Williams: New parts but no points

2011 British GP team review

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Despite the rain-hit practice on Friday Sam Michael said Williams were still able to complete their evaluation of new diffusers, exhausts, engine settings and a new front wing. All the new parts were kept on the cars.

Rubens BarrichelloPastor Maldonado
Qualifying position157
Qualifying time comparison (Q2)1’33.119 (+0.531)1’32.588
Race position1314
Laps51/5251/52
Pit stops23

Williams drivers’ lap times throughout the race (in seconds):

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152
Rubens Barrichello130.379115.552115.318115.968115.793114.836115.108114.775114.113115.555110.333132.258108.601105.392104.45104.031103.159102.188101.58101.023100.694100.461100.30499.94599.90499.893100.489100.299100.384100.27298.389117.23497.3397.07497.47697.17296.92796.73397.68997.5298.45597.87598.08898.22197.96398.21499.01699.005100.17799.18399.474
Pastor Maldonado122.902116.067114.531116114.803116.822114.854114.303114.524113.561108.424132.35108.084105.311103.968102.695102.51102.977103.618103.363100.856100.962100.79896.487118.358100.698.86699.45299.87599.3899.96799.24899.06199.20896.375117.11999.36697.49297.29297.54397.03697.41397.25397.22898.92497.60497.03797.18597.397.57498.572

Rubens Barrichello

Barrichello was frustrated to miss Q3, saying: “I had traffic at the end of my first timed lap in Q2 which damaged my second timed lap as well.

“When a track like this is drying out you can lose everything so it’s very unfortunate that happened.”

Both cars started poorly, Barrichello dropping four places to 19th. The FW32s struggled for pace in the wet conditions, as Sam Michael explained:

“Our pace on the intermediate tyre wasn’t good enough today. Compared to some of the guys in the top ten, our lap times on the dry tyre were respectable, but we just lost too much time in the opening laps to be able to make up any ground.”

Barrichello made some progress via the pit stops to finish 13th.

Rubens Barrichello 2011 form guide

Pastor Maldonado, Williams, Silverstone, 2011

Pastor Maldonado

Seventh in qualifying was his best result of the year so far. But he was down to tenth by the end of lap one.

Struggling on the intermediate tyres, he then was passed by Adrian Sutil, Nico Rosberg and Sergio Perez over the next five laps.

He picked up damage on his front wing endplate while battling with Kamui Kobayashi, Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi on lap 19.

The team ran Maldonado to a three-stop strategy, which left him behind Barrichello, who stopped twice. There was just eight-tenths of a second between them at the line.

Pastor Maldonado 2011 form guide

2011 British Grand Prix

    Browse all 2011 British Grand Prix articles

    Image © Williams/LAT

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    Keith Collantine
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    29 comments on “Williams: New parts but no points”

    1. New parts new driver lineup for 2012 points

      1. They should probably call it a day at a new technical team, I’m sure they think some continuity would be nice.

      2. No way mate! They STAY next year! :)

    2. It would have been better for Maldonado if his engine had given up and he had had to start from the pitlane. Now it went backwards all the way since an impressive qualifying!

      1. He let me down this time: even Barrichello beat him, after his starting position was not the best possible.

    3. Maldonado has put in a couple of strong qualifying performances this season. I hate to say it, but Pastor looks more impressive than Hulkenberg did at this point of the season last year. Hulkenberg stepped up his game big time towards the end of the season, and lets see if Maldonado can do the same this year.

      I think Maldonado should be thrashing his teammate by the end of the year. Its just a matter of time before he gets to grips with his machine and F1 in general. Rubens is just a waste of space on the grid, I have no idea what Rubens is trying to accomplish in his 20th season in F1

      1. Maldonado has continued to improve this year. He has looked really good in qualifying. I was underwhelmed at the start of the year however he is gradually getting more comfortable. Can’t help but wonder what his progress would be like if the teams were still allowed to test and he could get a few more laps under his belt.

        Play nice with Rubens :)
        While I agree that I don’t understand what he hopes to accomplish from this point everyone needs a job and his job looks a lot more fun than mine.

        1. Play nice with Rubens

          I just cannot get myself to do it. When I think about all the new talent that deserves a spot in this sport, and that they cannot enter F1 because Rubens just wants hang on to his job, it just annoys me.

          1. Maldonado is very good in qualifying, but absolutely mediocre in race… The “useless” Rubens finished over 75% of races ahead of him (6:1) and has scored the only points of the team…

            1. Wow.. what a feat that is. Finishing in front of your rookie teammate after 20 years in the sport. How many of the other midfielders has Rubens really been competing against this season?

            2. I think that the Williams car let both of them down in the first stint, and it has tended to do that for a while now.

              Maldonado seems better than Huelkenberg at getting the car well places in aualifying, but like Huelkenberg in Brazil, can’t hold on to his position in the race. Maybe they are also struggling with full race fuel balance. like Mercedes were earlier in the season.

            3. Maldonado is quite mediocre in the races, whereas Hulkenburg could match Rubens.

              I hate to say it, but Pastor is starting to look like a one trick pony.

            4. @Todfod

              Considering that Maldonado starts the races in front, you’d think he’d finish there as well wouldn’t you?

            5. We all know that Schumacher’s fans hate Rubens for lots of reasons. I don’t care, Rubens should have left Ferrari earlier & that was his only mistake in F1. Go Rubinho!!

          2. Williams know that, the moment someone worthy comes along I’m sure they will reconsider his position in the team. Rubens will have to respect that, given it is his 20th season.

    4. Rubens…it’s quite disappointing. at least Maldonado have done strong quali. I don’t know what % of his performance is car’s fault but it doesn’t look good.

      1. Rubens needs to play some playstation to get used to all the nobs and switches he moans about playing with.

    5. “Wow.. what a feat that is. Finishing in front of your rookie teammate after 20 years in the sport. How many of the other midfielders has Rubens really been competing against this season?”

      Best 5 results of Barrichello:
      09
      09
      12
      13
      13

      Best 5 results of Maldonado:
      14 !!!
      15
      17
      18
      18

      Rubens is 16th in standings, Pastor only 22nd!!! behind
      both Lotuses, one Virgin and HRT… Fantastic race achievement…:)

      But trashing without facts seems to be very popular… :)

      1. Now how about showing some quali stats?
        Pastor has made it to Q3 three times.. while Rubens has failed to make it into Q3 even once this season. Rubens is the only mid field driver who hasn’t even made it to Q3 even once this season.

        And how about factoring in Maldonado’s bump on the side in Monaco from Hamilton? Lets not forget that Maldonado was on for delivering Williams’ best result of the season in Monaco (6th).

        Rookies are bound to make mistakes… what we are looking at is speed and potential in Maldonado. And that he definitely has more of than Rubens.

        1. And how about factoring in Maldonado’s bump on the side in Monaco from Hamilton? Lets not forget that Maldonado was on for delivering Williams’ best result of the season in Monaco (6th).

          But he had a crash, Barrichello in tenth did not. You can’t buy yourself jack with theoretical results.

          1. That collision was not Maldonado’s fault. The point I was trying to make is that not all results are in black and white, and you cannot judge a driver’s abilities exclusively by his points tally.

        2. OK, WILL WRITE IT AGAIN – THERE ARE NO POINTS GIVEN FOR QUALIFYING…

          Alguersuari, Sutil, Heidfeld and Button are all doing worser in qualifying then their teamates, but still have more or equall points in standings… Some drivers are just better on 1 lap, some are better on a distance… That s how it is… And the races of Maldonado are at the moment very dissapointing… (except Monaco)

          1. Give it a rest with the Caps Lock.

        3. Ok, with some of these things I can agree… (the potential of Maldonado and the crash in Monaco caused by Hamilton)…
          But Rubens is still a valuable option for a team like Williams…
          1/ He has a plenty of experience,
          2/ Is technically skilled, so can be usefull in the develepement area
          3/ Is reliable as a driver, which is clearly seen in races…

          1. I think Rubens is valuable for the feedback he gives as well as race/qualli setups. But Maldonado certainly is showing he has what it takes to deserve a solid chance in F1.

        4. Don’t forget that qualifying doesn’t mean as much as where the driver finishes. And going by that Rubens has scored 4 points while Maldonado has but zero.

          While I agree that Pastor has a better future in F1 than Rubens, he hasn’t proved himself yet. I think he will by the end of the season.

    6. Disappointing that Maldonado couldn’t hang on to the top 10 but congratulations on doing so well in qualifying!

    7. There were many promises but none was seen on raceday.

    8. Oh Williams, I hope you do better next year with your shiny new engine.

    Comments are closed.