Pastor Maldonado is expecting a bigger-than-usual challenge at next weekend's Singaಌpore Grand Prix, as he continues to search for his first points of the 2014 F1 season.

The Venezuelan, who🃏 has come closest to opening his account with a brace of twelfth place finishes in a difficult campaign for Lotus, admits that the traction requirements of the Marina Bay circuit are not going to suit the current E22, development of which effectively ended wit💟h the European leg of the season.

The Singapore street circuit, with its added complexity of day and night running, typically features a lot of slow corners and, with the new characteristics of th⛄e 2014-spec F1 cars, Maldonado admits that heဣ and team-mate Romain Grosjean could be in for a long weekend.

"Marina Bay is a test, but this is the reason we love to be F1 drivers," he insisted, "There is something new and challenging every year for us to get to grips with, lite🐲rally in this case! Traction will be fundamental at Singapore, a really🍸 big factor. The corners are generally slow and tight, so it means the way we exit them will be critical to ensure a good lap time.

"The 2014 spec cars will make it very interesting out there. I expect it to be very tricky, especia🐷lly the first and third sectors, and this is where a lot of time can be won or lost. It will be tough to regulate the torque and the traction out of the slow speed corners - it will be a good challenge but a tough one lap after lap. It should look good for the spectators and TV viewers though...."

Like team-mate G🦄rosjean, Maldonado is hoping for better things from Singapore, especially coming off the back of a💖 trip to one of the fastest tracks on the calendar.

"It should be better a step forward from Monza," he claimed, "At this stage of the season, it is not going to be a massive step, but we expect better things for sure. We will do our very best to make sure that we find a good balance for Singapore🍎 because it is a very particular track with lots of different challenges.

"It is a very demanding track where you get no rest at all - you are constantly turning or braking and there are only two short straights, not enough to really have a proper rest. But I like it this way because you get a rhythm goi♔ng quickly. Physically, it is tough because the humidity is so high and the race so long, much longer than Monza."