Cult hero Maldonado critical of modern Formula 1: 'Is this the right direction for the sport?'

Pastor Maldonado will forever be remembered for that one victory at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2012. It was the day the Venezuelan drove his Williams to a win that was as unexpected as it was loudly celebrated; one he is still reminded of to this day.

It was also the day Maldonado’s life changed forever. Suddenly, he wasn’t just one of the F1 drivers anymore. He became a race winner. So when Maldonado sits down in his Monaco home for an exclusive interview with GPblog, the first thing that stands out is a large painting depicting his triumph in Barcelona.

“Winning is difficult these days. But imagine how hard it was back then to do it with a car that was not running for wins,” he says. Indeed, Williams was no longer the absolute top team in Formula 1 by then, having slipped to the far midfield—with limited financial resources.

On that very day everything came together for Maldonado and Williams, having already surprised by starting from pole. “We knew we had every chance to win, with the strategies and if we were perfect, that we could fight for the victory. I told myself, ‘Opportunities don’t come every day, so this could be one of the most special opportunities of my life. It’s one race, let’s do it!’”

In the end it remained that single victory, because Williams wasn’t in a position to consistently fight for wins. “We could fight for podiums, but we had a lot of reliability problems. Maybe four or five times that year we had a failure. Not just us, parts were more fragile on all the cars in those days.”

Maldonado still follows Formula 1 closely, with Williams as his big favourite. The now-retired driver sees how the sport has evolved enormously, with battery deployment during a lap causing drivers plenty of headaches.

Maldonado is critical of the new rules. He says: “They need to be careful, because the most important people in Formula 1 are the drivers and nobody is happy. We want to race in a car that allows us to go and deliver, to see who is the fastest.

All in all, Maldonado thinks Formula 1 shouldn’t race with hybrid engines. “That works for a taxi, for the transport sector. But in this sport, you need to keep its history. Today we’re missing that. Of course you still have the names Ferrari and McLaren. In terms of regulations I’m not fully convinced this is the best way to go for Formula 1.”

The ex-driver indicates he doesn’t only mean the power unit. “In my time you made a pit stop because your tyres were done. You had as many tyres as you wanted, so you could push. Of course you had to think about degradation and strategy. At least it was something you could manage as a driver.

“Nowadays they come up with track limits, which isn’t fair. Why use asphalt as a runoff area? Put grass there and nobody would go there. I also saw artificial grass. Drivers who go over it immediately lose grip of the car. And then the driver gets a penalty! It’s very strange to understand. They don’t let the drivers race anymore.”