‘I was defending my position’ - Maldonado on Button

Pastor Maldonado has dismissed the criticisms he received from Jenson Button following their collision at the Singapore Grand Prix, saying he was only “defending his position”.

The McLaren-Honda driver ran into the back of the Lotus racer while the pair fought in the pack, which led to Button pitting for a new front wing. The 2009 world champion immediately called Maldonado “mental” over team radio before labeling his actions “very strange” after the race.

The Venezuelan, who had his diffuser damaged in the skirmish, begs to differ.

“No driver’s happy if there’s a car in front of them and they want to get past, especially if it damages their car trying to overtake,” said Maldonado.

“We both got damage to our cars; he was behind me trying to get past, I was defending my position. That’s racing, The stewards reviewed it and determined that there was no further action necessary.

Maldonado’s current campaign has been marred with on-track incidents, erratic driving and retirements aplenty.

Despite bringing significant sponsorship money through his PDVSA backing, the 30-year-old’s future at Enstone beyond 2015 grew uncertain, especially against the backdrop of a potential takeover by Renault.

However, Maldonado was confirmed at Lotus for 2016 in the wake of the Singapore Grand Prix. The former GP2 Series Champion admits the news came as a relief.

“It’s one less thing for my management team to worry about. It’s true that we did have a contract for next year but as we’ve seen before, Formula 1 is sometimes not too friendly towards contracts.

“It’s great for the team to be able to confirm their faith in me and I’m really looking forward to continuing our relationship and racing with them for a third season.

“Before that we have another six races to go in 2015 so that’s my focus now, starting with Suzuka this weekend.”

Singapore Grand Prix - Quotes of the weekend

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