Williams 2012

[MIKEY_!]

Great work Malder! Who would have guessed this sort of performance six months ago.

[stefan_]

i am wondering for how long Santander is a sponsor of Bruno Senna

They sponsored him in GP2 also.

[zoro_f1]

yap...thank's for the answer. i thought only alonso has that money. [here] is the pic from his first win in gp2 back in 2007 in barcelona.

i am wondering for how long Santander is a sponsor of Bruno Senna

They sponsored him in GP2 also.

[lebesset]

aren't they also a McLaren sponsor?

[raymondu999]

And Ferrari

[SeijaKessen]

Maldonado crashing on the last lap was really disappointing. I thought he drove a fantastic race overall...he pushed a little too hard trying to get up to Alonso for a potential overtake I feel. No reason for it since he wasn't going to overtake him, would have made more sense just to ease up a little to ensure getting points.

Senna didn't look all that good...the several incidents he had especially going into the 1st corner didn't help. Still have yet to see him really push the car the way Pastor did.

Overall the FW34 looks much better than I expected, but it being only one race we'll have to see what happens in Malaysia next weekend.

[Pandamasque]

Walldonado is quick but... well, what's the opposite of racecraft and good thinking? Should have been black flagged after divebombing into Grosjean, but after Spa 2011 it seems he's enjoying some special treatment from the stewards. While Venezuelan money will cover the extra spares, it's best for everyone to stay clear. But Frank could really use somebody with a brain. And Senna seems just mediocre. I feel really sorry for Williams, and with all due respect to Wurz he can't 'fix' the situation. Those two have been around for more than long enough to learn things.
Seems like a waste of a rather decent car.

[zoro_f1]

here are some interesting fact's about williams - renault partnership. i want to take a close look on one in the bottom

[raymondu999]

Your point? Just because a team + engine did that in the past - doesn't mean it will happen again. The engines are different. The regs are different. The team is different. The team's standing in the sport is now different (in terms of pecking order.)

[zoro_f1]

yes, you're right.

but it will be interesting if williams reaches a victory this year.

i wonder what would be your comment then

Your point? Just because a team + engine did that in the past - doesn't mean it will happen again. The engines are different. The regs are different. The team is different. The team's standing in the sport is now different (in terms of pecking order.)

[WhiteBlue]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98189

Maldonado:

Next weekend [in Malaysia] will be interesting for everybody. The McLaren and Red Bull look strong, but we are not that far behind. I was close to [Mark] Webber in the first and second stint - a little bit quicker in the first but just losing a little bit in the second. So we are there. I think we are faster than Ferrari, plus quicker than Sauber and Force India as well.

I do agree with Maldonado there. They could be having the fifth fastest car behind McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and Lotus. Ferrari are probably on sixth at the moment.

Perhaps it is not just the engine that makes a difference at Williams. Is this already due to the work of Mike Coughlan? AFAIK it must be both. Perhaps Mike is better than I thought.

[lebesset]

on the subject of exhaust blowing there have been a number of comments to the effect that you cannot expect engineers to unlearn what they have learned , and that they will still be seeking some sort of benefit in this area

in another thread here I commented after attending 4 days pre-season at jerez that the renault engined cars seemed to be easier to tune in this area judging by the engine notes [ only detectable at trackside as far as I can tell ]

I offered the opinion that RBR had slipped by a fraction [ not surprising after they hit the sweet spot last year ] but only to parity with MccLaren who seemed to have improved

but the other renault teams I felt had made a real stride forward , and yesterday's race seems to bear that out with strong williams and lotus running ; caterham more difficult to judge as they are at the back of the field and neither car finished , but considering kova had neither DRS nor kers working and petrov only ran on the slower tyre I think they showed real progress

suffice it to say therefore that I was not surprised to see frank's team progress in OZ despite the relative inexperience of the drivers ; a first step for the man if not a giant step for mankind perhaps ?

[SeijaKessen]

I think the switch from Cosworth to Renault was a fantastic move on Williams part.

Funny thing is I found myself wondering during the race what would have happened had they kept Rubens. Its still early but I am not very optimistic about Bruno. He's capable of getting into the top 10 in qualifying, but he seems to be either on or off.

[Websta]

I think Bruno will be fine once he calms down a bit in the opening stints because the pace is there. How many races has he binned in the first corner since replacing Heidfeld at Lotus-Renault last year?

[Pierce89]

Great work Malder! Who would have guessed this sort of performance six months ago.

I would have absolutely guessed Maldonado's performance 6 months ago. Just go back to Monaco and watch moldy Maldy absolutely rape Lewis, who honestly made a good fair pass.

The kid has some pace but nothing special. His mistakes have far outweighed his pace to date.
Hopefully a good williams car isn't totally wasted.