Pastor Maldonado will be looking to make it a hat-trick of points finishes when he competes in this weekend’s British Formula 1 Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Last week the Venezuelan driver, from the Enstone-based Lotus team recorded his second seventh-placed finish in Austria and now he wants to keep up the momentum at the Northamptonshire circuit.

“It (Austria) was a good weekend,”

said Maldonado. “In the race we made a poor start due to a small issue, but after that I was able to drive a good race.

“I stayed on the pace of the cars ahead for my first stint, even though I was on the harder tyres, then when I changed to the super softs I was able to push, even though we did a very long stint on those tyres.

“It was a satisfying race and I was very happy to take seventh position near the end.

“It’s good for me and it’s good for all of the team.

“It was frustrating for everyone to be pushing so hard with no reward until Canada, so to score in Canada and Austria has been great.

“Scoring is what we’re all here for so we’ll keep pushing for points at every race.”

The 30-year-old said he was looking forward to the challenge of Silverstone, adding: “I’ve won at Silverstone in the GP2 Series and I’ve always really liked the circuit.

“I’ve spent so much time in England that it’s like a second home to me, especially as I have family who live very close to the circuit in Oxfordshire.

“It’s a great event coming mid-season and it always provides an interesting race.

“I think that Silverstone is an amazing track.

“I have always enjoyed racing there since my first visit back in 2007.

“I also have good memories of it as I have had some great races there, including winning in both 2009 and 2010 in the GP2 Series.”

Meanwhile, teammate Romain Grosjean is looking to banish memories of Austria where he was forced to retire on lap 35 due to gearbox trouble.

He said: “I won there in the GP2 Series in 2011, so I have to say it has fond memories for me.

“I scored points there in my F1 debut, but then for the last couple of years my British Grand Prix hasn’t been so good in terms of results.

“This means I must be due a good result and we’ll be doing everythng we can to ensure a good finish in the points.”

Meanwhile, SEAN Walkinshaw says he is relishing tackling the Moscow Raceway when the fourth round of the Blancpain Sprint Series takes place in the Russian capital this weekend.

Originally scheduled to take place on a street circuit in the city, the change of venue – triggered by construction work in Moscow – means the championship will make its Russian bow at the FIA approved circuit in the Volokolamsky district, 60 miles to the west of the capital.

The Chipping Norton-based driver and MRS GT-Racing teammate Craig Dolby head to Russia ninth in the drivers’ standings, with one podium finish to their credit so far in the Sprint Series, which was secured at the Brands Hatch Grand prix circuit in May during the qualification race for round two.

And 21-year-old Walkinshaw is determined to challenge for his second podium of the year as well as closing the points gap to the championship leaders as the category reaches its halfway point of the season.

“Moscow should be fantastic,” said Walkinshaw.

“I’m really looking forward to racing there for the first time and pretty confident it should be a strong weekend.

“We’ve been competitive since the start of the season, the car has been fantastic all year, so there’s no reason that shouldn’t continue.

“We need to take away some good points from both races, hopefully we can.”