PASTOR MALDONADO’S UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

What are your thoughts on the Circuit of the Americas?

Austin is a great track, it’s a challenging layout which is refreshing to drive and it’s an enjoyable event. The first turn is quite something with its very steep climb and the rest of the lap flows well. The atmosphere at the circuit is really special, even for the first time we visited. It’s great to see the RVs at the side of the track and people staying at the circuit to enjoy the full weekend. The circuit can be a difficult one for tyres. The event is taking place earlier in the year this season so hopefully there’s plenty of sun to burn off any morning fog! Certainly, there can be a variety with the weather and in the past we’ve seen it be quite cold at the start of the day.

How about Austin as a place?

It’s really a fantastic location with a lot to do. It’s certainly the type of city I’d like to visit even if there wasn’t a race there! It’s a really lively place with a lot going on. Great food, great music and great people are three things I think about when we go to Austin. The fans are superb too. It’s only the fourth time we will visit Austin, but already it’s one event on the calendar that we really look forward to visiting.

What is your feeling on America in general?

It’s a place I love and I have spent a lot of time in Miami.

What’s your outlook for this race?

I think Austin offers us a good opportunity. The circuit shouldn’t pose any particular problems as long as we can get the tyres working as we want. The E23 is a car that generally works well so we have a good baseline to start with. At this point of the year we’re pretty on top of things like set-up and getting the most out of the car so it’s a case of getting the laps and simulations done in practice, qualifying as well as possible then targeting points in the race.

How was the Sochi debrief?

It was a solid race for us and the car felt good. We weren’t able to get the maximum from the super soft tyres in qualifying and also in the race they didn’t reward us with all we wanted, but we were able to push quite well, especially at the end of the race. I was relieved that Romain was fine after his crash. These cars are strong, but it did look like he’d had a big one.

If you had to be a character in a western movie, what would your character be like?

I think there are many people out there who would say I would make a good baddie! Certainly this weekend I’m looking to steal lots of points, so maybe that should be my character.

Last year saw your season-best qualifying position and race result; can we expect more of the same this year?

Certainly, everything went relatively well for us last year in Austin when you compare the performance to the season we’d been having. There’s no reason to say we can’t have a great weekend this year. At every race we’re looking to maximise the package we have; we always look to be as fast as possible in qualifying and finish the race as strongly as possible. I like the Circuit of the Americas, the E23 is a good racing car and I’m confident we’ll do the best job we can.