Williams are aiming to catch and pass Force India for seventh in the Constructors’ Championship, as the 2012 Formula 1 season draws to a conclusion with the final two races at the United States and Brazil. Williams are currently 22 points behind Force India, and are aiming to continue introducing upgrades at each of the remaining race weekends.
As Williams prepare for this weekend’s highly anticipated United States Grand Prix around the brand-new circuit in Austin, Texas, the Grove-based outfit are looking to once again introduce several updates with an aim of continuing their competitiveness witnessed at Abu Dhabi. During the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, Pastor Maldonado was able to qualify a very competitive 4th and finished the race 5th with team-mate Bruno Senna 8th.
“On the back of a good result in Abu Dhabi the whole team is really looking forward to the last two races of the season.” Explained the team’s Chief Operations Engineer, Mark Gillan. “We will be pushing hard right to the end with further updates in order to try to secure seventh position in the Constructors Championship. As this is a new track, with no historic database of information to call upon, it places even more importance on one’s circuit simulation tools and simulator to ensure that we’re fully prepared in terms of both car set-up and proposed run programme.”
Pastor Maldonado, who won the Spanish Grand Prix back in May, is eager to continue the recent competitiveness of the team this weekend. Despite his superlative victory earlier in the season, Maldonado has struggled throughout the majority of the season, and will be striving to end the season on a positive note for the Grove-based outfit.
“After a good performance in the last race in Abu Dhabi I’m looking forward to getting in the car again and seeing what we can achieve in Austin.” Said Pastor Maldonado, “The team has worked very hard to get the car back to the sort of pace that can consistently challenge for points and that is what we will be looking for in this race. The track is new so it will be challenging to get the right set up, but that is the same for all the teams. It looks like a fun and challenging track to drive from the work we have done in the simulator.”
Although there is only 22 points between Williams and Force India in the Constructors’ Championship, both teams have cars capable of consistently finishing within the points. With Sauber striving to catch Mercedes and Caterham also aiming to catch Marussia in the Constructors Championship, the season is far from over throughout the majority of the paddock.
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