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William’s Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado, Williams’ Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas and ScuderiaToro Rosso’s French driver Jean Eric Vergne drive at the Bahrain International Circuit in Manama on April 21, 2013 during the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix. AFP PHOTO / MARWAN NAAMANI (Photo credit should read MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images)
It has been almost a whole year since Williams F1 found any of its drivers up on the podium, the last time, of course, was when Pastor Maldonado won the Spanish Grand Prix. He led from start to finish giving Williams their first ever win since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix. After that, many expected Williams to continue strong in the year and, to some extent, they did. Maldonado finished with the top ten three times and team mate Bruno Senna finished eight times within the said bracket.
After what many had seen from Williams in 2012, some would say they expected better from the Grove-based outfit. They took a step forward by replacing Bruno Senna with Valtteri Bottas, a young promising Finn. So far, Bottas has been the better of the two drivers finishing all the four races. Maldonado, on the other hand, has finished only the last 2 races. Neither of them has got into the top ten just yet, but after the dry Bahrain Grand Prix, they remain positive about their chances ahead in the season.
“Considering the problems we have been having, I think we got 100% out of the car today,” explained Pastor Maldonado, “We put everything together today, working well as a team and managing the tyres, and 11th was the maximum we could have achieved. We are really looking forward to the next race where we should see a step forward. We must stay together and positive. It’s a difficult time, but we still have many races to go.”
Maldonado crossed the chequered flag 19 seconds behind tenth-placed Jenson Button. This, along with Bottas’ 11th place in Malaysia, are Williams’ best finishes of the season.
They now head to Barcelona to participate in the Spanish Grand Prix and, although they are set for some upgrades, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll challenge for a place on the podium like last year.
