Starworks Withdraws - Bad News for Maldonado?

[cosworth151]

Starworks Motorsport, the defending WEC LMP2 champion, will not compete in the series or at Le Mans this year. The announcement could have ominous implications for F1 driver Pastor Maldonado.

Starworks believed it had a promise of money from the Venezuelan government and associate sponsors, which funded its 2012 WEC campaign with a HPD ARX-03b. Political uncertainty in the country resulting from the illness and subsequent death of President Hugo Chavez meant the funds have yet to materialize.

Maldonado brings sponsorship from the Venezuelan government (through the state-owned PDVSA oil company) to the Williams team. I wonder if that funding will be in jeopardy now, too.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130409/alms/130409819#ixzz2Q4MmFWhD

[F1fanaticBD]

This may be bad news for Pastor. With Williams being in a bad shape it, this might be bad news for both of them.

[Alianora La Canta]

A lot depends on upcoming elections. However, if the current lead party is retained in power, I expect Pastor to retain his funding due to his popularity among his countrymen. Starworks may have simply hit bad luck (it is questionable whether large sums of money could be promised if the party in power can't guarantee being there by the time the first payment is due).