Maldonado turned down F1 race seat for 2017

Venezuelan driver, Pastor Maldonado has always been famous for being involved in multiple crashes throughout his five-year long career in Formula 1. It was hence no surprise that his exit from the sport got mixed reactions from Formula 1 fans. His return will hence will create the same effect.

It is often said that exit of Lotus F1 team from the sport and disputes between his personnel sponsors and Renault, the team he was supposed to drive for in 2016, left him out of a drive. So when Nico Rosberg announced his retirement at the end of 2016 season, hopes must have been up for the Venezuelan.

In a conversation with motorsport.com, Maldonado told the website – “I have the experience and I had opportunities to come back here this year [in a race seat]. I was quite close to coming back but I decided not to. But if I don’t have any good feeling, if I don’t have any guarantees to do in the good way, it’s better to stay away – so I turned them down”. “I discovered there is something more interesting than F1 in life,” he said. “It’s not everything. But I’m missing it because I dedicated my entire life to motor racing – I started when I was six. When I wake up and decide ‘OK, it’s time to go back’, I will”.

It is not clear that which team(s) offered him a drive but it can be said beyond doubt that Maldonado wants to come back on his own terms. He does not want just a drive, but a competitive drive in Formula 1. Formula 1 purists and drivers have always been critical of him and will mostly wont be bothered by the news. But the same might not be true for the ‘crashtor’ fans.

It will be really interesting to see for the fans where Maldonado will stand if he drives in any upcoming season. Will we see the same aggressive driving which lead to 305 seconds worth of penalties in 96 races? Or will we see a more cautious Maldonado who is still as fast? I guess we’ll just have to wait to get those answers.