Maldonado: Aiming to end on a high

"Abu Dhabi is always a special event"

By Franck Drui

22 November 2015 - 14:26
Maldonado: Aiming to end on a high

There’s nothing like a strong final result of the season to leave a happy smile on a driver and keep them consoled during those cold, dark months of not being able to race, which is why Pastor Maldonado is aiming to end his season on high.

Tell us about the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix; is it an event you enjoy?

It’s always a special event and being the final race of the year makes it all the more exciting. The venue is fabulous and the facilities are the very best Formula 1 can offer. Even though the event is amongst the busiest, the ease with which everything happens makes it quite a relaxing one when you’re out of the car. It’s easy to get in and out of the track and the team hospitality buildings are immense. Away from the track, the people are always really welcoming, the weather is great and the place is spectacular.

What about the Yas Marina Circuit? Is it a track you enjoy driving?

Yes, it’s a good track to drive. The first sector at the circuit stands out with Turns 2, 3 and 4 being particularly enjoyable and the final sector is pretty eye-catching, even if you do have a lot of work to do behind the wheel at this section. The event format is interesting because of half the practice sessions being during the day, when the race itself is in early evening. This means you have a little bit less data in race representative conditions, but we’ve been to Abu Dhabi many times so the engineers are pretty good at working out what to do.

How was your Brazilian Grand Prix?

We didn’t qualify where we wanted and in the race we used a different tyre strategy to help us fight back. It was a good race in the car and one where you had to be patient at the start when using the harder tyres than those around you, then push hard when you’re on softer tyres to your rivals. It worked well, even if it was frustrating when the other cars were on the faster Pirellis – as it must have been frustrating for them when I was the one able to attack. To get P10 after starting in P15, especially at this late stage of the season, was a positive result.

What’s your view on the incident with Marcus Ericsson at Interlagos?

There’s a saying that rubbing’s racing. In Formula 1 it sometimes feels like you get penalised for every bit of contact. I went for a gap that was there – and we all want to see overtaking in Formula 1 – and he closed the gap whilst defending his position. I saw it as a racing incident, and on a corner like turn one in Brazil the driver on the outside will usually come off worse. We spoke after the race and all’s fine between us. I think pretty much the same would have happened if positions were reversed and he had tried the same move on me.

What do you have planned for the off-season?

Much as I love racing I do also love my family so I’m looking forward to spending time with them. I’ll also get some time back in Venezuela where I always enjoy spending time. You can relax more mentally over the winter months, but you always keep up your training regime. My priority is to come back to 2016 stronger than ever.

Do you think there will be any difference in being de facto the leading driver for the team in 2016?

Some teams operate with a number one and number two driver but certainly for my time at Enstone both drivers have always been given equal status and opportunity. For sure, I’ll be the more experienced driver next year and I’ll be doing everything I can to ensure strong results are possible for myself and Jolyon in 2016.

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