While Fernando Alonso grabbed headlines with his escapades at the World Endurance Championship (WEC) season opener at Spa-Francorchamps, former Lotus and Williams driver Pastor Maldonado also made his endurance racing debut after a couple of years on the sidelines
Maldonado, who won the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, explained to La Dernière about his absence from racing since his final F1 race at the 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, "I do not have any sponsors or financial backing from my country as was the case in the past."
The Venezuelan added, "The situation in my country is difficult, but given the positive climate there is now in the country, it can only get better."
Maldonado, the 2010 GP2 Series Champion (equivalent to today's Formula 2) was famous for his crashes in Formula 1 and was asked by reporters, at Spa, if he and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen - who has been accident prone this season - shared similar traits.
He replied, "Max is a fantastic driver, but he is still very young and so it's quite normal that is making mistakes and is still learning."
"He needs to accumulate experience, but comparing him with me is inappropriate," added the 33-year-old who will compete in the entire WEC season with DragonSpeed.
The American team had a tough weekend at the season-opening Spa 6-Hours. Maldonado shared the Oreca Gibson #31 with Roberto González and Nathanaël Berthon to finish fifth and the LMP2 class.
However, the #10 DragonSpeed car of Ben Hanley, Henrik Hedman and Pietro Fittipaldi was withdrawn when grandson of F1 legend Emerson Fittipaldi crashed heavily in qualifying, fracturing his legs in the process.
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