Pastor Maldonado - Photo Credit: Williams F1 Team
Williams admitted they underperformed in qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix after failing to get either car through into Q2. Pastor Maldonado ended up a frustrated 11th after an off-track excursion during Q2 but the Venezuelan didn't think it made a huge difference, believing the cars ahead were too quick today.
“In Q2 I made a mistake at Turn 11 and ran wide, picking up a bit of damage. We knew it would be difficult to get into Q3 today, but we have good race pace. It will be tough tomorrow, but our car looks consistent on longer runs so I'm looking forward to the challenge.”
Teammate Bruno Senna will start 13th and thought there was more speed in the car than he showed today. The Brazilian agrees with Maldonado that the FW34 will be quicker in race conditions.
“We were pushing hard today but there is definitely still more performance in the car. It was a tough session with such a close grid but we are getting closer. We have a good car, so we will now work out the best strategy to move forward in the race tomorrow.”
Chief Operations Engineer Mark Gillan felt today's qualifying session was a story of unfulfilled potential and has challenged his drivers to get in the top ten tomorrow.
“We had a good practice session this morning but unfortunately we failed to capitalise on our pace in qualifying with Pastor finishing a credible 11th and Bruno 13th. Pastor’s car sustained some body work damage on his penultimate run in Q2 which affected the aerodynamic balance of the car. We look forward to the race tomorrow and aim to be fighting for points.”
