Pastor Maldonado confident ahead of race day at Singapore

Singapore Grand Prix, after yet another stunning qualifying effort from the Venezuelan driver which will see him start tomorrow’s race from 2nd on the grid. He will start alongside sparring partner Lewis Hamilton, in what should be a highly entertaining race.

After many predicted that the front row for the race would be a battle between McLaren and Red Bull, many were surprised when the Williams of Pastor Maldonado slotted his Renault-powered FW34 machine into 2nd position. The 27-year-old Venezuelan driver has failed to score a point since his illustrious victory at the Spanish Grand Prix back in May, and is aiming to change that particular stat during tomorrow’s 61-lap race.

“We were working very hard because at the beginning of the weekend and during the practice we were a little bit lost with the setup and yeah, we were improving during the qualifying just trying to adapt the car to my style.” Explained Pastor Maldonado, “We find naturally very well balanced, especially in Q2 and then Q3. I’m really looking forward to the race because yesterday we showed very good pace, very consistent so I think it’s going to be a good one for us this time.”

Pastor Maldonado has suffered several utterly disastrous races since his victory in Spain, and has visited the stewards on numerous occasions due to his many on track misdemeanors. Although Maldonado failed to truly shine during practice earlier in the weekend, the Venezuelan driver is confident he can remain competitive throughout the race.

“We were struggling a little bit to put the car together but, including the qualifying, we managed to find a very good balance and we are really looking forward to tomorrow.” Continued Maldonado, “Yesterday we did a couple of long runs and it’s looking pretty good for us. The tyre degradation I mean. We have all the tools to be competitive tomorrow, so it should be a good race for us.”

With Pastor Maldonado and Lewis Hamilton having come together numerous times throughout their careers’, fireworks are most certainly a possibility on the run down to turn 1 during the start of tomorrow’s race. Maldonado will be striving to take the lead, whereas Hamilton will be looking to open a sizable gap to the Venezuelan. Both must remember that a race can’t be won on the opening lap, but can most certainly be ruined.

Follow me on Twitter - @AndyYoungF1