Discussion
Now I know the guy has had a fair amount of stick this season, but bare with me on this one. I was having a think about the best drivers in this season so far, not necessarily the one's with the most points but those who has out performed their cars.
Pastor is someone who for me, has been under rated in the media. There have been many comments about his woeful season post Barcelona, but there have been some brilliant performances since then that have gone largely forgetten. At Spa he Qualified 3rd fastest (retired after 4 laps in the race), Germany he Qualified 6th, Silverstone he Qualified 7th, Valencia he Qualified 3rd, Singapore he Qualified 2nd (retired after 36 laps in the race).
Obviously I have just picked out the outstanding performances (excluding Barcelona where he started 1st and won the race). There have been instances where he has had a poor race following a great Qualifying which has really let him down in many races.
Last weekend at Abu Dhabi he qualified well, started in 3rd and finished 5th off the top of my head despite a dodgy strategy from Williams. In a car that Senna has really struggled with for much of the season, I think this boy is very talented. If he can get some consistency and gets a seat in the right car, then I see no reason why he can't be a World Championship contender, he's shown he can fight with the big boys when he held off Alonso for so long at Barcelona.
So, my drivers of the season so far are:
1. Alonso
2. Hamilton
3. Vettel
4. Kimi
5. Maldonado
Of course, there is no way we can really know just how fast that Williams car is. Perhaps Maldonado is just average and Senna is making him look good...
Pastor is someone who for me, has been under rated in the media. There have been many comments about his woeful season post Barcelona, but there have been some brilliant performances since then that have gone largely forgetten. At Spa he Qualified 3rd fastest (retired after 4 laps in the race), Germany he Qualified 6th, Silverstone he Qualified 7th, Valencia he Qualified 3rd, Singapore he Qualified 2nd (retired after 36 laps in the race).
Obviously I have just picked out the outstanding performances (excluding Barcelona where he started 1st and won the race). There have been instances where he has had a poor race following a great Qualifying which has really let him down in many races.
Last weekend at Abu Dhabi he qualified well, started in 3rd and finished 5th off the top of my head despite a dodgy strategy from Williams. In a car that Senna has really struggled with for much of the season, I think this boy is very talented. If he can get some consistency and gets a seat in the right car, then I see no reason why he can't be a World Championship contender, he's shown he can fight with the big boys when he held off Alonso for so long at Barcelona.
So, my drivers of the season so far are:
1. Alonso
2. Hamilton
3. Vettel
4. Kimi
5. Maldonado
Of course, there is no way we can really know just how fast that Williams car is. Perhaps Maldonado is just average and Senna is making him look good...
Kind of agree about Maldonado, but remember Senna is naff. However Senna is consistant which has given him some credability. When Senna had Chandhok as a team mate Chandhok was usually way a head.
It would be good to put a known decent driver in the Williams for comparison. But otherwise agree with Maldonado.
My list
Alonso
Perez
Maldonado
Maybe even Kimi.
Perex & Maldonado overdrive to much though & if they rained themselves in would have far greater sucess.
It would be good to put a known decent driver in the Williams for comparison. But otherwise agree with Maldonado.
My list
Alonso
Perez
Maldonado
Maybe even Kimi.
Perex & Maldonado overdrive to much though & if they rained themselves in would have far greater sucess.
EDLT said:
I haven't seen anything that puts him above a mid-pack driver. Massa has won a few races.
Massa has only won races in a car that has been 1st or 2nd best on the grid - I don't believe the Williams is anywhere near that.Maldonado is a seriously quick driver, but lacks the control that makes someone like Alonso so good. If he can reign in his wilder tendencies he has the potential to be very successful.
Rarely does a bad driver or bad car win a Grand Prix. He and Senna are both 'good' drivers in 'good' cars but I have watched Williams more than once this year and been drawn to think just how much better their season could have been if they paid their choice of driver was not determined by their ability to bring funds to the team.
egomeister said:
EDLT said:
I haven't seen anything that puts him above a mid-pack driver. Massa has won a few races.
Massa has only won races in a car that has been 1st or 2nd best on the grid - I don't believe the Williams is anywhere near that.Maldonado is a seriously quick driver, but lacks the control that makes someone like Alonso so good. If he can reign in his wilder tendencies he has the potential to be very successful.
Gaz. said:
egomeister said:
Maldonado is a seriously quick driver, but lacks the control that makes someone like Alonso so good. If he can reign in his wilder tendencies he has the potential to be very successful.
Maldonado is 27, if he was going to reign in his temper & red mist he'd have done it years ago. If he was 20 I'd agree with you. He is very fast & has natural ability in spades but his record is littered with incidents, some quite serious and others while small footnotes on their own when added together they paint a very poor picture.Yes, he can drive, but he's just way to erratic and under pressure does some odd things.
as you say, if he was 20, then I would suggest he could learn to calm down, but he's not and had been around long enough to learn, his record in the lower formulas shows the same lack of judgment and to be honest, I am not sure how he got his F1 licence....
He HAS a good car, one that can win races, but he throws it at the barriers or other cars too much. If Williams still had Hulkenburg I believe they would be further up in the the teams championship. If they had taken Kimi on who know? His attitude stinks as well. Nothing is ever his fault and some of the crashes are deliberate and malicious.
Maldonado is such an enigma. In GP2 he always seemed to excel in adversity - stick him in Monte Carlo or the rain and he was mega but could be quite ordinary at other times. His speed cannot be denied but it is his willingness to engage in intentional or careless contact with other drivers which is most worrying. Fair play, though, his drive at Catalunya was as good as any we've seen this year.
He does seem to have learned his lesson in the last few races, Abu Dhabi I thought he drove very well to be honest. He needs a quick but consistent year next year, if he can manage that I think he'll be one of the top choices when a lot of things change in 2014. If I was Eric Boullier I'd put him in the Lotus rather than Grosjean though to be honest.
Life Saab Itch said:
Because he passed the criteria...just like Yuji Ide did. more importantly, how is he allowed to.compete at Monaco after getting a lifetime ban from racing on the circuit a few years ago?
http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/banned-for-life-maldonado-lucky-to-be-in-monaco/I suspect that at the end of this season Senna will be cast adrift and we'll see Bottas being given a run in the Williams... On current form Bottas looks to be a very good driver and then we can see the true pace of the Williams and where Pastor stands in comparison to his peers.
IMHO Pastor is a very good, aggressive driver but one of his key talents, aggression, often overstates itself and he makes stupid decisions but as a package he is exactly what Williams has needed for the past while - A driver good enough to win a race and to bring in a shedload of money.
IMHO Pastor is a very good, aggressive driver but one of his key talents, aggression, often overstates itself and he makes stupid decisions but as a package he is exactly what Williams has needed for the past while - A driver good enough to win a race and to bring in a shedload of money.
Pastor Maldonado heavily reminds me of Juan Pablo Montoya. He has that same exuberance, the same do or die mentality as Juan. Back when Juan did it, it was unheard of; people shied away from that sort of driving. People knew the hierarchy in Formula 1.
Nowdays, people don't give each other an each unless your Alonso, Hamilton or Button. I see only those 3 who can go wheel to wheel constantly, aggressively, fierce and give no more than absolutely necessary. They know the limit of racing each other and not to make contact.
Abu Dhabi was amateur hour. Hulkenberg, Di Resta, Senna, Massa, Webber, Perez, Grosjean, Rosberg... they were all stupid in that race, and its just so typical.
I've seen Maldonado do utterly stupid things. Spa last year on lewis; Perez in Monaco. but then i've seen some genuine overtakes and attempts penalised for nothing. s
t happens, sometimes you bang wheels and sidepods. I dont get how Maldanado got a penalty for nudging Di Resta in Hungary, yet Vettel nearly T-boned Senna and got nothing for a same botched overtake.
Nowdays, people don't give each other an each unless your Alonso, Hamilton or Button. I see only those 3 who can go wheel to wheel constantly, aggressively, fierce and give no more than absolutely necessary. They know the limit of racing each other and not to make contact.
Abu Dhabi was amateur hour. Hulkenberg, Di Resta, Senna, Massa, Webber, Perez, Grosjean, Rosberg... they were all stupid in that race, and its just so typical.
I've seen Maldonado do utterly stupid things. Spa last year on lewis; Perez in Monaco. but then i've seen some genuine overtakes and attempts penalised for nothing. s
t happens, sometimes you bang wheels and sidepods. I dont get how Maldanado got a penalty for nudging Di Resta in Hungary, yet Vettel nearly T-boned Senna and got nothing for a same botched overtake. Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff