Could Pastor Maldonado return to F1

[hondajack85]

Well his F1 fortunes seemed tied to wether PDVSA was chucking sponsorship on an F1 car.
Maybe this is why Cadillac have joined F1 to gain a reluctant new oil supplier.
Come to think of it, can USA ownership of F1 survive? I think maybe a firesale to the saudis could occur once all the good news
sinks in.

[geeks]

No.

[hondajack85]

It would be nice to see him back .Was racing up till recently and is younger than Alonso.

[thegreenhell]

More chance of him being the next president of Venezuela than returning to F1.

[Muzzer79]

hondajack85 said:

It would be nice to see him back

Why?

Apart from one freakish day in Spain in 2012, all he showed was a propensity to crash and then blame either the car or the team.

In 96 races in F1, he only scored points 14 times

[hondajack85]

Once USA rebuilds Venezuela,ie stop the sanctions that made them poor , Maldanado can be the figurehead of the revival. Maybe
even a Caracas F1 race is on the cards for the petro state.

[Muzzer79]

hondajack85 said:

Once USA rebuilds Venezuela,ie stop the sanctions that made them poor , Maldanado can be the figurehead of the revival. Maybe
even a Caracas F1 race is on the cards for the petro state.

A 40 year old former pay-driver who crashed a lot and hasn't raced anything of note for 6 years will not be the figurehead of the revival, if indeed there is one.

[Smollet]

Muzzer79 said:

hondajack85 said:

Once USA rebuilds Venezuela,ie stop the sanctions that made them poor , Maldanado can be the figurehead of the revival. Maybe
even a Caracas F1 race is on the cards for the petro state.

A 40 year old former pay-driver who crashed a lot and hasn't raced anything of note for 6 years will not be the figurehead of the revival, if indeed there is one.

Unless it’s sponsored by Hollywood

[Wills2]

hondajack85 said:

Once USA rebuilds Venezuela,ie stop the sanctions that made them poor , Maldanado can be the figurehead of the revival. Maybe
even a Caracas F1 race is on the cards for the petro state.

Pastor is that you?

[Supersam83]

Wasn't he bankrolled by Hugo Chavez to get into the Williams F1 seat?

If so, I don't think whatever is happening in Venezuela is going to bring him back.

More chance of younger Venezuelan racing drivers Alessandro Famularo and Alex Popow Jr. ending up in F1.

[StevieBee]

Why not bring Mazepin back at the same time?

Thankfully, F1 seems to be dispensing with the need to allow these sort of drivers from ever being given a seat - and not before time.

[hondajack85]

Pastor gets bad press. His countries money bankrolled Franks basket case team and paid all his employees wages.
He even won them quite an epic f1 race.

[thegreenhell]

hondajack85 said:

Pastor gets bad press. His countries money bankrolled Franks basket case team and paid all his employees wages.
He even won them quite an epic f1 race.

He crashed a lot, often into other people, sometimes on purpose.

[StevieBee]

hondajack85 said:

His countries money bankrolled Franks basket case team and paid all his employees wages.
He even won them quite an epic f1 race.

Williams was far from a basket-case team but Pastor's time with then certainly served a useful purpose.

But that is not a reason to welcome him back to F1.

Despite his best efforts, he failed to secure a drive in Indy Car and only managed a couple of underwhelming outings in WEC. That should tell you all you need know about whether he's worth another shot in F1.

F1 is littered with many similar driver signings that have saved or bankrolled teams. Once their purpose has been served (or the money stops flowing), that's the last we ever hear of them.

The Venezuelan connection is irrelevant to the notion of a 'US' team in F1. The team isn't bankrolled by the US government and is US by no other means than that's the base of the parent company.

[hondajack85]

US seems to think it owns Venezuela now. At some stage they will have to do some goodwill and collaboration efforts.
Maybe some younger driver gets on the f1 grid.

[thegreenhell]

hondajack85 said:

US seems to think it owns Venezuela now. At some stage they will have to do some goodwill and collaboration efforts.
Maybe some younger driver gets on the f1 grid.

Maybe they'll need to promote a Greenland driver soon as well.

[rallycross]

thegreenhell said:

Maybe they'll need to promote a Greenland driver soon as well.

F1 winter series?!

[Muzzer79]

hondajack85 said:

US seems to think it owns Venezuela now. At some stage they will have to do some goodwill and collaboration efforts.
Maybe some younger driver gets on the f1 grid.

The US will not buy an F1 race in Venezuela because it has taken over the country.....

This is an absurd thread.

[hondajack85]

Greenland could do with a race . I mean what else does the US offer the current owners.

[Jasandjules]

No.

HTH