Day two of the Valencia test saw Williams give both race drivers time in the car with Rubens Barrichello completing 50 laps in the morning and Pastor Maldonado taking over testing duties in the afternoon for his first 29 laps in the new FW33.
Barrichello, who finished the day ninth fastest, lost a couple of hours in the morning with reliability issues, but still completed a decent number of laps.
“We have improved the car from yesterday,” said the Brazilian. “We had an electrical problem in the morning and the boys did a great job to sort everything out. We then had to do some quick work as I had to hand the car over to Pastor this afternoon.
“The work done last night on set-up has improved the car a little. We are still not there with the balance but we are going in the right direction. We have improved the car from yesterday. We had an electrical problem in the morning and the boys did a great job to sort everything out. We then had to do some quick work as I had to hand the car over to Pastor this afternoon.
“The work done last night on set-up has improved the car a little. We are still not there with the balance but we are going in the right direction.”
Maldonado got his first taste of the new car this afternoon, and the Venezuelan finished the day eleventh fastest. “It was great to adapt myself to the new car,” said the 25-year-old. “It was my first time in the FW33 so I am really happy to get started. Tomorrow I will get more experience and keep working to understand the car.”
Technical director Sam Michael said that it was a good day in terms of the mileage completed, and explained the issue that limited Barrichello’s running this morning.
“We had a problem in the morning session with an ignition coil wiring loom shorting out against a testing sensor which cost us two hours with Rubens,” he said. “We therefore extended his programme slightly to do some set-up work in the morning and gain more understanding of the FW33.
“Pastor then took over in the afternoon and acclimatised himself to the car and the electronics, he didn't do any real set-up work as we will get into that tomorrow. Overall it was another good day in terms of mileage.”
