22/07/2012
NEWS STORY
Pastor Maldonado finished 15th and Bruno Senna 17th in a challenging race for the Williams F1 Team.
Pastor started strongly, running in sixth position in the early stages but began falling back as he struggled for pace after running over some debris on lap 12.
Bruno's race was hindered by a collision on the first lap which forced him to pit with a front-left puncture, re-joining in last place but with good pace in clean air as he made his way through to 17th.
Pastor Maldonado: It was a difficult race today. We started okay but the car lacked pace in the second stint and I didn't have the grip needed to maintain my position due to some damage caused in the early part of the race. The car improved a bit in the final stint on the soft tyres but we need to go away now and understand why we were not as quick as we were earlier in the week in time for the next race in Hungary.
Bruno Senna: I had a stronger pace in the race than the result suggests so it's disappointing to finish where we did. It was unfortunate because I lost almost a minute on the first lap after I had to pit after making contact which put me right at the back, and from there it's always difficult to make your way through the pack. Nevertheless we do have good pace in the car and if I can qualify higher up the grid next time then we stand a good chance of getting points in Hungary.
Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer: We had a difficult day today with both cars races being compromised by damage. Pastor had good pace at the start of the race but on lap 12 he ran over debris that was lying in the middle of the track. The debris substantially damaged the left hand side of his car which lost him a significant amount of down force and ruined his race. Bruno had contact with Grosjean on the first lap and picked up a puncture. He pitted for new tyres and a new front wing and pushed hard in order to try and stay on the lead lap. His pace was good throughout the race but ultimately he lost too much time on the initial lap. We now need to focus on next weekend and make sure we come back stronger in Budapest.
Laurent Debout, Renault Sport F1 team support leader: While out of the points today, it is good to get a two car finish. Pastor's race was affected by an early incident where he lost some bodywork and therefore downforce, as was Bruno's with the front wing change, but engine-wise we've not had any issues. We will now go back to Viry to prepare for Hungary next weekend.
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