Williams driver Pastor Maldonado has admitted that he has accepted that his car does not have the capabilities to fight for the title this season.

The 28-year-old, who received multiple penalties for driving infractions in the previous campaign, has also claimed that he has learned from his "mistakes" in the previous season.

"Maybe I was pushing too much. I did not realise that the car did not have the performance to win all the races," he told Autosport.

"In the past I've always been fighting for victories and Formula 1 is completely different. Sometimes you need to be happy with a 10th place.

"Everyone can have a difficult moment. At the same time, I had a hard time with the stewards because after I had a couple of incidents, they were maybe looking at me more than the others."

"But you learn from your mistakes. I'm more experienced and more relaxed now, and I'm looking forward to being away from the stewards..."

Maldonado finished 15th last season.