Talking through the year with Pastor Maldonado

For Pastor, it all started down under with his first race in Formula One, at Albert Park in Melbourne. “The race was not so good because I stopped quite early but up to then I was having quite a good time. I liked the city very much and found a lot of Venezuelan supporters there, so that made me very happy. It was my first race and it was a great
moment.

“I remember Shanghai very well because the food was fantastic and although there were plenty of strange things on the menu I stuck with normal Chinese food! It was the first race I finished so that gives me a good memory.”

Talking through the year with Pastor it becomes clear that the support of his fellow Venezuelans is really important to him, and he acknowledges the fans who have come thousands of miles to support him.

“In Canada, Germany and Hungary there were lots of Venezuelan fans,” he said. “I had a great time in Budapest, it is a great city and I had some friends and my family who came over to support me.

“We found a fantastic Argentinean restaurant in Budapest and had a great meal there – but I can’t remember what it’s called!”

The other theme that comes through consistently is food - Pastor loves it and that was never more evident in Italy.

“I stayed close to the circuit and we went out for dinner several times throughout the weekend. You can say that Pastor ate lots of pasta! After that we went to Singapore and that was a great experience, I even went on the big wheel next to the track which was pretty cool!”

Pastor turned tourist for the inaugural Indian Grand Prix with a visit to one of the country’s most iconic landmarks.

“I went to the Taj Mahal while I was there and thought it was an unbelievable place. I turned into a proper tourist and took loads of pictures. It took about six hours to get there from the hotel but going to places like that makes all the travel worth it.

“In Abu Dhabi, I was amazed. It’s a dream track and everything there is top dollar! I had been to the city before and it is perfect, beautifully clean and my hotel was stunning. All the facilities at the track are brilliant and it’s getting better every year. It was my girlfriend Gaby’s birthday while we were in Abu Dhabi so we celebrated with a nice meal (food again - Ed!)

The season rounded out in Brazil and Pastor was able to combine all his favourite things into one - friends, fervent Venezuelan support, and, yes, great food!

“It’s a special race as it is the closest to Venezuela and I have lots of fans here,” he said. “The Brazilian fans are so passionate about the sport, similar to the Japanese and the meat in the restaurants is amazing! I took on lots of protein for the race and probably the whole winter!”