Mixed fortunes for Williams duo at Barcelona
Williams conclude the Spanish GP weekend with two points courtesy of Rubens Barrichello’s 9th place finish at Barcelona today. After a strong start and opening lap which saw him climb from 17th to 12th, Rubens drove a clean race to a points-scoring finish. Nico Hulkenberg’s afternoon was less rewarding finishing in P15.
Rubens Barrichello: "After Saturday’s disappointment this is a good result. We had a great start today, which allowed me to overtake five cars, and our pace was strong enough to stay with the Renaults and the Force Indias. We need to analyse it, but I think we were on the verge of a tyre issue in the last five laps. If it weren’t for that, we would have finished closer to the guys just ahead of me. I am really happy considering where we were yesterday."
Nico Hulkenberg: "I had quite a good start. I don’t understand why yet, but I always felt like I was in the wrong place at the wrong time going into the corners in the first lap. After the first stop, I went offline and damaged the car which resulted in a lot less downforce. From there, it became a very difficult race for me."
Sam Michael, Technical Director: "That was a good recovery after yesterday’s qualifying. Both cars had great starts and Rubens put in an awesome first lap to make up more places. Rubens’ race pace was strong up until the final few laps for which we had to slow him down to ensure we didn’t have a problem with the tyres. We’ll be looking into that for the next race. Nico drove a good first stint, but unfortunately damaged the car after his pitstop which caused a loss of downforce. Our focus now moves on to Monaco."
