Maldonado demo cut short by spin

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: Pastor Maldonado has another prang – during a demonstration run in Venezuela.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Spin halts Maldonado’s home run (Racer)

“A planned ‘hero’s homecoming’ Formula 1 street demo for Williams driver Pastor Maldonado in the Venezuelan capital Caracas was cut short on Sunday when he spun and damaged the car on only his second lap.”

Ferrari admits weather has helped (Autosport)

“Do I think we’re the quickest in a dry qualifying? I don’t think we are now, but in the last two wet sessions [Silverstone and Hockenheim, where Alonso took both poles] it has been more impressive.”

F1 track has wildlife exemption, but does it have much wildlife? (Austin-American Statesman)

“The tax break is for Circuit of the Americas providing habitat for doves, songbirds, rabbits and squirrels. That’s a lot of money to help the squirrels gather their nuts. I have squirrels in my yard ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ and a free-range Yorkshire terrier. How come I don’t get a tax break?”

Sir Frank (Peter Windsor)

“When I joined Frank full-time in 1985 as manager of sponsorship and public affairs, Frank’s first instruction was disarmingly poignant: ‘One rule here, Peter. We never, ever approach the sponsors or investors of any of our rivals. We’ll only go after new companies or sponsors who have been in the sport and pulled out for whatever reason.'”

Marussia F1 Team races into Gravesend with Learndirect (This is Local London)

“Shoppers were in pole position to take their skills up a gear when Learndirect and the Marussia F1 Team raced into Gravesend.”

Formula One cars to star in Brands Lotus Festival (Kent News)

“For this year’s festival, which takes place on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th, Lotus will be bringing along its product range, some of which will be running on the circuit, while Classic Team Lotus will have a selection of classic F1 cars from the past, along with privately- owned cars and action on the Brands Hatch rally stage from Sunbeams and more.”

Tweets

Comment of the day

ShaneB457 (@Shaneb12345678910) wants to see two drivers in better cars:

Timo Glock and Heikki Kovalainen fully deserve to be in better cars for next season. Its a shame really to see where they are now, when they should be in a midfield team at least. They have proved that they have talent when they have been given a half-decent car. Glock did well with Toyota and to secure two podiums in 2009 was a great achievement. He is quite level-headed and consistent which makes him a good option for teams looking for another driver next year.

Kovalainen is a race winner and has so much potential. Like Glock he is reliable and has proved he can handle the pressure of being with a solid-points scoring team. Even though he played second fiddle to Hamilton in 2008, he scored points for the team and helped them in the constructors’.

They have both been with backmarker teams for two-and-a-half years now and have not got a single point between them in that space of time. They must be desperate for a better drive next season.
ShaneB457 (@Shaneb12345678910)

From the forum

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Chris Monk, Ciaran, OmarR-Pepper, Jonathan and camo8723!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Emerson Fittipaldi had the 1972 world championship in his sights after victory in the Austraian Grand Prix 40 years ago today.

Jackie Stewart led at first before dropping back with handling problems. The McLaren duo of Denny Hulme and Peter Revson joined Fittipaldi on the podium.

Here’s the start of the race:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-owmfkyAifY&t=6m7s

Image © Williams/LAT

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89 comments on “Maldonado demo cut short by spin”

  1. Oh dear, it would have to Pastor involved in a shunt! :P

    I’ll stick up for him though, an error in an F1 car can happen to anyone, see Schumacher in the last race where he cut the engine at the aborted start. The most experienced driver made quite a silly mistake and had it been a less experienced driver like Maldonado he would have been panned for the stupidy of the error.

    1. Yes an error can happen to anyone, even the former (or current) world champs, but it seems like Pastor has more of these errors than anyone else.

      1. All drivers are error prone but some drivers are more error prone than others?

        1. @julian – yeah that sums it up perfectly!

        2. All drivers are a bit Pastor but some drivers are more Pastor than others?

          1. Sticking with the animal farm theme…
            Four wheels good, two three wheels better!

          2. @julian– nice one!!! +1

          3. +1 certainly!! I love George Orwell!!

    2. @calum Well he was there to show the crowd what he does best – which he did!

      1. So, can’t drive an F1 car sideways up a roadside kerb. Will remember that one.

    3. It was because of the Pirelli tires…just kidding

    4. Yep poor old Pastor Sato…..er I mean Maldonado

      1. Pastor might put in an amazing performance 1% of the time, but he’s a downright moron 99% of the time

  2. “Sir Frank watching on today…” …as his miserable muppet of a driver destroys another one of his cars for no good purpose.

    He’ll probably blame this one on Perez too.

    1. +1 on that

    2. Funny fact, the woman in the first video saids: “even here, he crash”

      1. Yeah, the one where she laughs out loud is nice!

    3. Hamilton’s fault.

          1. Divide by zero.

    4. Maldona-d’oh!

      1. haha, great one!

    5. Nope. George Bush’s fault.

    6. Crashtor – the posterboy of F1 idiocy.

  3. Haha! that is priceless! Well I guess his home nation got to see what he does on track in front of their very eyes!

    1. He’s just giving the public what they want.

  4. Pastor is really amazing driver, only he could ever manage to further add to his strong reputation in the August break, reputation of being a living breathing car accident that is.

    It is easy to see why he crashes so much, he is an aggressive driver with speed who takes risks and therefore is prone to overcook it. This can be ironed out with experience and couching, but he doesn’t seem to be improving (look at the beginning of the page). And when he is not doing that he is crashing on purpose with rage, so he is basically crashing all the time.

    I don’t see why a team should keep such a driver, in spite of all the money and support of a whole country he brings to the team, nor why should the sport be so lenient and not revoke his licence, but that is just my opinion, although shared by many others.

    I can see how for the viewers, who watch the races anxiously waiting for the crashes, he is an asset for the sport.

    1. Why is he an asset to the sport? Because all his aggressiveness and risky driving sometimes pays off, and we get a performance like we saw in Barcelona. If he can start doing that consistently, he could stand a chance of being champion

    2. There is a huge difference between being aggressive and being rash. Kobayashi is aggressive, Alonso is aggressive. Pastor is way beyond rash. The above two drivers all race but they do it with respect for the other drivers as well. If any proof is needed Alonso vs Webber Spa 2011 should be enough. When you give another driver enough respect you get it from them as well. Pastor doesn’t deserve any respect for what he does on track. More importantly, I think he is an average driver ia a good car at best. Forget being an asset for the sport, a few more incidents and he would not even remain an asset for his team.

      1. ↑ this ↑

    3. He’s not an asset to the sport for me, this isn’t Nascar and I do not watch F1 for the crashes! Whenever a decent driver gets near him I get nervous! I’m an Alonso supporter and I get anxious for Webber/Button/Seb/Hamilton when they have to pass Maldanado! His actions this year are ridiculous!

  5. Cant even keep it facing forward on a closed road with nobody else around to crash into. Remarkable. Of course, this is much better than Senna could ever manage.

    1. You’re joking, right? Senna’s done at least one (if not two, honestly can’t remember) demo runs in F1 cars successfully. He’s even driven up and down Eau Rouge one-handed while filming the entire thing on his cell phone. After today, I’d like to see Maldonado try that without crashing.

      1. backwards through eau rouge whilst being filmed on a camera phone? I think pastors been practicing for just that.

      2. Senna’s done at least one (if not two, honestly can’t remember) demo runs in F1 cars successfully. He’s even driven up and down Eau Rouge one-handed while filming the entire thing on his cell phone.

        If that’s his most notable achievement, then it only goes to further prove my theory that Senna is wasting time, money and a seat at Williams.

        1. I find it hilarious how you choose to hate on Senna on every article where Maldonado has done something silly or crashed…

          1. Drivers PM likes- PM, Vyborg Rocket.
            Drivers he hates- Raikkonen, Raikkonen, Raikkonen and Raikkonen. Some Senna, a bit of Schumacher and a smattering of Alonso.

          2. It is hilarious, though at least I’m not the only one who’s noticed. It was annoying at first, but now…

            If Senna podiums, wins or just pain outscores Maldonado this year (the last of which is very likely at this point), still be a “useless waste” in PM’s book. Then again, it’ll still be a day that ends in y, so.

        2. @prisoner-monkeys I like and respect 99.9% of the stuff you post on here. But this ruthless Senna-bashing must finish some time. What has Senna done to upset you so greatly? There are/have been much much less talented drivers race in F1 before this yet you act as though the sport would be improved greatly by Senna being sacked tomorrow. If you’re not angry at him you’re angry at Kimi. Months ago we discussed KR’s return which you were less than enthusiastic about. His performances should have quietened you down. And what of the great Petrov? You were in love with him in 2011. Awfully quite now he’s been destroyed by Heikki. Besides, Maldonado has hardly had one clean weekend. I am no band-wagoner, I respect all F1 drivers who are there on merit. But, Maldonado is showing me nothing of a champion. Clark and Fangio would be turning in their graves at some of his conduct.

          1. What has Senna done to upset you so greatly?

            Let’s see … he’s compeltely wasting that seat at Williams, has proven to be out of his depth on multiple occasions, commits at least one major mistake every other race, and is only in the sport because of his name.

            And what of the great Petrov? You were in love with him in 2011. Awfully quite now he’s been destroyed by Heikki.

            I’d hardly call him “destroyed” by Kovalainen. He’s clsoer to Kovalainen that Trulli ever was.

          2. He’s clsoer to Kovalainen that Trulli ever was

            The problem is that we’re not talking about Alonso, Vettel or Hamilton, we’re comparing Petrov to Kovalainen!

          3. And Kovalainen is highly-rated at the moment.

          4. I find it odd that PM dislikes Senna because he is wasting a Williams seat… and at the same time he supports two of the big underperformers – Petrov and Button

        3. I can’t help thinking how well Williams would be doing with a proven top of the line driver. It’s quite likely that if Alonso was driving the Williams he would probably still be leading the championship given the miracles he’s worked with the Ferrari.

          I bet at the back of the Williams Factory there’s a skip with Pastor’s name on it for all the bits of F1 car he has smashed up.

          Senna? The jury is still out. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt until he’s completed one stable season.

          I have a feeling he might just be hitting his stride now and have a better showing in the second half of the year. I think he will outscore Maldonado over the season despite the latter’s win at Barcelona.

        4. Where in the world did I call that “his most notable achievement”? I was purely baking the point that of the two Williams drivers, one is clearly more able to compete a mere demo run without wrecking the car, and it isn’t Maldonado. I find it particularly amusing in light of his current Autosport cover interview, where he claims, “Maybe I should race alone!” Insert your own punchline here.

          I just have to laugh any time yo
          u post anything about Senna art this point. You’ll reach as far as you have to just to make a snarky remark about how much you hate him and how useless he is. It used to about me, but now it’s just amusing.

          1. Ugh, apologies for several typos there. Commenting on the site from my phone is next to impossible.

          2. Still a great effort in putting together that relatively big post by phone @leucocrystal! And very much to the point.

      3. Sarcasm doesn’t come a cross well online… lol I’m supporting Senna

        1. @prisoner-monkeys Didn’t know you ‘bashed’ certain drivers, well If I’m honest the majority of your comments are always of COTD quality that have plausibility, intelligence & class but it looks as though your Senna-‘bashing’ is not of the latter, sure almost every member on this site dislikes a certain driver/team & favour one but constant hate or ‘bashing’ by a well-respected member on a particular individual is like I suggested: classless & not what a respected member should do, despite your honesty. Just goes to show that even the decent people on Earth can sometimes be so narrow-minded.

          P.S. I remember you commenting on my use of commas & capital letters at the end of last year on a topic in the forums. I have learned from them of course!

          1. The only thing Senna has going for him is his name….change his name and he would be long forgotten.

        2. @jamesf1 You’re right, I definitely didn’t catch that one. Sorry about that!

  6. At least now Venezuelans have gotten a first hand glimpse at what the rest of us have been moaning about. I guess we can expect more of the same for the 2nd half of the season then…

  7. Nothing is up yet on the Williams F1 website about Pastor’s misfortunes.

    Can’t wait to see how they, er, spin this one.

  8. And this is proof that the fia should ban pastor from F1 GP2 GP3 and ws by rentult.

    1. I’ll assume this is just a badly done joke.

  9. just pay $2 to watch a race will be something I don’t mind. It’s a shame the tickets for the COTA are so damn expensive.

  10. Pastor Maldonado is the Mario Balotelli of Formula One. He’s got talent but doesn’t have the brains to back it up.

    On a more serious note, I have no question in my mind that Pastor does have a lot of talent behind the wheel. However, he needs to man up and put his crap together in order to fulfill it. Otherwise, he’ll be another angry wasted talent like another former South-American Williams driver.

    1. The similarities between a one JPM and Maldonado are pretty clear, especially if Williams were a better team in today’s F1 (though one could successfully argue PM would never sniff a Williams seat in 2001).

      Demos are demos. I could see the appeal if you’ve never seen an F1 machine on song I guess, but I think those in attendance got more than they would have otherwise with this off.

      1. The similarities between a one JPM and Maldonado are pretty clear

        I beg to differ. Not only was Montoya’s driving more mature from the get-go (in spite of his occassional silly things), but he was usually man enough to admit responsibility.

        Most of the time, Montoya would nonchalantly shrug it off when the accident was clearly someone else’s fault (saying that’s just racing); Maldonado does the same nonchalance routine in the cases where it’s clearly his fault.

      2. Maldonado should join JPM in NASCAR. Thats where he belongs.

    2. @kingshark

      Pastor Maldonado is the Mario Balotelli of Formula One.

      \
      I read that as “the Mario Batali of Formula One,” but I guess that’s a little different. You never see Iron Chef Batali purposely running into his opponent’s kitchen.

  11. Youtube “maldonado kart” please :)

  12. Venezuela got to see a good demonstration of Pastor’s skill…all 30 seconds of it.

  13. Even in his home country, he still can’t keep the car on track for more than 2 minutes without something happening!

  14. Cost of getting driver, car and support crew to Venezuela? 250,000 euros

    Cost of Williams sponsorship to Venezualan people? 39 million euros

    Crashing on the second lap of your demonstration drive in front of millions countrymen and viewers? Priceless!

  15. Hey here we go, another opportunity to jump into the Pastor Maldonado hating bandwagon. All aboard!!!

    1. Thanks for the offer, but I’d really rather not. I’m sure Maldonado will crash into that at some point, too.

      1. Hahahahahahahaha, man you you are just, so so so funny. Hilarious, keep up the humour *sarcasm*

      1. there is a difference between making fun of someone, and hating them.

        hating means you care.

        the mentioned incident (in light of all that happened this season) is undoubtedly embarrassing for Maldonado. And the above comments are just making fun of him. I don’t see any hate here.

    2. Well, he does like to give us so many chances to.

  16. I can’t wait for Maldonado to be out of Formula 1!

  17. I wonder if PDVSA and Chavez are considering removing their financial support to Maldonado. I guess it’s important for them to be involved with F1, maybe they’re using the sport as a platform for some other stuff but this really doesn’t look like welcome publicity anymore.

    1. @girts

      Chavez´s interest in having Pastor there is simple…. it´s one way to make the people feel “proud” about something but, most importantly, it´s to keep them distracted. It´s like soccer in third world countries… the country can be on the brink of disaster but they don´t care as long as their national team does well… Same deal with Maldona-doh…
      Plus, it sort of cleans the image of the country sort of lie the Bahrein race did also….

    2. @girts I guess no, they are suppose to be in electoral year, and having Maldonado running and crashing made people talk about other thing that Chavez`s sickness…

      But the comments in spanish are really funny in thosde videos, even the people in there sayin that Maldonado always crash, I don`t suppose that British people will say the same about Hamilton or Button…

  18. HAHA someone put Pastor in a padded room!! I’m never one for bashing F1 drivers, it’s not easy to get into F1 let alone win a race but when are Williams going to realise Maldonado is not all that?? Please put someone in the seat that will cherish it, im thinking a Heikki or a Timo?

  19. William Brierty
    13th August 2012, 19:38

    I have just spent the last ten minutes howling with laughter. I mean you just couldn’t write it – Maldonado crashes in a demonstration. We have some pretty funny comedy series here in Britain, Only Fools, Vicar of Dibley, Fawlty Towers and the Office to name just a few, but they would but they would appear positively starched and unfunny in comparison to the inevitable upcoming Venezuelan TV series – The Maladies of Maldonado. Michael McIntyre? David Jason? Jimmy Carr? Ricky Gervais? Rowan Atkinson? Forget them. Pastor Maldonado is the new comic on the scene. Maldonado has used F1 simply as a stage for his comic career – so I wonder what his next move will be? Crashing into the back of the saftey car? Crashing in the carpark in his roadcar? I just cannot wait.

  20. Malo-DOH!-nado strikes back!

  21. You’re not kidding me! What a dumb ****. only in F1. If i had that many incident on the road, i’d have lost my license.

  22. IMO it was just another racing incident

  23. Pooooor Maldonado! I won’t rib him too much for it, I went to see JB in Manchester last year and he managed to stall his McLaren!

    Kovalainen and Glock are both better than the cars they’re driving, however, I don’t feel much in the way of sympathy for them. They knew what they were getting into and how hard it would be. If they’re expecting points already then I think they need to evaluate exactly what they’re doing.

  24. Sometimes I swear Pastor is one of these things: http://safedriving.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/crash-test2.jpg

  25. It was the tires were cold but he was in the inside line, can’t be Pastor !
    Probably is something with the English support team which screw him up again just to have fun !

  26. I have it from secret sources, the true nature of PM crash at the demo.

    Seems there was a tail wind, and the air was overtaking Pastore’s car. Unfortunatly, he got enveloped in the “Red Mist” that sometimes overtakes drivers, and decided to take his normal course of action… he decided to crash into it.

    Air, lacking much density was extremely compliant, and allowed the car to pass right through, thus impacting the curbing, and disappointing all his home fans.

    Good Job Pastore, good job…

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