Williams came away disappointed from the German Grand Prix after both drivers failed to score any points this weekend.
Pastor Maldonado once again underlined the pace this year's Williams car has and started in a strong fifth place, and was running in sixth place in the early stages of the race. However, on lap twelve, the Venezuelan ran over debris and damaged his car. He eventually finished outside the points in fifteenth place.
“It was a difficult race today. We started okay but the car lacked pace in the second stint and I didn’t have the grip needed to maintain my position due to some damage caused in the early part of the race. The car improved a bit in the final stint on the soft tyres but we need to go away now and understand why we were not as quick as we were earlier in the week in time for the next race in Hungary,” said a downbeat Maldonado.
Team mate Bruno Senna also suffered a difficult day at the office. He was caught up in a first corner collision that resulted in him returning to the pits for repairs, yet managed to recover to seventeeth position by the end of the race.
“I had a stronger pace in the race than the result suggests so it’s disappointing to finish where we did. It was unfortunate because I lost almost a minute on the first lap after I had to pit after making contact which put me right at the back, and from there it’s always difficult to make your way through the pack. Nevertheless we do have good pace in the car and if I can qualify higher up the grid next time then we stand a good chance of getting points in Hungary,” Senna said.
“We had a difficult day today with both cars races being compromised by damage. Pastor
had good pace at the start of the race but on lap twelve he ran over debris that was lying in the middle of the track. The debris substantially damaged the left hand side of his car which lost him a significant amount of down force and ruined his race,” Mark Gillan, the team's chief operations engineer, said.
“Bruno had contact with Grojean on the first lap and picked up a puncture. He pitted for new tyres and a new front wing and pushed hard in order to try and stay on the lead lap. His pace was good throughout the race but ultimately he lost too much time on the initial lap. We now need to focus on next weekend and make sure we come back stronger in Budapest.”
