Maldonado. Not of this planet..
Discussion
From Autosport:
Pastor Maldonado says he was unlucky to crash out of the second Formula 1 practice session at Spa, while also admitting that the crash was not due to a mechanical failure.
The Lotus driver hit the barriers on the run to Pouhon after running wide, leaving him sidelined for the remainder of the session, having completed just two laps.
Maldonado later admitted that there was nothing wrong with his car before the crash, but also said that there was nothing he could do to avoid it.
"It was not a big shunt. For sure it looks big, but it was not actually big," he said. (Not big, but wrecked the car. My definition of big is when I manage to hit another car..)
"The problem was I got a huge wheelspin on the exit of Turn 9, and I touched the gravel.
"That's it, and it was worse when I touched the gravel. So the moment came on the exit of the corner, I lost the car and there was nothing I could do.
"To be honest, I didn't have a lot of incidents [this season], just two, maximum three. (Crashes due to lack of talent)
"Sometimes it was from my side, sometimes it was a stupid one, like in China. (So every time its down to me really..)
"Today is maybe a bit different - I just lost the car from the beginning because of the wheelspin, and I touched the grass, so I was a bit unlucky. (Er, talentless)
"It's nothing related to the car or from my side, [just] unlucky."
Despite missing valuable practice time, Maldonado is still confident of having a good weekend at Spa.
"I think we have still a good chance to be close to the top 10, and then in the race everything can happen. I think it's possible to do a good weekend here. (Delusional)
Edited by andygo on Friday 22 August 17:18
The grass pulled him over.
Not sure what to make of that. One the one hand, given their seating position it would be so difficult to tell exactly where the wheel is - especially given the colour of the run off. And he didn't lose it on the straight, he lost it on the exit.
On the other hand, he's an experienced F1 driver. And no one else lost it there...
I'd love to beat up on the lad, because he is f
king useless, but I'm indifferent on this one.
Not sure what to make of that. One the one hand, given their seating position it would be so difficult to tell exactly where the wheel is - especially given the colour of the run off. And he didn't lose it on the straight, he lost it on the exit.
On the other hand, he's an experienced F1 driver. And no one else lost it there...
I'd love to beat up on the lad, because he is f
king useless, but I'm indifferent on this one.JBliss said:
He should have backed off when he was on the grass. He's guilty of keeping his foot in on more than one occasion... Seriously stupid driving
He applied the throttle whilst he was on the run off - that's fine. Given the artificial grass is the same colour as the run off, he's guilty of not positioning the car back on the black stuff quick enough. Easy to say sitting here, behind a keyboard, watching a reply knowing what's coming - they're operating in a slightly move stressful environment. And besides, seriously stupid could also be seriously committed... Who called him an unguided missile? That's why he's fast. Because he keeps his foot in.
It's just, sometimes keeping your foot in also gets you 'air'! Was it China where he Bambi'd it after zipping over a sleeping policeman at full throttle?
Close to the top 10 
The guys with Renault power may as well park up and save their engines for the next two races, Vettel will struggle, Ricciardo will too, so a strategically shaven Venezuelan gorilla with the driving talent and dexterity of an obese gerbil is going to struggle to beat the Marussias.
The guys with Renault power may as well park up and save their engines for the next two races, Vettel will struggle, Ricciardo will too, so a strategically shaven Venezuelan gorilla with the driving talent and dexterity of an obese gerbil is going to struggle to beat the Marussias.
THX said:
JBliss said:
He should have backed off when he was on the grass. He's guilty of keeping his foot in on more than one occasion... Seriously stupid driving
He applied the throttle whilst he was on the run off - that's fine. Given the artificial grass is the same colour as the run off, he's guilty of not positioning the car back on the black stuff quick enough. Easy to say sitting here, behind a keyboard, watching a reply knowing what's coming - they're operating in a slightly move stressful environment. And besides, seriously stupid could also be seriously committed... Who called him an unguided missile? That's why he's fast. Because he keeps his foot in.
It's just, sometimes keeping your foot in also gets you 'air'! Was it China where he Bambi'd it after zipping over a sleeping policeman at full throttle?
in F1 does it with such monotonous regularity.
paulyv said:
Seriously - is there any reason that could be surmised for that crash? Looking at the wheel perhaps?
Didn't realise he needs to ease down on the power to get the grip back to get off the slippy green stuff and onto the slightly grippier black stuff?!? Don't get me wrong, he is quite capable of crashing on the black stuff too. In fact, I await the day he crashes it whilst parked in the garage.paulyv said:
I usually stay quiet on these matters as driving an F1 car is undoubtedly difficult, but I am pretty sure that even I could have kept it in a straight line.
Seriously - is there any reason that could be surmised for that crash? Looking at the wheel perhaps?
He was just trying to open it out but managed to run off the road. Bit like a biddy hitting a kerbSeriously - is there any reason that could be surmised for that crash? Looking at the wheel perhaps?
Regarding parts costs, I reckon Lotus have a huge stockpile of spares built up for Romain Grosjean which have gone miraculously unused by the Frenchman so Maldonado's car is mostly made out of those...
I can sympathize slightly with Pastor on this one, if you dip a tyre onto the astro at Pouhon it automatically becomes 4 wheels off because the astro is very slippy wet or dry and the tarmac seems to fall away from you. The only way you'll keep the car heading in the right direction is to use balanced throttle and gently reduce your steering to let the car run. Those of you here who are saying "he kept his foot in it, what an idiot..." are missing the mark a little because if you get out of the throttle mid corner on a low grip surface the result is almost inevitably a spin.
I can sympathize slightly with Pastor on this one, if you dip a tyre onto the astro at Pouhon it automatically becomes 4 wheels off because the astro is very slippy wet or dry and the tarmac seems to fall away from you. The only way you'll keep the car heading in the right direction is to use balanced throttle and gently reduce your steering to let the car run. Those of you here who are saying "he kept his foot in it, what an idiot..." are missing the mark a little because if you get out of the throttle mid corner on a low grip surface the result is almost inevitably a spin.
PW said:
BritishRacinGrin said:
if you dip a tyre onto the astro at Pouhon
Don't do that then; everyone else managed not to.All drivers make mistakes, but Maldonado is making rookie mistakes almost every weekend. When's it going to stop? When he runs someone off the track? No. When he deliberately rams someone? No. When he injures someone? No.
.Lots of "racing incident" contact over on ITV4 ~ BTTC ...
... 
MGJohn said:
PW said:
BritishRacinGrin said:
if you dip a tyre onto the astro at Pouhon
Don't do that then; everyone else managed not to.All drivers make mistakes, but Maldonado is making rookie mistakes almost every weekend. When's it going to stop? When he runs someone off the track? No. When he deliberately rams someone? No. When he injures someone? No.
.Lots of "racing incident" contact over on ITV4 ~ BTTC ...
... PW said:
BritishRacinGrin said:
if you dip a tyre onto the astro at Pouhon
Don't do that thenGassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff