Pastor Maldonado is eyeing up a drive in the IndyCar Series with the KV Racing team in 2017.
Maldonado had hoped to be on the F1 grid in 2017 but that’s now looking unlikely, with all the available seats filled and Manor in administration. That’s sad news for everyone wanting to satisfy their morbid curiosity and see what he could do with even faster F1 cars, but hope is on the horizon – or should that be Verizon, because there’s a chance he could race in the Verizon IndyCar Series this year.
The 2012 Spanish GP winner (yes, that still definitely happened) was ominously spotted in the IndyCar paddock last year hanging out with the KV Racing team and he’s now in talks to race for them in 2017.
KV Racing have run four-time Champ Car champion and former Toro Rosso driver Sébastien Bourdais for the last few years, but with Bourdais switching to Dale Coyne Racing the team are struggling to stay afloat. A deal with Maldonado could be the only hope they have of being on the grid at all this year.
If a deal can be reached then Maldonado will only do the road and street courses (which make up most of the calendar anyway) as he doesn’t want to race on ovals. Sadly that means we won’t get to see Maldonado drinking the milk after winning the Indy 500 (because obviously he would), but the prospect of Pastor on some of the tight, bumpy and unforgiving street tracks IndyCar races is something to be excited about. Or terrified. Or both.