Criticism now part of Lotus F1 driver Pastor Maldonado's life

Since making his F1 debut with Williams in 2011, the Venezuelan has been the target for sideswipes and jokes, primarily due to the number of incidents in which he has been involved.

Of the 86 races Maldonado has started, he has finished in the points on just 10 occasions, led by his shock victory in the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix.

Conversely, the last race in Hungary provided another low, as he served three penalties during the race for separate incidents.

Maldonado insists, however, when people judge him harshly it is water off a duck's back, telling AUTOSPORT: "It doesn't bother me at all.

"I've always been heavily criticised by many people, but it's part of my job and part of my life.

"This is a very intensive job and I just always try to do my best for the people I work with.

"Whether that's in the factory or the simulator, the engineers and the people who need to like me, the team, like me.

"If you ask me what I would prefer, I prefer people talk good about me, which is normal, but what they say does not affect me.

"Maybe it motivates me, who knows?"

With such a gulf between the highs and lows, it could be argued Maldonado should have achieved far more in F1 to date, while many

Many would suggest it is only the support he has received from Venezuela's state-owned oil and gas company, PDVSA, which has kept him in a job.

Asked whether he personally expected more, Maldonado replied: "Everyone is always expecting more.

"I expect to win all my races, although you need to realise it is almost impossible, except when I showed it is possible [in Spain in 2012] without the best car on the track.

"Since then it has been very difficult to win, which you have to accept, and all you can do is deliver your best."

Explaining the difficulties, Maldonado added: "You are always learning. You never stop, because the car and development is always changing.

"The tyres are always different, tracks are always different, structure is always different, so you can't do on one weekend what you did on the previous weekend because everything changes.

"Every weekend you more or less start from zero, but for sure you are trying to improve you base line, so you build through the season and improve every race."