Pastor Maldonado keeping options open for 2013

The Venezuelan finished eighth at Suzuka to deliver his first points since his victory in the Spanish Grand Prix.

And having headed into the Japanese weekend admitting that there was no guarantee he would be at Williams next year, he has again drawn short of committing himself there just yet.

"At the moment, for sure, there is the chance to go to other teams," he explained. "But we are considering remaining here, and it is still too early to say anything. The team, usually they confirm the drivers at the end of the season. So we are talking, we are negotiating..."

Maldonado would appear to have a guaranteed place at Williams with the outfit's big-money sponsorship deal with oil company PDVSA dependent on a Venezuelan driver racing for the team.

And the man himself admits there is little to complain about on the back of a season that delivered his maiden win.

"PDVSA is a company that I've known for a long time and it is going to be all good I think because we have a contract and they have been always supporting my career in the past.

"In Venezuela everyone is happy to see me in F1. We won one race this year which is amazing for my second year in F1.

"We haven't had the best car but we still managed to win. We are working very hard on the car and, as you know, I have a lot of responsibility in this team because I am the top driver here.

"It is difficult to accept that we miss many points this year, but it is never too late to recover."

When asked if he was happy with how talks at Williams were progressing, Maldonado said: "This is a good family for me. I feel really good. I think they are really happy with me as well, but you know how F1 is. It can change from one day to another."