Maldonado: Singapore good for TV, tough for drivers

Pastor Maldonado is expecting a bigger-than-usual challenge at next weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, as he continues to search for his first points of the 2014 F1 season.

The Venezuelan, who has come closest to opening his account with a brace of twelfth place finishes in a difficult campaign for Lotus, admits that the traction requirements of the Marina Bay circuit are not going to suit the current E22, development of which effectively ended with the European leg of the season.

The Singapore street circuit, with its added complexity of day and night running, typically features a lot of slow corners and, with the new characteristics of the 2014-spec F1 cars, Maldonado admits that he and team-mate Romain Grosjean could be in for a long weekend.

"Marina Bay is a test, but this is the reason we love to be F1 drivers," he insisted, "There is something new and challenging every year for us to get to grips with, literally in this case! Traction will be fundamental at Singapore, a really big factor. The corners are generally slow and tight, so it means the way we exit them will be critical to ensure a good lap time.

"The 2014 spec cars will make it very interesting out there. I expect it to be very tricky, especially the first and third sectors, and this is where a lot of time can be won or lost. It will be tough to regulate the torque and the traction out of the slow speed corners - it will be a good challenge but a tough one lap after lap. It should look good for the spectators and TV viewers though...."

Like team-mate Grosjean, Maldonado is hoping for better things from Singapore, especially coming off the back of a trip to one of the fastest tracks on the calendar.

"It should be better a step forward from Monza," he claimed, "At this stage of the season, it is not going to be a massive step, but we expect better things for sure. We will do our very best to make sure that we find a good balance for Singapore because it is a very particular track with lots of different challenges.

"It is a very demanding track where you get no rest at all - you are constantly turning or braking and there are only two short straights, not enough to really have a proper rest. But I like it this way because you get a rhythm going quickly. Physically, it is tough because the humidity is so high and the race so long, much longer than Monza."