Pastor Maldonado’s victory in Barcelona on Sunday was remarkable for a number
of reasons, not least for the fact that it was only five months ago we were
lamenting the worst season in Williams’
history. But racing is in the team’s blood, too. A team like Williams do not
forget how to win, even if it has become harder for them to do so in the
current era.
Frank would rather not turn up at all than accept defeat. He wants his drivers
to race their hearts out.
When Pastor crashed on the last lap in Australia in March, pushing to take
fifth place off Fernando Alonso, I’ll bet he did not get an ear-bashing from
Frank. That drive would have impressed him.
Frank can be ruthless, too. I remember verbally agreeing a two-year contract
with him for 1995 and 1996 and turning up to sign the papers, only to find
that he had changed his mind. I got a one-year deal instead. He was
completely unashamed about it.
Frank is one of the few people in the paddock who will acknowledge he may have
misled you and he will tell you to your face that the reason he did it was
for the good of the team; for the hundreds of employees back at Grove. It’s
hard to argue with that.
I say that not to make him out as two-faced. On the contrary, I consider it a
quality. The team always comes first for Frank and I was absolutely
delighted for all of them on Sunday.
It was a great shame that the fire soured what should have been such a sweet
moment, but the way that they and the rest of the sport reacted was
exemplary, averting what could have been a real tragedy. It would compound
the misfortune if it should detract from the win. And what a win it was.
It was difficult to judge Pastor in his debut year. He came in with the tag of
a ‘pay driver’ and had limited chances to show what he could do with such a
poor car. There were glimpses of speed but also an erratic streak.
The only time I really criticised him was for his incident with Lewis Hamilton
during qualifying at Spa when he veered towards him in anger on their
in-lap, which was borderline reckless.
But it did hint at a steely determination not to be cowed and we witnessed it
again on Sunday. In fact, Pastor was superb last weekend. His qualifying on
Saturday, saving three sets of fresh tyres for the race, was impressive. And
he was flawless in the race itself, controlling it beautifully despite
multiple world champions breathing down his neck.
I would venture there was not a soul in the paddock who was not delighted for
him and for Williams, which just goes to show the affection in which Frank’s
team are held.
It will not be easy to bounce back from the damage of the fire to challenge in
Monaco next week but you can bet they will. Just as they did after Ayrton
Senna died at Imola in 1994. It’s what they do. Racing is in their DNA.