GreenBkk.com Williams F1 | Silverstone's Q&A with Pastor Maldonado

Silverstone's Q&A with Pastor Maldonado

Posted on Friday 08 Jul 2011

Pastor Maldonado loves driving for a British team, so the importance of the British Grand Prix isn’t lost on him. It’s almost a home Grand Prix for our Anglo-Venezuelan…

Pastor, are you excited to be racing for AT&T Williams at Silverstone this weekend?

PM: The track is definitely one of the best on the calendar. It’s really quick and the combination of fast corners – Copse, Maggotts and Becketts – is great fun to drive. Even the new section, the Arena Complex, is quite good and I’m very happy to be here.

Have you adopted any British customs during your seven months with AT&T Williams?

PM: Baked beans, fish and chips, British girls – everything! I love England! I’ve been to the factory virtually every week since the start of the season, so I’ve got to know England well and I like it – except for the weather. It’s about 30 degrees in Venezuela at the moment and it’s raining at Silverstone…

What’s your aim at Silverstone this weekend?

PM: The goal is to do better than in Valencia. We have lots of new aero parts here, but it’s difficult to know how competitive we’ll be due to the new rules about off-throttle blown diffusers. We don’t know how that will affect the other teams, so we’ll have to wait until we start driving to find out.

Will the new rules require you to alter your driving style?

PM: The car might be a bit more unstable, so I’m expecting it to feel different. I think the rules will make more of a difference in race conditions than in qualifying, and you’ve always got to worry about tyres. Tyre wear is high at Silverstone due to the fast corners and so there will be a lot to think about on Sunday.

Friday practice is expected to be wet. How is that going to disrupt your preparations?

PM: It’s going to be the same for everyone, so it’s not a problem. I would prefer it to be dry because we will now have to wait until it’s dry to know about the effectiveness of our new parts, but, as I say, it will be the same for everybody.

Credit: Williams F1 (www.williamsf1.com)