Pastor Maldonado is very likely to remain at Williams in 2012, according to co-founder Patrick Head, who stepped down from his role in Brazil.
Head doesn’t believe the ongoing investigation into PDVSA’s sponsorship of Maldonado and backing of the Williams team will create any problems for them or for the Venezuelan driver, who Head says he’s “pretty certain” will be retained.
“It’s not something that I can talk about, but I think that the PDVSA situation is stable, form what I gather,” the 65-year-old told GPWeek.
“Obviously we’ve got to make a decision about the drivers. I can be pretty certain that Pastor [Maldonado] will be in the team next year; we’ve got to make a decision.
“We’ll make a calm decision after the season. No particluar timing, but I’m sure we’ll make what we consider to be the best decision in the interests of the team.”
It’s a case of supply outstripping demand within Formula 1 at the moment, something Head acknowledges, but he outlined certain criteria a driver must adhere to, which may just throw a bone in the direction of Rubens Barrichello, who seems to meet them all.
“It’s a question of… one wants a mixture of speed, experience, leadership in a way, good feedback… all those things,” explained Head, who went on to admit the drivers weren’t the problem in 2011, rather the car was.
“There are a lot of good drivers out there,” he added. “Fundamentally, our problem is the car. We’re not really debating whether one person is two-tenths a lap quicker than another person. When you’re 2.5s behind, yes, we’ve got to have the best we can in the cockpit, but fundamentally the big challenge is to get the car sorted.”will
