Strong Williams qualifying opens doors for double points finish
Pastor Maldonado qualified sixth and Bruno Senna 12th for tomorrow’s Brazilian Grand Prix. Maldonado enjoyed a stable balance of his car that allowed him to push throughout while Bruno Senna missed out on Q3 after putting in some good clean laps in Q1.
With heavy rain forecast for tomorrow, the team will be aiming to bring both cars home in the points in the final race of the 2012 season.
Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer:
"Having struggled a bit yesterday, we worked hard overnight to adapt the car balance for qualifying whilst keeping a watchful eye on the likely wet race conditions. Both drivers were much happier with the car balance today and drove very well in the initial damp green track conditions in Q1. Bruno was ultimately unlucky not to proceed into Q3 and Pastor had a very good session finishing in a strong P6. The forecast predicts heavy overnight rain and we look forward to what will no doubt be a very eventful race."
Pastor Maldonado, FW34-04 RS27-5366/2:
"I’m happy with the qualifying result today. Q1 was a bit close at the end because of the traffic, but the car felt good. It was very consistent and quick which meant we were able to push hard in the top 10. We have continued the form from the last few races, so things are looking good for the team in this race."
Bruno Senna, FW34-03 RS27-5349/2:
"We were optimistic of getting into Q3 today, but unfortunately as the weather got hotter it wasn’t the best conditions for the car, and we were doing slower lap times than this morning’s practice session. We made a few decisions before qualifying based on the fact that we were expecting the track to be a bit cooler, but ultimately that wasn’t the case. P12 isn’t a bad position to start in at Interlagos though, so we’re in a good position to score points tomorrow."
