Pastor Maldonado said that he was 'really happy' to finally score his first point in Formula 1 at Belgian Grand Prix. The Venezuelan Williams driver came through to finish tenth from 21st on the grid as a result of his penalty from qualifying. He became the first driver from his country to score a world championship point since Johnny Cecotto in 1983.
“I'm really happy to score a point for both myself and for the team,” he said. “It is a big improvement. During the race our pace was very consistent so I'm happy for that and I'm also pleased for my country. Finally we have some points and it's even better to get them here at such a special track. It was a hard race starting from the back, but I was pushing every single lap.”
Teammate Rubens Barrichello could only finish in 16th, partly as a result of having to stop for a new front wing from 13th position in the closing stages.
“We ended up being more competitive than we thought which is a great thing,” he said. “I lost time fighting with Rosberg during the in lap for my second pit stop which was unfortunate as it lost me time and points which I think I could have scored. I am very happy for Pastor that he has got his first points though. Either of us could have scored today which is encouraging as the team is making progress.”
Technical director Sam Michael seemed pleased enough with the team's performance.
“It was a good race into the top ten for Pastor today and well done to him on scoring points,” said Michael. “Both cars were consistent and strong in the critical sectors of this demanding race track. Pastor and Rubens managed their tyres blistering during the race using Pirelli recommendations. We damaged the front wing on both cars during the race, which hurt the performance of the car, but our pace was still consistent.”
