I have to say i like Maldanado, he is walloping his team mate Bruno whom i think we all probably have a soft spot for. Maldo has a self destruct button and its seems that its not just a case of wanting to scare other drivers of the track, it is not just provado. He is very quick and seems to think he is bullet proof. Remind you of any one...
He has that something that gets your adrenalin pumping.
NOPEPre-F1 CareerIn 2005, Maldonado was racing in the Renault World Serious. The then 25 year old was racing at Monaco and ignored a yellow flag warning, before striking and severely injuring a marshal. The result for the marshal was a severely broken back.
The race organisers banned Maldonado from the circuit for life. This, in my opinion was justified. Penalties for yellow flag speeding MUST be severe to avoid incidents like this. It was later revealed that Maldonardo's wealthy father managed to get the ban lifted by promising to pay for the marshal's recovery.
This right here should be a red light for most people. He was banned for a reason, and yet money seemingly was thrown around to get a life ban lifted.
First year in F1 (2011) - SpaBoth Maldonardo and Hamilton attempted to get in one last lap during Q2, there were four cars trying to get through the Bus Stop chicane. None of the cars crossed the line in time to star another lap. Hamilton passed Maldonado (with a seemingly agressive move), forcing Maldonardo wide on the exit of the chicane. After this, Maldonado decided to side-swipe Lewis, causing damage to his car. Hamilton received a reprimand (for his agressive pass) and Maldonado received a warning.
Second year in F1 (2012) - MonacoDuring P3, Maldonado once again was involved in a crash. This time it was with Perez. Perez was as far right against the wall as he could possibly go, leaving at least 2 card widths gap to his right. Maldonado came alongside and smashed into the front left tyre of Perez. There was a huge amount of free space around Maldonado, so the incident was either pure stupidity, or intentional. Immediately afterwards, Maldonado blamed Perez, and still to this day admits no wrongdoing (he never does).
During the race Perez suffered a steering failure on that same front left wheel - it was suspected that the incident with Maldonado was the root cause as Perez had not nocked the car or been hit.
Maldonado received a 10 place penalty for causing an avoidable collision.
Second year in F1 (2012) - ValenciaSecond to last lap, Hamilton was being caught by Maldonado. Hamilton's tyres were pretty much dead, with zero grip. Hamilton took the racing line around a right-hand corner, while Maldonado was attempting to come up the inside. The gap he was going for was clearly closed off, resulting in him having to go off the track. Some people claimed that Hamilton was obliged to give Maldonado space - he was not. If you are the lead car, you are under no obligation not to stick to the racing line. If Maldonado wants to get past, he must find a gap (e.g go around the other side onto the marbles).
Instead, Maldonado went into the side of Hamilton. Intentionally? I'd hope not. However there are no camera angles that make it look like a genuine accident. Even the onboard shots show him turning RIGHT, which would result in him hitting Hamilton. Any other driver would have gone LEFT around the raised curbs and re-joined after the corner. Maldonado would have still been able to pass Hamilton with ease at a later point in the lap.
Nope again,can't say he reminds me of anyone.
