Pastor Maldonado was fourth fastest for Williams on day three of the Barcelona test although an alternator problem this morning limited the Venezuelan driver to just 60 laps.
As Maldonado explains, he also had a spin this morning on a damp track, but the reigning GP2 champion seemed pleased with how his first day in the car in Barcelona had gone:
“It was a good day for us overall,” he said. “This morning it was wet and we lost some time as I spun the car trying to judge the track conditions when it was quite slippery. After that we had a problem which lost us more time while the team fixed it.
“This afternoon was really good though and we put in some consistent times while trying different things in the car. Everything is running well and I am happy as I feel we have improved the car from Jerez.”
Technical director Sam Michael explained the problem that had limited their mileage today, and also discussed what Williams were focusing on at the Circuit de Catalunya:
“We had a problem with the alternator late morning that necessitated a change so most of our laps were completed in the afternoon session. We went through many systems checks while Pastor continued putting mileage on the FW33. Furthermore, we evaluated some setup directions to explore some different areas on the car aeromap.”
Maldonado will be in the car again tomorrow for the fourth and final day of testing in Barcelona.
