Maldonado: We’ll be pushing for the best result in Brazil

How did it feel to score your first points of 2014 in Austin?

Like a weight was lifted from my shoulders! But as soon as you reach one milestone, it’s straight onto the next. So our focus is already to try and do better this weekend in Brazil. It’s important to remember that we were competitive for most of the weekend in Austin - even though we dedicated some time to trying things like the 2015 evaluation nose in practice - and we need to continue like that for the next two races. The car has felt better and better to drive and we’ve been able to get more from it over the last few races. We’ll discount Sochi as we struggled so much to get the tyres to work there, but apart from that event, when the car was reliable we’ve been able to push quite well on different circuits so that’s been a real bonus.

What made the difference in Austin?

Together with the team we have been learning quite a lot about the car and have found a setting that gives me the confidence to really push, but also stay consistent and manage the tyres. We are continuing to develop in that direction so I’m really excited for the remaining races and especially next year’s car.

We are going from one of the newest circuits on the calendar to one of the oldest, what do you think of Interlagos?

Interlagos may not have the most impressive infrastructure but it is a great, historic circuit. I really love the track, the atmosphere and the people - there will be a lot of Venezuelans there! Hopefully we can have a great race and put on a good show for the South American fans.

What are the challenges of the layout?

Technically it’s always tricky to find a set-up balance between the twisty parts of the circuit and the long straights. In an ideal world you’d want Monza-spec for the start and end of the lap and Hungaroring-spec for the rest! Different drivers and teams will make different compromises, which all adds up to an interesting race. Some will go for greater straight-line speed to help them pass and defend in the race, others more downforce for a better lap time and less sliding. Bumps can also be an issue and there are several overtaking opportunities on the track which reward late braking, both to go on the attack and keep rivals behind. Last but not least the unpredictable weather is sure to keep us on our toes. There has also been some resurfacing at the track so we’ll have the challenge we are faced with any new surface of understanding the grip levels and how they change over the course of the weekend.

Given the competitive Austin weekend, are there any similarities with Interlagos?

Well firstly the tyre allocation will be the same and I would say that Interlagos is a similar kind of track in terms of its characteristics. The temperature could also be similar, which would be another positive factor too. When we get the tyres working and don’t have low speed corners at a circuit we’re capable of pretty decent performance. We’ve seen some epic races in Interlagos where wet weather has been a factor, and thunderstorms are present. We all know the amount of rain which can fall in Sao Paulo and the Interlagos track even has grooves cut into it to help the water flow off the track! It’s a challenging circuit in the dry and even more so in the wet, but there have been some amazing races over the years because of this. Whatever the weather, we’ll be pushing for the best result possible.