Pastor Maldonado’s future in Formula One hangs on whether Renault can agree a sponsorship deal with PDVSA, with Autosport reporting that the French manufacturers are close to concluding negotiations.
Recent reports have suggested that Maldonado may be losing his seat to Kevin Magnussen after the Dane was seen at the Renault base. However, it’s understood that Renault are now in Venezuela to finalise a deal that would keep Maldonado in the team.
When Renault acquired a majority stake over the Lotus team at the end of last season, the decision was made to bring Venezuelan gas and oil giant PDVSA, that has supported Maldonado’s career so far, on board as a sponsorship.
It was believed that with the plummeting price of oil, as well as the current political situation in Venezuela, Renault might have looked elsewhere for sponsorships, which would have meant no drive for Pastor.
This is why originally Renault cast doubts over their driver line-up back in December, however, Renault have obviously vowed to stick with the company, and for now it looks like Maldonado’s seat in F1 is safe.
Should the negotiations fall through, Magnussen is very much believed to be at the top of Renault’s list, and there’s still a chance we could see the former McLaren driver and Jolyon Palmer as teammates when we arrive in Australia.
