• F1

  • Drivers

Pastor Maldonado News

News

  • News
  • Results
  • Previous Seasons
More from F1
  • F1 Home
  • Drivers

Williams fined over Pastor Maldonado's loose wheel in Practice for Japanese GP

Day of misery for Maldonado after later P2 crash

By James Galloway

Last Updated: 11/10/13 12:57pm

The opening day in Japan proved incident-filled throughout the field and Maldonado was involved in accidents in each of the two practice sessions, the Venezeulan sent into a spin at Spoon curve in P1 when his wheel detached and then crashing in the early stages of the afternoon session.

The team were subsequently fined for breaching Article 23.12 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations and Article 14.7 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations.

In a statement, the stewards revealed that an 'examination of the parts concerned revealed that the wheel fastener had not been completely fastened, thus not engaging the first retaining plunger.

'This is regarded as a serious safety issue. The team has assured the Stewards that the appropriate measures will be immediately implemented to ensure compliance.'

It was Maldonado's crash in Practice Two, when he ran wide over the second Degner and hit the barrier, that has increased Williams' workload overnight and also means the driver will go into Saturday's running without having completed any laps on the medium tyre or a race simulation.

Maldonado didn't attempt to hide his disappointment with how his Friday panned out and admits Practice Three will now be crucial for him to catch up.

"It was a frustrating day today as I didn't get the amount of time on track that I would have liked," he said.

"My FP1 session ended early after a problem with my left-rear tyre, and at the beginning of FP2 I was struggling for grip and lost the back end of the car and went off the circuit which ended my running.

"Tomorrow is another day though and FP3 will give us a chance to improve the set-up based on what we learnt today and get some low fuel running in to optimise our car for qualifying, which will be important as overtaking here can be difficult."

Trending

  • 1
    Birmingham City: A decade in decline
  • 2
    Henry steps down as Montreal head coach
  • 3
    Tuchel trying to solve Chelsea puzzle
  • 4
    Alisson's father drowns in Brazil aged 57
  • 5
    England crumble to 10-wicket defeat inside two days
  • 6
    How Leicester cracked the elite
  • 7
    Why 12/1 Dias can challenge Bruno for PFA award
  • 8
    Pep on winning run: We have a lot of money
  • 9
    West Ham's Antonio approached by Jamaica
  • 10
    Euro 2020 fixtures & schedule for 2021 tournament
  • Video
  • Latest News
  • Home
  • Sports
    • Football
    • F1
    • Cricket
    • Rugby Union
    • Rugby League
    • Golf
    • Boxing
    • NFL
    • Olympics
    • Tennis
    • Racing
    • Darts
    • NBA
    • Netball
    • GAA
    • MMA
    • More Sports
  • Scores
  • Video
  • TV
  • Sky Bet
  • Games
  • More
    • Transfer Centre
    • Live on Sky
    • Get Sky Sports
    • TV Shows
    • TV Guide
    • Competitions
    • Sky Go
    • Now TV
    • Kick It Out
    • Black Lives Matter
    • Podcasts
    • Mobile
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • Contact Us
    • Terms & Conditions
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Sky Sports
    • Get Sky Sports
    • Sky Sports Apps
    • Sportinglife.com
    • TEAMtalk.com
    • Football365.com
  • Partners
    • Sky Bet
    • Fantasy Football
    • Super 6
    • Planet Rugby
    • Golf365
    • Planet F1
    • Cricket365
  • Sky Sports Channels
    • Sky Sports Main Event
    • Sky Sports Premier League
    • Sky Sports Football
    • Sky Sports Cricket
    • Sky Sports Golf
    • Sky Sports Racing
    • Sky Sports F1
    • Sky Sports Action
    • Sky Sports Arena
    • Sky Sports News
    • Sky Sports Mix
  • More Sky Sites
    • Sky.com
    • Sky News
    • Sky Group
    • Sky For Businesses
    • NOW TV
    • Sky Communal TV
    • Bigger Picture
    • Store Locator
    • Work for Sky
    • Advertise With Us
    • Sky TV Accessories
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy & Cookies Notice
  • Privacy Options
  • Accessibility Information
  • Contact Us

©2021 Sky UK