Despite seeing his Italian Grand Prix ended on the opening lap, Pastor Maldonado remains in a positive frame of mind, and feels the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend can be a strong one for the Lotus F1 Team.
Maldonado feels the Lotus E23 Hybrid is a ‘great car’, and will be looking to return to the points for only the third time this season, and will want to break the two-race run of retirements he has suffered.
“I’m positive,” revealed Maldonado. “Singapore’s a fantastic event, it’s a fun circuit and we’ve got a great car.
“We’ve shown at many different circuits that we can perform well this year so it’s another race where we want to get out there and put in a strong performance.”
The Venezuelan driver insists traction is key to a good lap time around the Singapore circuit, and knows any small mistake will be punished with the walls being so close to the racing line, but admits to liking the street circuit-style racing as it enables him to get into a rhythm quickly.
“Traction is fundamental in Singapore, it’s a really big factor,” said Maldonado. “This is because the corners are generally slow and tight, so it means the way we exit them will be critical to ensure a good lap time.
“It will be tough to regulate the torque and the traction out of the slow speed corners. Then you look at all the normal things for a fast lap. It’s a track where you can’t make mistakes because the walls are so close.
“Overall it is a very demanding track where you get no rest at all really. You are constantly turning or braking and there are only two short straights, not enough to really have a proper rest. But I like it this way because you get a rhythm going quickly.
“Physically it is tough because the humidity is so high and the race so long, much longer than Monza for instance.”
