Williams Australian GP - Melbourne race report
Williams press release
Race Notes
• The Williams-Renault FW34 proved promising in the season opener.
• Pastor was running in a solid sixth position until a last lap spin ended his race.
• Bruno’s race was hampered by an unscheduled pitstop following a first corner collision with Daniel Ricciardo.
• Bruno retired on lap 53, after making contact with Felipe Massa.
• Pastor was classified 13th, with Bruno 16th.
The car looked good today. Our pace was quick and consistent and we were looking competitive right up until the moment I had on the last lap, which is very important. Unfortunately, I just lost the back of the car while pushing Alonso and I had nowhere to go.
Bruno Senna:
I had a great start, but I tried to take the outside line at the first corner and I felt someone make contact with me. I then had to do an extra pit stop which made things difficult. My race was looking better but then I had a tangle with Massa so luck wasn’t on our side today. That’s racing though, and we now look forward to making up for it in Malaysia next weekend.
Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer:
Whilst the end result was disappointing for the team, we are all very pleased with the significant performance improvement of the FW34, with the car showing both good qualifying and race pace. We will now regroup and look forward to delivering a strong performance in Malaysia next weekend.
Laurent Debout, Renault Sport F1 team support leader:
This weekend the Williams-Renault package has shown itself to be competitive, which validates the hard work we’ve put in since the announcement last year. Pastor had an amazing weekend right until the very last lap and it was a shame he could not score some points to consolidate the good form. Bruno was very unfortunate and ultimately we had to make a call at the end of the race to stop the car.
Debris from the accident with Massa had become sucked in the sidepods and water temperature was starting to rise. This engine has to be re-used in Malaysia so we made a call to prevent any damage to the unit. We’re looking forward to Sepang now, and are encouraged by this weekend’s overall performance.
Share Or Save This Story
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Defendant ordered to pay £250,000 legal fees in Felipe Massa F1 title case
Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial
What the drivers are expecting from F1's return to Sepang
How Carlos Sainz bounced back from the most difficult moment of his F1 career
How Fernando Alonso scored ninth at Zandvoort - and how Alex Albon lost a similar payday
Spire’s Jeff Dickerson about Joe Gibbs Racing lawsuit: ‘Where is the proof?’
Charles Leclerc explains why Bahrain GP chaos has reinforced F1 driver fears
Redemption at Road Atlanta: Kevin Estre breaks IMSA victory curse in thrilling Petit Le Mans finish
Winners and losers from an intriguing NASCAR Cup race at Las Vegas
How F1 let a golden opportunity slip at Sepang
How the Bahrain GP in Malaysia exposed Red Bull’s hidden resurgence
You Ask The Questions: Emerson Fittipaldi
The wide world of strategy options expected in F1's Bahrain GP in Malaysia
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments