Will he stay or will he go? It’s the rumour that’s been the talk of this year’s silly season and if recent news is to be believed then Pastor Maldonado is in fact set to lose his Renault seat to Kevin Magnussen.
Maldonado’s trusty big money sponsor PDVSA have failed to agree a deal now that Renault have taken things over at Team Enstone. Now Autosport, Sky Sports and many more are reporting that K-Mag will replace the Venezuelan for the upcoming season.
While it seems there’s still time for the deal to be done (Renault are set to announce their 2016 plans at a Paris launch next Wednesday) it’s said that ex-McLaren driver Magnussen is now the firm favourite to get the seat alongside Jolyon Palmer.
The news comes after Lotus then Renault themselves had confirmed Maldonado for the 2016 but it seems as though without his rather large chequebook, Pastor will be shown the door.
Ted Kravitz also made this cryptic tweet to his fellow Sky Sports F1 employee David Croft, who was recording lines about Maldonado for the new F1 game.
@CroftyF1 doesn’t look like they’ll need to keep that line at the top there, Crofty.. https://t.co/us4AZkOLF7
— Ted Kravitz (@tedkravitz) January 27, 2016
If the rumours are true then it’s a sad day for Maldonado banter enthusiasts everywhere. We’ll find out on Wednesday I guess…