Pastor Maldonado is an incredibly talented racing driver, but you wouldn’t know it sometimes
The Venezuelan Formula 1 racer is a veteran of more than 80 Grands Prix – no mean feat – but aside from a memorable victory for Williams at the 2012 Spanish GP, Maldonado’s career has become more well-known for his frequent faux pas.
For one, he is so often involved in comings together with his rivals that not only has he been nicknamed ‘Crashtor’, but a website has been set up named HasMaldonadoCrashedToday.
The Lotus driver fell foul of the stewards again during yesterday’s Bahrain Grand Prix as he was penalised for starting from the wrong place on the grid, bizarrely choosing to line up 18th, two places behind his proper position of 16th.
Maldonado out of position on the grid – hence the long delay at the start. He'll be looking at a 5 second penalty for that error. #F1
— F1 Paddock Pass (Back for 2024) (@F1PaddockPass) April 19, 2015
Maldonado is really on form. 10min of GP and he has already a penalty #F1 #BahrainGP
— Daniel Moreira (@danielfsmoreira) April 19, 2015
After a delayed start, the race was won by world champion Lewis Hamilton, who beat Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg to extend his championship lead to 27 points after four races.
[h/t WTF1]