Pastor Maldonado to test for Williams at Abu Dhabi
Williams will run Pastor Maldonado on a set of tests at the end-of-season young drivers’ test session in Abu Dhabi.
The GP2 champion Maldonado was recently linked to the team as a possible replacement for Nico Hulkenberg for the 2011 season. The Venezuelan driver has a substantial backing from his country’s state-owned oil company. It is said to be worth $15 million.
Maldonado finished 64 points behind Nico Hulkenberg when they were teammates back in 2009 but he believes that he has improved marginally since last year.
When he was asked about the rumours over the Korean Grand Prix weekend, Williams’s co-owner Patrick Head told the reporters that the question should be directed to the team’s chairman Adam Par as he would be the only one to know about such developments.
But when the team was pressed about the role funding that is expected to play in the decision, he acknowledged that those things will matter the most to the team and play a vital role in the team’s decision. He claims that these things are being debated and
the team will not come up with a decision until the team goes through the pros and cons thoroughly.
Maldonado will share the two-day Abu Dhabi test with the Formula 2 champion Dean Stoneman who is expected to take part for his prize as he won the title earlier this year. Frank Williams welcomed both of the drivers to the team and confirmed that Valtteri
Bottas will remain as the test driver for the team in 2011.
“We are delighted to have the two reigning champions of the two strongest feeder series for Formula One in the FW32 for these two test days. Valtteri fought hard for his third place in this year's Formula 3 Euroseries, taking two wins and six podiums in
a very competitive year,” he said.
Valtteri also scored a record breaking second consecutive victory in the Formula 3 Masters and has worked hard both on and off the track giving him a unique experience. Williams will continue to seek talent, discipline and dedication and the team is very
happy to help foster that further in 2011.
Williams did not set a deadline for its race driver announcement but it is widely understood that Rubens Barrichello’s spot is safe. Hulkenberg’s manager Willi Webber insists that his driver is still running to stay in the team as well.
“Nico is not 'out' already, as has been speculated. The talks with Williams are continuing, but there are obviously alternatives. Williams is the first choice and we would love to stay, but it is extremely important that Nico has a race cockpit in Formula
One for 2011,” he told a German news agency.
Webber acknowledged that Williams may have to put some financial factors above the others while making this decision as the team should think about every aspect of the sport in order to score the best possible result next season.
Nico Hulkenberg has had a disappointing debut season in Formula 1 as he is currently in 15th place with just 18 points while his teammate Rubens Barrichello is currently in 10th place with 47 points.
This season has been a sort of an experiment for Formula 1 so one has to admit that many drivers had a tough time adjusting to the new regulations but since it has been over 17 races now, that excuse expired over 6 months ago.
“(Chairman) Adam Parr has a great responsibility to hundreds of employees and as the highest priority he must consider the welfare of the team,” he said.
With just two races remaining, getting rid of Hulkenberg would be the best option as he has clearly not been performing up to the mark and he did not give an impressive performance. It would be interesting to see what team Williams decides regarding next
season as the team hopes for the best possible results in 2011.
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