In the spotlight: Pastor Maldonado

Pastor Maldonado has added race winner to his name in this Formula 1 season full of unpredictability and mystery. Since collecting 25 points in Spain, Maldonado is now 10th in the drivers championship, 19 points in front of team mate Bruno Senna.

A great way to start the season in Australia, by getting through to the third part of qualifying and lining up on the fourth row of the grid in 8th place. When race day came it looked like Pastor Maldonado could do some damage to the grid, instead he did damage to himself by crashing into the barriers on the final lap of the race and ended up finishing in an unlucky 13th.

Malaysia wasn't a brilliant race for the Venezuelan, after qualifying in 11th he finished way down in 19th position after an engine failure. The Chinese Grand Prix was better success for Maldonado, scoring four points after starting in 13th. A puncture during the Bahrain Grand Prix meant a retirement for the Williams driver, after a pretty poor qualifying, it was a race weekend to forget.

The Spanish Grand Prix was a weekend to remember as Pastor Maldonado bagged his first pole position after Lewis Hamilton was excluded from qualifying. He then led a brilliant race from start to finish to win his first ever Grand Prix, in only his second season in Formula 1. Maldonado added fireman to his duty that weekend, as a fire broke out in the Williams garage after the team celebrations, leaving team members injured and a sad way to end such a joyous occasion.

Pastor Maldonado went from such a high in Spain, to a huge low in Monaco. Qualifying last on the grid due to penalties inflicted by actions taken in free practice. If the weekend couldn't get any worse than that, after an accident on the first lap, Maldonado had to retire the car because of damage.

Last time out in Canada, Pastor Maldonado failed to get out of Q1 but worked his way up the grid, and just missed out on the points finishing in 13th position.

So what's different this year, from last for Pastor Maldonado?

Williams have made a vast improvement on last season, helping both Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna get some decent points finishes under their belts. Williams are 7th place in the constructors championship, fighting well in that mid field battle and proving that the team are back to winning ways.

Next up for Pastor Maldonado and Williams is Valencia this weekend. Can the team fly high?

We'll have to wait and see.