The winner of the Spanish Grand Prix talks about the fire that destroyed the Williams garage in Barcelona, some hours after his first victory.
"At that moment I was so scared for all of us. I think we were so lucky because we had no big damage and especially because our people were okay," said Maldonado in a conference call from the team's factory in Grove, England.
Pastor Maldonado, who won the race starting from pole two hours earlier, was photographed carrying his 12-year-old cousin away from the smoke-filled pit lane. His cousin was wearing a cast on his foot from a previous injury.
"I saw my cousin who was with a small injury, I took him and brought him away from the box. It was a difficult moment for all the team but we've been so happy even after that because of the win," is quoted Maldonado by Reuters.
His victory was the first for former champions Williams in nearly eight years. The Venezuelan driver explains that the happy faces at the factory motivate everyone more than ever and he hopes to challenge again for victory in Monaco.
"We will do our best. As you see, all the teams are so close, the championship is so close and the gap is so close," he said. "We are getting better and better all the time. At the moment we don't have the quickest car on the track but we are doing our best and why not? Formula One is changing all the time. It's going to be difficult but we will try again."
"The tire degradation is quite big and it is true that you need to manage them. This is part of the race and it's the same for everybody. There are no easy races. We need to adapt to the tyres, to the rules, to the car," he added.
"At that moment I was so scared for all of us. I think we were so lucky because we had no big damage and especially because our people were okay," said Maldonado in a conference call from the team's factory in Grove, England.
Pastor Maldonado, who won the race starting from pole two hours earlier, was photographed carrying his 12-year-old cousin away from the smoke-filled pit lane. His cousin was wearing a cast on his foot from a previous injury.
"I saw my cousin who was with a small injury, I took him and brought him away from the box. It was a difficult moment for all the team but we've been so happy even after that because of the win," is quoted Maldonado by Reuters.
His victory was the first for former champions Williams in nearly eight years. The Venezuelan driver explains that the happy faces at the factory motivate everyone more than ever and he hopes to challenge again for victory in Monaco.
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| Pastor Maldonado, Williams FW34. (Photo: Pirelli) |
"We will do our best. As you see, all the teams are so close, the championship is so close and the gap is so close," he said. "We are getting better and better all the time. At the moment we don't have the quickest car on the track but we are doing our best and why not? Formula One is changing all the time. It's going to be difficult but we will try again."
"The tire degradation is quite big and it is true that you need to manage them. This is part of the race and it's the same for everybody. There are no easy races. We need to adapt to the tyres, to the rules, to the car," he added.