Sunday: Williams in despair
The English team Williams has been struggling since the start of the 2011 F1 season. However, the team showed better form on Saturday during qualifications by placing Barrichello just outside the points on the grid. Yet, during the race, the performances dwindled, and the Brazilian driver lost 4 places to finish only 15th in Istanbul. His teammate also experienced the same situation, losing three places by the end compared to his starting position. His penalty for excessive speed in the pits didn't help.
Rubens Barrichello – 15th:
« We had a lot of difficulties today, on one hand in the straight line with a low top speed, on the other hand with the KERS not working for part of the race in my car. My race was therefore difficult and defensive. Braking was also a complicated point to manage when I was loaded, at the start of the race. However, we had a better qualifying session than in previous Grand Prix. We also need to make changes in the car’s settings. We need to slow down the wear on the rear tires. So we still have a lot of room to improve our pace. »
Pastor Maldonado – 17th:
It was complicated from the beginning of the race. It was also difficult to maintain a steady pace in my first two stints due to oversteer; however, our pace was better towards the end of the race when we were on hard tires, but I committed a speeding infringement in the pits, which resulted in a penalty (drive-through penalty).
Sam Michael – Technical Director:
«Once again, we brought both cars to the finish line today, but we were simply not fast enough! In the first half of the Grand Prix, we showed that we could compete against some of the teams in the points. However, in the second half, we slowed down and couldn’t fight back. Minimal changes in the car’s balance have a maximum impact on tire degradation speed, and we still need to better learn how to manage this phenomenon. The KERS also caused us problems. It wasn’t cooling properly. We are now focusing on Barcelona, where we have several new developments coming. »
