Abu Dhabi GP: Race notes - Williams

04/11/2012

It was a double points finish for the Williams F1 Team today with Pastor Maldonado fifth and Bruno Senna eighth after what was an exciting Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. After starting in P3 on the grid on soft tyres, Pastor was hampered by losing KERS in the early stages but fought well to claim fifth on a one-stop strategy. Bruno made a great start on the hard tyres but was caught up in a first corner incident dropping him back. The team collected 14 important championship points after solid drives from both drivers, giving the team a great momentum going into the final races of the season.

Pastor Maldonado: We missed the opportunity to finish on the podium today after we lost the use of KERS following the first safety car period. For sure there was more in the car. The pace was good and at the beginning I was closing the gap to Kimi but we still collected some good points today and it was a great race. I feel very motivated within the team. We now need to keep the car at the top and I am looking forward to the last two races.

Bruno Senna: It was a very tough weekend but it had a sweet taste in the end. I had a good start getting myself into a good position for Turn 1 but then a few cars tangled ahead and hit me. I had to start from zero again but I kept my cool. There was a lot going on but we had good pace when we needed it and scored some solid points for the team. It is what we are here for and we never give up. There is a good energy and feeling now going into the final two races in Austin and Brazil.

Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer: Whilst we are very pleased to have brought both cars home in the points we know we could have had an even better result. Pastor lost KERS in the race which left him open to attack from the chasing pack. He kept focused and pushed hard to keep the gap from Kobayashi finishing in a hard earned fifth. Bruno also did well, following heavy contact from Hulkenberg. He also fought his way through the pack to end in eighth, with both drivers collecting a total of 14 valuable points for the team. We now go to Austin looking to capitalise on our continuing improved performance.

Laurent Debout, Renault Sport F1 team support leader: A great result for the team, particularly after such a tough middle part of the year. Pastor drove a fantastic race, despite having lost KERS, while Bruno did exceptionally well to finish in eighth. This carries forward the momentum of the last race and hopefully we can finish the season just as strongly.

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