All good for Senna as Maldonado struggles
Although both Williams drivers and the team's CEO were very impressed by the layout of the new circuit at Austin, it wasn't all great news for the team. Bruno Senna did enjoy the challenge but Pastor Maldonado struggled with his car and a technical issue with the engine.
Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer:
"The drivers and engineers are extremely impressed with the new track layout. Track evolution in FP1 was high with the initial grip levels being extremely low. We made a number of set-up changes to both cars to account for the track conditions. Bruno's FP2 running on lower and higher fuel levels was strong. Pastor was less happy with the balance in the car and we have a lot of work to do tonight to further optimise the car set-up. On Pastor's last run we had to stop the car with an engine air leak."
Bruno Senna:
"The track is really challenging so it was great to gets lots of running in today. It’s very fast and flowing, and also a bit slippery at the moment but the grip is coming. It was a tough session as there is a lot to get used to with the car and the tyres. We need to keep pushing to try to understand the car better and improve to make sure we are in the points this weekend."
Pastor Maldonado:
"The circuit is really nice and it was fun to drive. It was very slippery, particularly this morning on the hard tyres, but it’s the same for everybody. We struggled a bit today with the car which we need to look at tonight in order to be ready for tomorrow."
