"We have different driving styles, he drives very gently and is very smooth with the car - this is not my way," said Maldonado.
"My way is to put energy into the car and that is how I was very quick last year.
"I feel very slow because I am not in a position to do what I did last year as I am limited by the car."
Maldonado believes the car responds better to a less aggressive driving style and points to the lack of balance between front and rear as he root of his struggles.
Now don't get me wrong, I understand that there is an element of truth in what Pastor is saying. Certainly an unbalanced, difficult car will penalise anyone trying to push beyond the limits and comparatively flatter someone who stays within the dynamic envelope. But Maldonado is being successively beaten by Bottas this season, in both qualifying and race situations. Shouldn't the extra aggressiveness on Maldonado's part be good for better qualifying results at least? And perhaps more importantly, shouldn't a team's first driver be capable of adapting his driving style (within limits) and guiding the team to develop a car? I get the impression Pastor has done neither this year.
Opinions?
