out, but was that because he was trying too hard to hold onto his position, or did he ride up on the kerb too high and lose some grip, or was there some other factor?

        I’m not defending everything Maldonado does, I just think that of all the episodes that he’s been involved in, this was the most-innocuous of the lot.

        1. of all the episodes that he’s been involved in, this was the most-innocuous of the lot.

          When those include two incidents where he’s deliberately hit another driver (Spa 2011, Monaco 2012) and another where he’s rejoined the track by driving into the side of another (Valencia 2012) that’s not saying much.

          1. @Keith Collantine I think you’re being rather harsh here, for me this was the defenition of a racing incident – two drivers not willing to give up, cold tyres, a tiny mistake and it all ends in tears. It was unlucky for both as well because it was very light contact and if the contact had been between other parts of the car they would probably both have continued and nobody would be complaining. That said, crashes are becoming something of a trend for Maldonado recently.

        2. I’m not defending everything Maldonado does, I just think that of all the episodes that he’s been involved in, this was the most-innocuous of the lot.

          I completely agree with that, looked like he just lost it under brakes. But that being said, he’s been pushing his luck a bit and I agree with the majority that it’s high time he be punished appropriately for his “reckless” driving.

          1. “He lost it under brakes” yes, because he didn’t brake where he should have.

        3. Maldonado has a bad reputation which is fully deserved.
          Spa 2011 I thought was a disgrace.

          But this incident very much looked like a racing incident as PM described.
          If Maldonado did not have the reputation he has I doubt there would have been so much discussion.

        1. that was +1 for keiths 1st. comment.

      3. Artyon Senna did the same kind of moves and he is now a legend.

        But yeah, he deserves the reprimand and fine, hopefully he can get his **** together.
        Reminds me about Hamilton last year, way to uncarefull.

      4. Let’s not forget that Maldonado was not the one ‘pulling a move’ in this instance.

        Also, like Staffan Hansson has mentioned, reckless racing like Maldonado has been acused of here was Ayrton Senna’s EXACT style.

        Martin Brundle, who raced against Senna, has said many times that if Ayrton Senna was coming towards you in your mirrors, the best thing to do was get out of the way, cause if you didn’t you knew you were going to have a crash. Ayrton was coming through whether you liked it or not.

        We all know how much the world (and probably most on this forum) thinks of Senna, yet everyone here is now slating Maldonado for driving VERY similarly.

        1. @nick101

          Let’s not forget that Maldonado was not the one ‘pulling a move’ in this instance.

          I don’t see what that matters in the slightest. What is so unreasonable about Perez trying to pass another driver? It’s not as if Perez failed to give Maldonado room.

          Let’s not muddy the water further by dragging Senna into this, if for no other reason than the rules on driving have changed an awful lot in the 18 years since he died.

    2. That’s victim blaming. Pastor is a racing driver, he should get his positions by racing and not by bullying people off the track.

      1. All the drivers must really dread now if they have to pull a passing move, or defend against Maldonado, not only in the race, but any time they are on the track. Its a bit of a worry, it shouldn’t be that way.

    3. A Senna drove a lot like MAL. Its one way to get drivers to stay clear of you.

      1. Last year lots of Ayrton Senna fans were asking for sever action against Lewis Hamilton… consistency is not very abundant these days.

        I understand @keithcollantine point. Others should not change their approach when it’s clear that Maldonado is causing trouble.

      2. Sure, but he had some respect for the other drivers (maybe excepting Prost :P), which Maldonado isn’t showing at all.

        1. who’s maldonado’s mentor and who’s paying for the seat in Williams? Answer: Chavez !! Does Chavez shows any kind of respect towards other people ? He does. Of so what can you expect from them?
          I’m from south America and feel that he needs to be suspended at least a race , he has been penalized already 5 times this year in 9 races. So that mean more than one penalization every two races . And don’t forget he injured and almost killed a marshal in Monaco a few years back for ignoring the yellows flag. Monaco forbidden him from competing again in that track but that banned was liftted it because his wealthy father promise to pay the steward’s recovery costs.

          1. he has been penalized already 5 times this year in 9 races

            To be fair I think three of those were because of gearbox changes.

  5. Although I see this as entirely a racing incident, Maldonado clearly needs to be told to calm down. I think banning him would be a bit harsh, especially considering there was no malice in this incident, but maybe he should have a suspended ban – you know, a ‘if you do this again there will be serious consequences’ kind of thing. It’s a shame really that Maldonado is so accident prone, he has great speed and natural talent. Hopefully he’ll learn to change his driving style, because then I believe he could become a regular front runner. But he really needs at least a slap on the wrist.

    1. I disagree – MAL has blocked & rammed in five races. He is reckless and at 150mph people die. It is sad to see ‘slaps on the wrist’ for ruining races like this

      1. Read what I put again. I said give him a suspended race ban and at least a slap on the wrist. Therefore more than a slap on the wrist.

  6. 100% agree with Perez. Maldonado has gone way too far in the last couple of races.

  7. I agree with Perez, Maldonado is always doing this kind of thing. He seems to think he can do what he wants on the track. Look at the move Webber put on Alonso for an example of how to do it. Great from both drivers, Alonso made it hard for Webber without smashing into the side of him. Maldonado is an idiot

    1. Another good example was the battle between Alonso and Hamilton, both fighting hard without hitting each other.

      1. yeah true! on the sky coverage they have just shown a few replays of it and its clear Maldonado lost the back end mid corner. Allan Mcnish’s view was that it was a racing incident but Maldonado lost the back because he went too deep into the corner. He has to learn that sometimes you’ve lost the position, he should have braked earlier and tried to come back at Perez on the exit. I just think his attitude is appalling, it’s sort of as if he thinks he’s always getting squeezed out of position but he just doesn’t know when to pull out and position himself for the next corner to attack.

  8. To be honest, before judging this move, it’d be good to see the onboard shot, because it looked like he lost the car a bit and overcorrected it.

    Not defending Maldonado at all, because all he’s doing (specially this year) is pushing people on the track and crashing. Some people argued back in the day that Hamilton needed to be penalized because of all the incidents he’s into. But come on, it was nothing like Maldonado’s. Maldonado shows no respect at all on track, and he really doesn’t care much about it.

    It’s very sad because the car is fast, and he’s obviously capable of doing very well, as he showed in Spain. But come on, Rubens, on that car, would be at least 25 points ahead of Maldonado at this point.

    He really needs to calm down. Otherwise, he won’t last long in F1.

    1. It looked like Maldonado did indeed force the entrance into that corner and went off the racing line straight into Perez. Even though it looked like a racing incident it still could have been completely avoidable. It was no way he could have kept the car on the racing like AND in front of Perez in that particular situation. NO WAY.

  9. Money talks. Maldonado will get a 5 grid penalty for the next race, if that…

  10. I like Maldonado for his fearless driving. I loved it when he sustained pressure from Fernando to win in Barcelona. I liked the fact that he pushed Alonso in the final laps at Melbourne but ended up crashing with 2 laps to go. He messed up in Valencia too in the final laps.

    But he tries hard. And crosses a line sometimes. But this is indeed too much. A race ban might be necessary I feel.

  11. Maldonado has done some stupid stuff in the past, sure, but this was just an unfortunate racing incident. He had a small slide mid corner which took him into Perez, it could have happened to anyone but as it was, it just happened to be Maldonado. Perez also said about some weaving, which I haven’t seen so I can’t judge, but the incident that took him out was just an unlucky racing incident.

    1. It was not “unlucky” Maldonado did not brake where he would normally because that would have left room for Perez to pass him, he didn’t want to give Perez room so left his braking to late, nothing to do with bad luck.

    2. It looked a lot like he lost the car on a bump or something to make it slide. Maybe Maldonado should have been braking a bit earlier, but to me it looked like his backend slipped a good half a meter before hitting Perez, so I think he just lost the car on braking. That move looked like it took Perez too far out even before Maldonado hit him too.

      As @dan-thorn writes, in this case it did not seem to be anything malicious.

  12. The races would be a little bit more boring with Pastor Maldonado minding his own business. His unpredictability gives him a bit of personality, and I for one don’t want to see twenty-four clones racing each other.

    1. I, for one, don’t like seeing drivers being put at unnecessary risk. Especially by poor driving.

      It’s a shame some people seem to enjoy watching dangerous driving.

      1. But was this really poor driving, or just a case of one driver losing control of his car and hitting another?

        If you want to ban that, you might as well ban overtaking altogether, because it is a risk that every driver takes every time they overtake another. Like when Romain Grosjean went down the inside of Nico Rosberg at Maggotts. It was a phenomenal move, but if either driver lost control for a moment, it would have been a phenomenal accident.

        If the Maldonado-Perez clash was anything more than a racing incident, then I’d probably be saying something different. But of all the incidents he has been involved in, this one is probably the one in which no fault can be assigned to any driver.

    2. That is you wanting a bit of drama. From Sergios point of view, Maldonado crashed into him, which he did. I fully understand him wanting the FIA to penalize Maldonado.

    3. What a ridiculous comment.

    4. @prisoner-monkeys, I suggest you change your allegiance to NASCAR if that is what you like.

    5. The problem is that Maldonado is not being unpredictable if every time he fights for a position it will end with both drivers out of the race or with damaged cars.
      So next time he fights for a position and get involved in another accident everyone will say that they saw that coming.
      I also like to see an aggressive driver but Maldonado right now is just being way too clumsy when fighting for position and if he doesn’t notice his mistakes he will never improve as a driver.

    6. @prisoner-monkeys: The races would be a lot more interesting if they fitted missile launchers and caltrap dispensers to the cars; that doesn’t mean it’s something the FIA should allow…

    7. I definitely don’t like to see my favorite driver crash out of a race in a tight championship just because Maldonado did some “unpredictable” move!

    8. Personality is good, but there is a very good reason why the drivers drive in a very similair way: that wins races and points, and is the best way to conduct a car around a circuit.

    9. @prisoner-monkeys – is that you?!

  13. Williams pilots are fast and daring – but idiotic and dangerous to self and others? An embarrassment to a great scuderia…… This is NOT a video game!

  14. I don’t think this one was too bad – they were racing incredibly closely through a challenging corner, and he made a slight error. Racing incident in my view.

    But overall, Perez is right in what he says. Maldonado is usually stupid and dangerous, and needs to be heavily punished the next time he does something similar to Monaco.

  15. I remember when the drivers didn’t like racing against Sato back in 2005 I think. When Sato joined Super Aguri, he did calm down a bit whilst racing. Maybe it was because he was dropped by a competitive BAR team, which made Sato reflect and finally ease off.

    Maybe a race ban for Maldonado would help him reflect and calm down whilst racing. It is a shame Maldonado is such hot-headed because he is very quick.

    1. I remember when the drivers didn’t like racing against Sato back in 2005 I think.

      Sato was a bit incident prone but I can’t recall him ever intentionally driving into an opponent, which Maldonado has done twice in less than two seasons in F1. Maldonado is fast and he fully deserved his debut victory in Barcelona, but he’s always been a thug behind the wheel – he got a four race ban from the WSR for ignoring yellow flags at Monaco and seriously injuring a marshall.

      The pattern of behaviour is well established, the stewards need to take decisive action to break it – not view incidents in isolation and hand down another wrist slap.

    2. Maybe a race ban for Maldonado would help him reflect and calm down whilst racing.

      After thinking about it more, I don’t think a race ban would be right.

      Today Maldonado made an honest mistake, if it was anyone else, nobody would be as angry with that driver. I’m sure Maldonado is aware that maybe he should tone down the aggression. Unfortunately it hasn’t quite happened for him with the misjudgment in Valencia, and his mistake today.

      1. He is aware of it, but he said just a few days ago that he wouldn’t change his style, which he thinks is completely justified.

    3. I remember when the drivers didn’t like racing against Sato back in 2005 I think.

      Well, the Japanese driver who loved car with over steer, was driving car designed for Button’s liking for under steer. Super Aguri, on the other hand, was created by Japanese Honda management to pacify the Japanese fans who felt Sato was unfairly treated by the British dominated management at BAR.
      Sato’s performance at Super Aguri is good vindication of Sato’s talent and underlines what a Non-Brit, Non-European driver needs to succeed in F1.

  16. Its time he was banned, he is a outrageously dangerous Driver who is willing to crash into others Drivers that annoy him or get in his way.

  17. mattshaw85 (@)
    8th July 2012, 15:00

    Personally think he’s a danger on the track. Seems to have no respect for the other drivers. Probably due a ban, seems to get off lightly compared with other incidents, surely all the incidents he’s been involved in should add up against him.

  18. People who defended Hamilton in Valencia should support Maldonado here. He did to Perez what Lewis did to him- push off the track

    1. Watch out for the people chasing you with torches. Saying truth is not always the best policy :D

    2. Lewis was in front before the turn in Valencia however, and the only contact was caused by Maldonado joining the track dangerously.

    3. No, completly different situations.

      Maldonado crashed into Perez here because he took way to much corner entry speed, therefore loosing it mid corner and getting his car into Perez side (who btw, left a good 2 cars width for Mal)

      This was nothing like the case in Valencia where Hamilton held a tight inside line

      1. Everyone seems to have missed that Mal pushed Kimi off the track on lap 2 of Valencia in exactly the same way, except that Kimi was a) further in front and b) Kimi didn’t come back on and hit him. Mal didn’t get punished for doing so, ergo Lewis shouldn’t have been punished for his part in the later incident.

  19. Maldonado has got a license to drive in F1, so to me it’s really sad that we’re discussing this. I think the Williams team should adress this, not the FIA.

    1. I have a license to drive on Public roads. If I constantly put other road users at risk through reckless driving, I will lose my license. Why should this not be the case in Formula One?

  20. i think he should get penalised…he did the same with Kimi earlier in the race…

  21. Classic 2011 Hamilton-esque, he shows the pace is there, he has done some wonderful manouvers and had some nice results, but all too often throws it all away with moments of stupidity or rashness. It’s enfuriating not only for the fans of drivers he punts, but also fans of Maldonado!

  22. I disagree that Maldonado is some reckless driver everyone makes him out to be. He defended his position and I think in this case it was unfortunate that he lost control to take out Perez, but perhaps Maldonado needs to be given a warning (to be more careful) regarding these specific side by side maneuvers.

    1. Totally agree with you.He just happens to be involved in too many accidents this year.I wouldn’t say he is disrespectful to other drivers.His situation is similar to Hamilton’s last year.He just needs a small talk.It’s a shame that his reputation has been tainted so far this season beacuse he is an extremely fast driver.

      1. Part of the reason he comes across as disrespectful towards other drivers is that when he tries these reckless moves (and deliberate or not, they have all been reckless) he is totally unrepentant afterwards.

        Today was clearly just a racing incident in which he lost control, but he hasn’t accepted any blame. It’s worrying that he sees no problem in the fact that his driving has caused a number of avoidable accidents recently.

      2. This was a racing incident, sure. But how do you explain what happened in Monaco between him and Perez?

  23. At first I thought: racing incident.

    But after a bit of thinking, the Moscow rule comes to mind: Once is an accident. Twice is coincidence. Three times is a enemy action pattern. And Maldonado even goes beyond three times.

    1. @verstappen
      Exactly. This incident was understandable. Not great driving, but its okay. Even the best makes mistakes at times. But he has done it oh so many times that harsher punishing should come his way, even if the infringement isn’t that bad. Simply to try to knock some sense into his thick head.
      And if that means he should get a race ban, then so be it.

  24. Maldonado really deserves a race ban at the very least after all of these incidents. He has consistently been reckless and over-aggressive. Not only is he throwing away great opportunities to gain points for himself and his team, but he is ruining other driver’s races as well.

    Though the situations aren’t quite the same, Yuji Ide had his super-license revoked in 2006. I’m not suggesting that Maldonado should be in the same situation as Ide, but the FIA can’t just give him penalties that are this lenient, when he is consistently doing this.

    In football, if a player consistently commits fouls against other players, they’ll eventually be sent off. Why shouldn’t Maldonado be given the same treatment?

  25. In 2006, Yuji Ide had his superlicense revoked after:
    Blocking Barrichello in qualifying for the Australian GP.
    Pitching Albers into a series of rolls in the San Marino GP.

    That was 2 incidents, only 1 where he took someone out.
    Maldonado has intentionally hit someone/taken someone out 4 times now:
    Hit Hamilton in Spa Quali 2011.
    Hit Perez in Monaco FP3 2012.
    Took Hamilton out in Valencia 2012.
    Took Perez out in Britain 2012.

    and he’s not even been banned for a race yet? The stewards seriously need to look at this.

    1. I don’t think the incident with Hamilton at Spa should be taken into account.And I strongly believe todays crash with Perez was a racing incident.

      1. Spa shouldnt be taken into account?

        For me, its precisly Spa and Monaco is why i think Maldonado shouldnt be in F1. The racing crashes, ok, they are anoying and he needs to calm down. But its those 2 inncodents that happend when they were _not_ racing that show that he has a terrible temperment and is going to cause injury one day.

        1. The Spa incident was almost a full season ago!

          1. Oh sorry, that makes it ok then.

            It dosnt matter how long ago it was, it only shows he hasnt learned from even previous inncodents before F1. Like being banned for crashes/ignoring flags and serverly injurying a marshall. He is a joke.

  26. Pastor’s only fault to date was his reaction after Lewis Hamilton shoved him off the final corner in Spa’11 during the qualifying. Lewis was clearly wrong in ruining Pastor’s qualifying lap there. But Pastor’s reaction has given him a reputation now. He gets vilified for everything after that, unfortunately all incidents after that have been clearly racing incident, with other driver having to share more (if not equal) blame.

    But now its become fashionable to call names and launch tirade against the Latin driver.

    1. ” Lewis was clearly wrong in ruining Pastor’s qualifying lap there”

      wow. are you for real?

      Lewis had every right to finish his qualifying lap, the only reason he was up Maldonados gearbox was that Mal got blocked by Barrichello infront. Thats just tough ****

    2. @nathhulal, I’m afraid it is you who can’t see fault in a Latin driver, in Spa 11 Lewis was also qualifying and much faster than Maldonado, Lewis had no obligation to wait for Maldonado to move back onto the racing line before completing his lap. Maldonado drove badly and got stuck behind a slower car because he didn’t use his brain but rather than accept that he blamed Lewis and in a temper tantrum crashed into him.

      1. double standard
        8th July 2012, 17:15

        So true, Pastor has obligation for everything, no body else has no obligation. No obligation for giving space after car is already ahead. Its just Pastor that has all obligation. I wonder if Mosley had left some ww2 era obligations for drivers of certain countries and exempted some others

  27. It looked pretty innocent to me but that’s just based on what I could see from that lap. He obviously didn’t gauge the corner well but I wouldn’t go so far too say it was outright reckless. I would like to see some previous laps for comparison to how he attacked that corner.

  28. Today’s one should be really treated like a racing incident, which in fact it was, but given Pastor’s crash record, i think suspended (‘do that again and you’re screwed’) ban for few GPs would be fully justified. Placing even a one race immediate ban would still be too harsh in my view. Pastor was a hot head even in lower categories, the public and the government body are pretty aware of that and should clearly indicate that this is not acceptable at the pinnacle of motorsport. We’re talking at a lower tones just because it was Brooklands, nobody’s got hurt, etc. I for one wouldn’t like to imagine the consequences of him loosing his read end as a result of overdriving the car alongside somebody at Copse, Becketts or Eau Rouge.

  29. He has begin to earn the title MADonald-0! First he say Lewis is too aggressive in defending his line (!!??) and next thing he say he won’t change his aggressive style (isn’t that contrary). He don’t seem to decide which is which, aggressive or not, lef or right, attack or defend! And that’s the reason, he say and drive in a totally uncontrolled manner, hence creating a crash every weekend not on one driver but on any driver arounfd him…

  30. So what now? Other drivers should avoid Pastor by at least 5 meters just because he’s a tough guy and exciting racer to watch? There is a line between tough, exciting racer and dangerous driver, Maldonado crossed it on several occasions. Also I strongly disagree with “this one wasn’t so bad” approach. By extension of this kind of logic, we should ignore speeding on roads for drivers who have already committed much serious traffic offenses because … this one wasn’t so bad! It’s not like he killed anyone (this time).

    IMO Maldonado should be given one final warning, if his antics are to be repeated – black flag and additional race ban.

  31. My suggestion: 10 grid place penalty.

  32. F1 Fanatic does not need new debates on Maldonado, surely we can just re-read last weeks arguments…

  33. strip him of hes super license
    if people don’t let him through or over take him he takes them out
    spa 2011(quail)- Monaco 2011 + 2012 – Valencia and many more

  34. Unfortunately for him it’s not just other drivers’ races he’s ruining, he’s jeopardising his own positions too!

    1. Who cares if he is ruining his own races, that’s his problem. It is the team we should worry for, he is destroying Williams hopes for the season. They could finish as high as 5th if the drivers would get it together! If Force India and Torro Rosso move forward and they drop back to 9th it would be such a tragedy. To have made such a staggering comeback and not have to results to prove it; all because their drivers can’t perform at the level the sport requires.

  35. i honestly can’t believe some of the comments on here. Pastor is a dangerous driver and needs to be dealt with. Today was more of a racing incident but he contributed to it. if you push your car too much is such situations, an accident is inevitable. He’s also been seen to make deliberate moves on other drivers causing accidents. The fact that other drivers and commentators are concerned about him speaks volumes

  36. I wouldnt call MAL’s aggressiveness and abusive maneuvers a “style of driving” but a rather stupid way to try to defend his position because in the end, he’s screwing up himself too as he is not achieving anything. I call his stuke “lack of respect to other drivers, lack of brain, and and unfruitful aggressive way to drive that puts orhers not only in danger of leaving the race early, but risking their life” and an if he doesn’t get severally penalized after this, to me the sport will lose more credibility.

  37. Certainly Maldando needs to be calmed down, and a ban for a race or two might have some effect. But somehow I doubt it, his career before F1 was quite often full of incidents, including a 9 race ban for hitting a marshal at Monaco. And in the 2008 Silverstone GP2 race, he stalled on the dummy grid, picked up a penalty for speeding in the pitlane as he joined the race, another penalty for passing under yellow flags, and crashed into Adrián Vallés and Kamui Kobayashi on the final lap. I personally don’t consider him suitable for F1.

  38. I think there is a serious question over Maldonado’s attitude towards other drivers. I would not be questioning it if Spa and Monaco had not happened. I see such a difference between Kobayashi ( who early on would try similar overtaking moves) and Pastor now. I think there is a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed. Maybe not by the FIA, but by Williams. In the end Williams loses the most with a decent driver who has been in huge scoring positions, giving it away through amateurish racing.

  39. Maldonado’s collision with Perez by all means could appear to be a racing incident from a first glance but if you watch the replay a number of times in slow motion from both BBC camera angles (corner entry and exit) Maldonado can be seen muscling his way into the apex and forcing the Williams rear end into the Sauber and off the track the moment he realizes Perez was about to take the position on the outside of the turn. The replay shows just how ‘much’ force he hit Perez with. Not too hard, but plenty hard enough to nudge him off and continue himself.

    If you’ve ever raced in karting this ‘deliberate’ and intentional form of cheating can easily be made to appear as ‘unintentionally’ running wide and forcing the overtaking outside car off the track whilst using the opponents car as a barrier. Perez knows this, he wasn’t angry, he was genuinely shocked and appalled at his driving once again.

    Maldonado’s stunt at Silverstone may not have been as obvious this time as his other deliberate vengeance attacks earlier in the season but it can be seen as a clear defensive attack if you’re willing to watch the replay a few times.

  40. He needs a ban or suspension from at least one race. He has been penilized 5 times this season in the 9 races so far. He needs to be take out for a race, he needs to learn and I ‘m afraid that he might get injured or killed someone if he is not penilized the way he should be.

  41. I don’t get why people are blaming Maldonado this time. The fact is that it was a racing incident. It could have been avoided in two way; either Maldonado would let off and let him go, or Perez would give him a little more room. Some people say that Maldonado still had plenty of room on the inside, but the fact is that that corner was a late apex left hander, where they keep off the kerb all the way until a little kink in the track to the left, just before they turn right. At that point, the drivers try to get their car to point at that kerb, and the best way to do that is to keep a line that can be considered less than optimal in other circumstances. To say that he had plenty of room to the inside is insane. Sergio had already squeezed him a little bit, and if Maldonado was to go further inside, he would lose so much speed that he would have been passed easily. It was a racing incident, and while other times Maldonado was the one to blame, this time I definitely don’t see it that way.

    1. “I don’t get why people are blaming Maldonado this time. The fact is that it was a racing incident. It could have been avoided in two way; either Maldonado would let off and let him go, or Perez would give him a little more room.”

      No, if you watch again, theres atleast 2 cars width between Perez and the kerbs. Secondly, the accident was caused because Maldonado lost it mid-corner, he lost it mid-corner because he carried too much speed on entry.

      Completly his fault, no question.

      But even that is besides the point of most peoples anger. This inncodent, regardless of its serverity, only goes to highlight Maldonados temperment. He seems unable to race side by side with anyone. and given his history, you have to say the stewards are being far too lieniant on him.

      Theres a reason there are certin footballers who have considerably more yellow/red cards than others, some people are just too stupid and or/agressive.

  42. in my opinion maldonado tried to drive perez off the track. however as we have seen several times this season the stewards think this is ok ( rosberg against hamilton, rosberg against alonso and hamilton against maldonado.) the stewards should be consistent. they either punish all drivers who do this or they punish no-one. personally i dont want f1 turning into touring car but if stewards allow this behaviour then drivers are going to take advantage.

    1. @ nr.

      Holding the outside line of the track and forcing the opponent to run wide is not the same as colliding into another car in order to retain your position.

      I’m not saying Rosberg was right or wrong but Rosberg didn’t take hamilton or Alonso out defending his position and Hamilton didn’t take Maldonado out of the race defending his. Maldonado however, managed to get Hamilton ‘air born’ re-joining the track at very low speed and has taken Perez out at Silverstone today. It’s not the same thing at all

      1. i am not saying he was right to do what he did but the the stewards do think all the incident were similiar. personally i think you should allow drivers at the side of you space and all of those drivers deserved penalties. the only reason lewis didn’t hit pastor was pastor left the track. lewis was not holding the outside line because pastor was there. if pastor stayed on track they would of hit. if lewis stayed on track when rosberg ran him off the road they would of hit. i do not see any difference between these incidents. you can not hold the outside line if someone is outside of you.

  43. Maldonado = de Cesaris of the 2010s.

  44. I’m sure sooner or later Frank Williams will look at the number of points Pastor has thrown away with reckless driving and have him calm down his style. Constructors points equal money at the end of the year.

  45. It’s pathetic. Clearly he doesn’t really give a monkeys about his tarnished reputation throughout the F1 paddock, as he knows well enough that Williams will sign him up for another year because of his massive sponsorship from PDVSA. So long as he brings in the money I don’t think the teams are that bothered that he’s such a liability. Ban him, please just ban him…

  46. I do not understand F1’s stance on safety, yet allow this clown on the track. I could not find any vid on his Monaco indiscretion, but I found this…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt5nt7IdyPs

    Someone like this does not even belong on the road much less a race track. After all he has done in F1, and all I have heard he has done in previous leagues (and watching this vid), this guy is gonna get someone killed if they do not pull his license. With this guy, it’s not if, it’s when.

  47. Reprimand and 25000€ , they getting him differently now, drive through and grid positions are not working enough here, he is loving being protagonist one way or another, every race he’s big topic, Chavez and PdVSA are mention and all he seems to care.
    As he has won already, been there done that was boring and now is more fun to crash. I don’t think there is one race he hasn’t has contact or crashes, there is no one he hasn’t crash with already and not once has apologized as is always others fault !
    This is the best f1 driver for Williams ? Give Sutil or Bottas this car !

  48. disgruntled
    9th July 2012, 7:25

    Many ppl here discussing that this is the most innocuos of Malfunctionado’s incidents…this maybe true…but why was I bracing myself when Checo closed in on him & attempted to overtake? Much like Massa vs Hamilton of last year: you know there’s gonna be contact

  49. Mal squeezed Kimi off the course early in the race as well. Charlie Whiting has stated that a driver may use all the road only if there isnt a driver beside them. so if a car is trying to pass and is along side, you way not squeeze him off the road. The rules are pretty simple for driving. although at Monaco this would mean Hamilton was at fault for using all the track when mal was beside him. If they cant stick by their rules for every driver, they shouldnt for none. Its a shame we cant all get along even in the F1 game dirty racers are everywhere.

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