Williams appeared to be some way off the pace during Friday practice at the Nürburgring today as Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado finished the day, respectively, P14 and P17 on the timesheets.
“We weren't as competitive as we should have been today but if the weather changes it could be interesting,” said Barrichello. “I really like the track so I'm looking forward to a better weekend.”
Maldonado thinks that the team could struggle here today but, like his team-mate, is hoping for a better as the weekend continues. “We had a few problems today and I didn't have a great feeling in the car,” said the Venezuelan. “I think it will be a tough weekend for us but we are working hard and hoping to improve for tomorrow.”
The team was testing major new aero components today and, as technical director Sam Michael explains, they may not be kept on the cars for qualifying tomorrow. “Today we spent the morning evaluating a new rear wing, front wing and suspension design,” he said. “We still have some work to do on all of those items, so we haven’t decided which options to race here in the Grand Prix. With the high altitude here, we have to set-up the car differently and today was about optimising the set-up around that.”
