Williams laments lack of pace at Monza

Williams were slightly disappointed with their pace during the Italian Grand Prix, after the Grove-based outfit were only able to bring home one World Championship point from the 53-lap race. Bruno Senna finished the race in 10th, with Pastor Maldonado finishing just once place behind his team-mate in 11th.

The race was one of mixed emotions for the team, after Pastor Maldonado incurred a 10-lace grid penalty prior to the weekend and therefore started the race way down in 22nd position. However, both drivers enjoyed good starts, and ran split strategies with Senna opting for a one-stop strategy and Maldonado opting for a two-stop strategy. Both drivers carried out their respective strategies perfectly, and were able to rise steadily through the field.

Although both drivers enjoyed a relatively competitive race rising through the field, their pace was not entirely as strong as seen in previous races. Pastor Maldonado has still failed to score a single World Championship point since his victory at the Spanish Grand Prix back in May, and the team currently sits 8th in the Constructors’ Championship, with 54 points scored.

“Overall our ultimate pace was not quite as strong as we have seen in some races but it was good to see both drivers pushing hard throughout the race.” Explained Mark Gillan, the teams’ Chief Operations Engineer. “Both had good starts and ultimately we finished a combined 14 places higher than we started, with Bruno securing a point in 10th and Pastor just behind in P11, having started P22.”

Bruno Senna lost a lot of time in the early stages of the Italian Grand Prix, when he was forced wide at turn 4 by the Force India of Paul di Resta. Unlike Sebastian Vettel who seemingly committed a similar error as the race progressed, the Scot was not issued a drive-thru penalty, regardless of the fact that Senna was forced to run through the tarmac run-off area at the chicane.

“Bruno lost quite a lot of time during the incident and as tyre management was crucial in the race this sort of track excursion was not good news and can impact lap times throughout a stint.” Continued Mark Gillan, in his review of the Italian Grand prix.

Although Williams were unable to finish higher up the order, and therefore bring home more points, the Grove-based outfit remains confident and expects another decent result in several weeks at the Singapore Grand Prix around the Marina Bay street circuit. The teams personal best finish at the circuit was 2nd at the inaugural race back in 2008, when Nico Rosberg finished 2nd behind eventual race winner Fernando Alonso in controversial circumstances.

“We turn up to each race expecting to score points and are disappointed if we are unsuccessful.” Said Mark Gillan, “Singapore is a long hard race and the start of the seven fly-away races that end the season - the whole team are looking forward to the race and are keen to deliver a good result.”

With Pastor Maldonado having not scored a single point since May, the Venezuelan driver will undoubtedly be striving for a competitive result once the track action gets underway at Singapore. The former race winner is currently 15th in the Drivers’ Championship with 29 points scored, only four points ahead of team-mate Bruno Senna.

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