Within memory of him delivering the beleaguered team's first victory for more than seven years, Williams has expressed disappointment in Pastor Maldonado. After soaring from pole to victory in Barcelona, breakthrough winner Maldonado suffered an horror Monaco grand prix two weeks later.
The Venezuelan was pushed ten places down the grid for apparently colliding deliberately with Sergio Perez in practice, and at the start of the race got caught up in the first lap chaos. "The car was good enough for a P4 or P5 qualifying position and our race pace was also good so it is disappointing not to have come away from this event with a decent haul of points," said Williams' chief engineer Mark Gillan.
When asked about Maldonado's crash with Perez, he insisted: "I think that the incident was avoidable and therefore disappointing and that the penalty was therefore understandable." And even in light of Maldonado's Barcelona triumph, the Oxfordshire based team's disappointment is also understandable, given the competitiveness of the Renault-powered FW34.
German magazine Auto Motor und Sport cited "GPS" evidence in claiming that the Williams and the Sauber are the best cars in the 2012 field when it comes to aerodynamics, based on data from Barcelona's demanding turns 3 and 9. And at Monaco, Sauber's Perez recorded not only the fastest lap of the race, but "for long periods he was the fastest driver on the track".
"This clearly shows what we can achieve if everything goes right for us," said the Swiss team's boss. "Now it is up to the entire team to turn our opportunities into success." Journalist Michael Schmidt said: "With Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel or Lewis Hamilton in the cockpit, Williams or Sauber would probably be leading the championship."
The pressure is high, therefore, on the surprise favourites' drivers. "The team (Williams) are looking forward to Montreal as we believe that we should be strong again, but we need to deliver in both qualifying and the race," Gillan insisted. (GMM)
'Williams and Sauber have the best aerodynamics at the moment'
- Published on 31 May 2012 12:15
-
0
- By: Rob Veenstra
F1 News
Fernando Alonso
Pastor Maldonado
Lewis Hamilton
Sebastian Vettel
Sergio Perez
Sauber
Williams
Renault
.
Trending news
-
Red Bull rookie expects Austria podium after major RB22 upgradesIsack Hadjar believes Red Bull will be in contention for a podium finish at the Austrian Grand Prix, citing a substan...
23 Jun 2026 11:14 -
Max Verstappen's team chases redemption at Spa 24 HoursMax Verstappen's GT3 racing operation returns to major endurance competition this weekend at the Spa 24 Hours, se...
23 Jun 2026 10:12 -
Why Ocon isn't worried about Verstappen quitting F1Esteban Ocon has dismissed concerns that Max Verstappen could walk away from Formula 1 over the current power unit re...
22 Jun 2026 15:10 -
Norris nears Hamilton's McLaren record with Prost in sightLando Norris stands just three podiums away from matching Lewis Hamilton's McLaren tally of 49, and with four Gra...
22 Jun 2026 17:14 -
Why Steiner believes Aston Martin's F1 form is "unacceptable"Guenther Steiner has launched a scathing assessment of Aston Martin and Honda's 2025 performance, describing thei...
22 Jun 2026 16:12
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
Test calendar
Circuit de Catalunya - Winter testing
-
Jan 26
I. Hadjar
- 1:18.159
-
-
-
Jan 27
M. Verstappen
- 1:19.578
-
-
-
Jan 28
A. Antonelli
- 1:17.362
-
-
-
Jan 29
G. Russell
- 1:16.445
-
-
-
Jan 30
L. Hamilton
- 1:16.348
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 11
L. Norris
- 1:34.669
-
-
-
Feb 12
C. Leclerc
- 1:34.273
-
-
-
Feb 13
A. Antonelli
- 1:33.669
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 18
G. Russell
- 1:33.459
-
-
Feb 19
A. Antonelli
- 1:32.803
-
-
Feb 20
C. Leclerc
- 1:31.992
-
-
World Championship standings 2026
Pos
Driver
Team
Points
Pos
Team
Points
Related news
Give your opinion!
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Spain
-
Bahrain
-
Bahrain
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
-
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia
Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
26 - Jun 28
Austria
Red Bull Ring
Driver profile
- Team Aston Martin
- Points 629
- Podiums 9
- Grand Prix 199
- Country ES
- Date of b. Jul 29 1981 (44)
- Place of b. Oviedo, ES
- Weight 68 kg
- Length 1.71 m
- 187,740 comments on Aston Martin
78 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Fernando Alonso
Team profile
- Team name Sauber
- Base - Switzerland
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Kimi Räikkönen 7
- Felipe Massa 8
- Marcus Ericsson 9
- Nico Hülkenberg 11
- Felipe Nasr 12
- Esteban Gutierrez 12
- Felipe Massa 12
- Felipe Massa 12
- Kamui Kobayashi 14
- Sergio Perez 15
- Charles Leclerc 16
- Kamui Kobayashi 16
- Sergio Perez 17
- Kimi Räikkönen 17
- Esteban Gutierrez 21
- Kamui Kobayashi 23
- Guanyu Zhou 24
- Nico Hülkenberg 27
- Antonio Giovinazzi 36
- Valtteri Bottas 77
- Pascal Wehrlein 94
- Adrian Sutil 99
- 115,816 comments on Sauber
- 5 members have this team as their favourite
- Tweets about Sauber
Replies (0)
Login to reply