• German Grand Prix

'I've learned a little bit from my mistakes' - Maldonado

ESPN Staff
July 19, 2012 « New driver line-up hampers Lotus - Grosjean | Whitmarsh cautious after FP1 »
Pastor Maldonado: "For sure I will try not to repeat that again and be more consistent and score some more points" © Sutton Images
Enlarge
Related Links

Pastor Maldonado says he has learned from his mistakes at recent races and has vowed to be more consistent over the rest of the season.

Maldonado has failed to score a point since his victory at the Spanish Grand Prix with two high-profile collisions ruining his chances at the last two races. He clashed with Lewis Hamilton in Valencia and then with Sergio Perez at Silverstone, but says he is now moving on with the rest of the season.

"For sure I've learned a little bit from my mistakes," he said. "Silverstone was not a mistake ... I lost the car so it could happen to all the drivers. For sure I will try not to repeat that again and be more consistent and score some more points. Looking forward to the second half of the season, I think we can do a lot. We are competitive and I feel pretty good with the car, with the team and with the engineers. I'm looking forward."

Despite being penalised and reprimanded at the last two races for his accidents, he does not think he was entirely to blame for either collision.

"At the last two races I've been involved in two accidents and it's very difficult because I was having great races. If we think about the contact in Valencia, I was in a difficult position at the time with one lap remaining and being three seconds quicker than Lewis [Hamilton]. I think every driver would try the same idea. I tried to gain a position on Lewis and Lewis tried to defend and I think it was normal racing contact. There's nothing special to say about that. At the last race I was very unlucky because I lost the car at the entry of the corner and unfortunately Perez was on the outside of the corner. It's difficult to say, I was not fighting with Perez at that moment, I just defended my position and was on the inside part of the corner. It's a quick corner and the corner was mine at the time, but I got unlucky because I lost the car. I'd just come out of the pits, I had more angle to turn in that corner than [Sergio] Perez and I didn't expect to lose the car because I found immediately as I left the pits good grip in slow corners and this corner was much quicker than the slow ones."

However, Perez still feels the Williams driver was to blame for their contact at Silverstone.

"My position is the same," Perez said. "It was an unnecessary touch and an unnecessary crash, but I have moved on and now I am looking forward to doing a good weekend here [in Hockenheim].

"I was very angry at that moment and probably said things I would not like to have said. But it's already said, so in the end I still share my opinion from before, it was an unnecessary move and that's it.

"I think we will have a word and that's it. We are not kids and in the driver briefing we will see each other and we will talk.

Perez thinks Maldonado should adapt his approach to racing.

"Pastor was driving in a very aggressive way, more than aggressive, so I think now he will change his style because he is a very intelligent and quick driver," he added. "That's why he is in Formula One. He probably realises he has given away too many points because of his aggression.

"In my opinion he should think about why he is getting so many reprimands, why so many penalties ... but in the end it is up to him to decide. If he wants to keep [driving] that way then I respect it."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
ESPN Staff Close