A 20,000 strong crowd attended a demonstration run of the 2010 Williams FW32 in Caracas, Venezuela yesterday.
Local hero Pastor Maldonado, who will partner Rubens Barrichello at the Oxfordshire-based team in 2011, completed a number of laps of an improvised track before concluding with a series of doughnuts to delight the crowd.
The run was staged against one of the Venezuelan capital’s most historic backdrops, Paseo de los Próceres, and was attended by President Chavez.
Speaking at the event, Maldonado commented, “It was unbelievable to share this experience with my countrymen. The amount of people that turned out to watch was just amazing. Los Próceres is a very important place so to drive a Formula One car there is special to me. I was also honoured to drive in front of our President, Mr Chavez. What a great way to start my season!”
Williams F1 chairman Adam Parr was also in Venezuela for the demonstration, said, “We've had an amazing day in Caracas, with what looked like about 20,000 people in attendance. Los Próceres, a very important monument to the liberators of Venezuela, was a very dramatic setting for the event and we were honoured with the presence of a number of Ministers and, of course, President Chavez. Pastor did a great job, as did the team, and I think we gave the people of Caracas a taste of how exciting Formula One is.”
