Pastor Maldonado doesn’t deserve the bad image he’s been assigned by Formula 1 fans according to Lotus trackside operations director Alan Permane.
The Venezuelan is often the target of ridicule thanks to his numerous crashes and mistakes, but Permane insists the one-time race winner is “one of the best drivers” to work with in terms of feedback.
“Pastor has an awfully bad image from the outside, and of course he does do some silly things on track every now and again,” he told Autosport.
“But to work with, he’s one of the best drivers I’ve ever worked with – his feedback, how calm he is, nothing flusters him at all,” added Permane who has worked with many drivers, including Romain Grosjean, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso.
“He’s very, very good and he works incredibly hard. Whatever’s happening, he’s in there doing his stuff and getting on with it.
“There’s very rarely a magic button to press, it’s just hard work that gets you out of trouble. And he recognises that and gets on with it.
“It’s no secret he brings a lot of funding to the team. In his position, it would be very easy for him to have tantrums and get hysterical, and he’s not done it once. Never. I think that’s great.”
