22/11/2015
NEWS STORY
Pastor Maldonado has defended the move in Brazil on Marcus Ericsson which earned him a time penalty.
Running as high as sixth at one stage, Maldonado, one of only two drivers to start on the prime tyres, was battling Ericsson for 13th (ironically), when he opted to make a Verstappen-type move on the Swede in Turn 1.
Unfortunately, the Lotus driver, not being Verstappen, made a complete pig's ear of it and the two clashed, causing Ericsson's to spin and effectively ending his race in the process.
"Pastor made a move on me into Turn 1," said the Swede. "It was just too late, he hit the back of my car, spun me around and we had to pit to check for damage. I lost around 30 to 40 seconds and, obviously, the race was then compromised."
Handed a 5s time penalty, and another penalty point, bringing his total for the current 12-month period to six, the Venezuelan eventually finished eleventh. However, Massa's subsequent disqualification saw the Lotus driver promoted to tenth, thereby taking the final point.
Far from being contrite however, Maldonado, who has built a worrying reputation for such rash moves, has defended his manoeuvre.
"There's a saying that rubbing's racing," he said. "In Formula 1 it sometimes feels like you get penalised for every bit of contact. I went for a gap that was there - and we all want to see overtaking in Formula 1 - and he closed the gap whilst defending his position.
"I saw it as a racing incident, and on a corner like turn one in Brazil the driver on the outside will usually come off worse. We spoke after the race and all's fine between us. I think pretty much the same would have happened if positions were reversed and he had tried the same move on me."
As we said, Maldonado has history, and whilst he might have seen it as a "racing incident", the stewards – not for the first time – clearly did not.