Brazilian GP: Williams F1 Friday Practice Review


By Williams F1 Team
November 23 2013

The second Friday practice for the 2013 Brazilian GP would see Williams F1 drivers Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas finish in 14th and 16th, but their times were slower than the earlier session due to the continued wet weather conditions that saw the Williams drivers get limited running in the second session.

 
 Williams F1 Brazilian GP Friday Practice Review
Bottas
 
Objectives
• Set-up work and tyre runs.
 

Pastor Maldonado: Pastor Maldonado
"It was a limited day today because of the weather and the tyre restrictions. The driving conditions were difficult with a lot of aquaplaning on a track that is normally fast. I think we understand the tyres more so that is a positive and hopefully we can capitalise on that for tomorrow."

Valtteri Bottas: Valtteri Bottas
"Wet conditions throughout both practice sessions disrupted our running today but we still managed to try different tyre pressures and temperatures to gain some more information. We have a lot of work to do get the tyres in the optimum window, especially if it’s going to be wet this weekend. We will sit down and analyse the data to work out the best set-up for tomorrow."

Xevi Pujolar, Chief Race Engineer:
Xevi Pujolar "We ran intermediate tyres throughout FP1 this morning, changing the rear wing level to suit the conditions but remaining on a dry mechanical set-up. We tested different tyre pressure levels in the wet to try and get more grip as overall we were struggling in the tricky conditions. As the rain continued to fall harder, full wet tyres were required for FP2 but we limited running in order to save tyres for the rest of the weekend. We did a run on intermediates right at the end and found some improvements but in the slippery conditions it was difficult today. Despite the limited running it was useful to get some track time in these conditions though as qualifying is expected to be similar, with a chance of rain also forecast during the race on Sunday."

 
Maldonado
 
Williams F1 Classification
 
Driver Chassis & Engine FP1 FP2
       
V BOTTAS FW35-01
RS27-5472/2
1:27.269 (16th) 23 laps 1:30.425 (16th) 15 laps
       
P MALDONADO FW35-03
RS27-5479/2
1:27.358 (17th) 23 laps 1:29.717 (14th) 13 laps
       
Quickest Times
    N Rosberg 1:24.781 N Rosberg 1:27.306
 
Practice Conditions
 
  FP1 FP2
Weather Mild and wet Mild and wet
Air  & Track Temp 19 - 20C / 20 - 23C 20 - 21C / 22 - 24C