28/08/2011
NEWS STORY
Pastor Maldonado scored his first points for AT&T Williams at Spa-Francorchamps today finishing in 10th place in the Belgian Grand Prix. Pastor drove through from 21st on the grid into the top ten despite picking up damage to the front wing of his Williams-Cosworth FW33 on the first lap of the race. Today's result makes him the first Venezuelan to score a world championship point since Johnny Cecotto back in 1983. Rubens Barrichello came home in 16th after having to make an unscheduled pit stop from 13th position for a new front wing with just three laps remaining.
Pastor Maldonado: I'm really happy to score a point for both myself and for the team. It is a big improvement. During the race our pace was very consistent so I'm happy for that and I'm also pleased for my country. Finally we have some points and it's even better to get them here at such a special track. It was a hard race starting from the back, but I was pushing every single lap.
Rubens Barrichello: We ended up being more competitive than we thought which is a great thing. I lost time fighting with Rosberg during the in lap for my second pit stop which was unfortunate as it lost me time and points which I think I could have scored. I am very happy for Pastor that he has got his first points though. Either of us could have scored today which is encouraging as the team is making progress.
Sam Michael, Technical Director: It was a good race into the top ten for Pastor today and well done to him on scoring points. Both cars were consistent and strong in the critical sectors of this demanding race track. Pastor and Rubens managed their tyres blistering during the race using Pirelli recommendations. We damaged the front wing on both cars during the race, which hurt the performance of the car, but our pace was still consistent.
Check out our Belgian GP gallery, here.