Maldonado: The collision with Gutierrez, a “minor accident”
Pastor Maldonado spoke about the penalties, stating that the stewards are giving out too many. He also commented on the incident with Esteban Gutierrez in Bahrain, which he considers more impressive than actually dangerous.
In the eye of the storm after the Bahrain Grand Prix, during which, following a collision with Esteban Gutierrez, he was handed a triple penalty – a 10-second stop-and-go during the race in question, a 5-place grid penalty for the next Grand Prix, and 3 penalty points on his Super License – Pastor Maldonado believes that the severity of the stewards is problematic.
In an interview with *Autosport*, the Venezuelan complains about this situation: « The rules are the same for everyone, so you must avoid incidents. But at the same time, you can’t race; you just have to stay on the track and wait for the problems. If you attack and your maneuver isn’t clear, or if the guy defends his place and you take a risk, and you fight, you can be penalized. »
According to him, the commissioners need to be slightly more flexible, then he adds: We are race drivers and we always take risks. If you are competitors and you can overtake, you must take risks, but at the same time, the rules go against the show.
According to him, the severity of the stewards and the number of penalties have increased compared to the 1990-2000s: « Ten years ago, everyone was fighting and touching each other because there were no penalties. Now, we have to adapt. »
This issue was an opportunity for driver No. 13 to return to the incident with Esteban Gutierrez: « It was a minor accident. From my perspective, it was normal race contact, but because of the low nose, as soon as I touched his sidepod, he spun around immediately. » However, the low nose seems to be less responsible than the gear effect between the rear-right wheel of the Sauber and the front-left wheel of the Lotus.
« It was a bit shocking from that point of view, and I didn’t expect it to take off like that. But that’s what happened. I think the penalty was more related to the impressive side of the accident rather than the actual contact made. In my opinion, it was exactly the same as Bianchi [with Sutil]. It was normal contact, » he concluded.
