Getty Images Despite Pastor Maldonado stating yesterday that Williams were close to finding the solution to the FW35′s problems, the team have failed to make any progress with the car during practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
“We haven’t made the progress we had hoped for today,” explained technical director Mike Coughlan. “We need to look at the data we have from both sessions to maximize the package we have. We will then head straight back to the factory to work on some improvements ahead of Shanghai.”
The decision to write off their chances even before qualifying comes after a woeful performance in practice. In the second session, Maldonado could only finish 16th, whilst teammate Valtteri Bottas finished down in 19th behind the Marussia of Jules Bianchi. Although his technical director has little hope for the rest of the weekend, Maldonado is adamant he will keep pushing.
“We didn’t have the pace today unfortunately. We need to analyse the data tonight to see what we can do.
“We have a lot of work to do but we’ll be pushing hard to see what we can achieve tomorrow.”
Bottas, who finished in 14th place on debut in Australia, also acknowledged the need to improve if he is to vindicate his credentials as the new ‘Flying Finn’.
“We hope to find some improvements, but we know we still have a lot of work to do to close the gap.”
Williams will be disappointed with the FW35 after having a strong season in 2012, as they took their first victory in over seven years. They appear to have made a backward step, but if rain does fall in Malaysia, the British-based team could yet score some points this weekend.
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Nico Rosberg has continued his clean-sweep of the sessions in Monaco by finishing quickest in final practice on Saturday. The German driver’s good form from Thursday was evident once again, putting in a quickest time of 1:14.378 to edge out Romain Grosjean and Sebastian Vettel at the top of the time sheets. The session was…
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Denny Hamlin is no different than any other racer when he mentions how painful it was for somebody else to drive his car. After injuring his back in March during a last-lap crash at Auto Club Speedway, Hamlin had to endure that very situation and watch both Mark Martin and Brian Vickers race his No.…
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AP
When you have a team like Target Chip Ganassi Racing behind you, you’re usually in a position to contend almost anywhere – including the Indianapolis 500. Scott Dixon, last year’s “500″ runner-up, has been in this position for over a decade with TCGR, and it has to play a little into his belief that he…
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AP
Final preparations are in the books for the quartet of rookies who will be making their Indianapolis 500 debuts this Sunday. Only one of the four is contesting the full IZOD IndyCar Series season, Schmidt Peterson’s Tristan Vautier. Team Penske’s AJ Allmendinger is in the midst of his IndyCar return from a seven-year NASCAR sojourn,…
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Changes to parking policies and traffic routes, as well as more police officers and stricter enforcement of cooler sizes, await fans coming to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for the 97th Indianapolis 500. With the ’500′ serving as one of the first major sporting events since the Boston Marathon bombings last month, IMS has…
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One of the greatest IndyCar drivers of the last 20 years – and a hero to countless thousands for his recovery after losing his legs in an accident – finally had his day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On Friday, Chip Ganassi presented Alex Zanardi with the car that Zanardi used to complete “The Pass”…
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Reuters
Marussia team principal John Booth is pleased with the start that his drivers have made to the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, but he has admitted that the rest day on Friday does give the team extra time to review the data collected and prepare for the sessions on Saturday and Sunday. Unlike any other race,…
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Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen has made a slight change to his special Monaco helmet design ahead of Saturday’s sessions, with the move rumored to have been encouraged by Formula One Management. Many of the drivers have opted to run with an alternative helmet livery in homage to F1′s glamour event, with Sebastian Vettel and Lewis…
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Cecotto suspended after causing Sainte Devote crash in GP2 Monaco feature
May 24, 2013, 5:35 PM EDT
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Venezuelan driver Johnny Cecotto Jr. has been suspended from the FIA GP2 Series sprint race in Monaco, after he was judged to have caused the first turn collision in Friday’s feature race. Cecotto started from pole and missed his apex into Sainte Devote, with the ensuing pileup behind him affecting nine cars who were then…
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Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo has spoken of his special affinity for the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Australian driver expects the team to run well at the race after a good showing last time out in Barcelona. Ricciardo ran well at the Spanish Grand Prix to finish P10, and he is sure that this…
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Caterham F1 Team owner Tony Fernandes has spoken out to silence rumors that he may be set to sell the team after it has failed to meet his expectations. Although the tycoon did admit that he expected Caterham to be running in the midfield by now, he believes that the team has come too far…
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AP
Townsend Bell is the IndyCar color commentator on NBC Sports Network and a professional driver. He’ll drive the No. 60 Sunoco Turbo Chevrolet during the 97th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. My road to the Indianapolis 500 essentially started in 1986. I was 10 years old and living far away in the San Francisco area. Being…
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Three teams appear to be one step closer to signing new engine contracts for next season, according to reports. Marussia, Scuderia Toro Rosso and Williams have all been rumored to be looking for new engine contracts to coincide with the new regulations in 2014, and, according to Auto Motor und Sport, the deals are close…
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Tony DiZinno (@tonydizinno) Race winner: Nico Rosberg. Mercedes and Rosberg’s one-lap pace this year is unquestioned. Is this the race where the team finally puts it together from a good grid position to actually bring it home if they don’t chew through the tires as normal? I think so, for the driver who finished second here a…
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AP
A four-wide drag race to the checkered flag in today’s Firestone Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was won by Peter Dempsey, who nipped Gabby Chaves to the yard of bricks by .0026 of a second in a wild final lap. The top four were separated by just 0.0443 of a second, and the margin…
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AP
The “Andretti Curse” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway isn’t stopping the NBC Sports Network team from making Marco Andretti (pictured) their popular choice to win the 97th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon. Andretti will start on the outside of the front row and has utilized a race-first mentality in preparing for this year’s Greatest Spectacle in…
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Simona de Silvestro on IndyCar 36 to air Friday night on NBCSN
May 24, 2013, 1:15 PM EDT
Reuters
IndyCar’s Carb Day coverage is currently airing on the NBC Sports Network until 4 p.m. ET. Later tonight, the focus shifts off-track, for the latest installment of IMS Productions’ IndyCar 36, featuring KV Racing Technology driver Simona de Silvestro. It airs at 10:30 p.m. Friday night. IMSP keyed in on de Silvestro at the last…
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Today’s GP2 feature race at the Circuit de Monaco got off to a chaotic start as a 14-car pileup ensued in the first corner just after the start of the race. Pole sitter Johnny Cecotto was blamed for the incident and has been kept out of the remainder of the GP2 weekend in Monaco. Cecotto…
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AP
Simon Pagenaud led Carb Day practice with a late flier, tow-assisted, fastest lap of 225.827 mph for Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports. Until that point, Andretti Autosport’s E.J. Viso (225.304) looked set to lead the timesheets as has been the trend this month. Besides Pagenaud’s No. 77 HP entry, Honda has made some strides in the morning…
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AP
During yesterday’s Media Day activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Team Penske rookie A.J. Allmendinger (starting fifth) was asked about which race was bigger to him: The Daytona 500, which he has run four times in his Sprint Cup career, or the Indianapolis 500, which he will run for the first time this Sunday. The…
