Abu Dhabi GP: Very difficult qualifying for Williams

After having completed only five laps in the Saturday practice prior to the start of qualifying for the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix things were not looking good for Rubens Barrichello. Rubens had been force to change his engine after the opening Friday practice limiting his practice but in what should have been a routine change on Saturday he was to again suffer from an oil leak again seeing him not get much running in the final practice session.

For team-mate Pastor Maldonado he was stuck with the knowledge that he was going to suffer a ten grid place penalty as a result of the use of an additional engine above the eight allocated. Given his pave in the lead-up to qualifying it was looking like he would start from the rear of the grid.

With the start of the opening period of qualifying Pastor would come out and his early time would see him third, 1m:45.244. But after twelve minutes of the session we had yet to see Rubens take to the track. At this time it was Hamilton fastest with a time of 1m:39.782, with Webber second, Button third, Vettel fourth and Rosberg in fifth. Pastor had dropped down the order to be seventeenth and close to not making the cut. But for Rubens his qualifying would end when he would get out of his car with what was later confirmed to again be engine problems. As he did not set a time he would start from the rear of the grid. Rubens has had a frustrating lead-up to qualifying completing just thirty three laps.

In an interview for the BBC Rubens said: "This morning we fitted a brand new engine and it was looking great because I had saved one for the end of the season. We went out and I had a bit of difficulty with it after two laps and we came back, we tried to review all the situation just before qualifying they told me there was no way so it's even more frustrating.

"You are so eager to go and you have the mentality to put a very nice lap together and the engine wasn't working.

"It's been a hard weekend in a way because I can't remember myself doing so few laps. I've done P2 and that was it. So I hope that the set-up is okay and I hope that I enjoy myself. I try to enjoy myself as much as I can but today is a disappointing day."

With the start of the second period Pastor would wait until roughly the middle of the period before coming out to set a time. Pastor's time would only be good enough for seventeenth but with his penalty he will start from the rear of the grid, while Rubens will be twenty third. The top ten was Hamilton from Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Button, Rosberg, Massa, Sutil, Di Resta, and Schumacher.

With their grid positions it would be the worst grid position for the Williams team's since it became a two-car operation in 1979. The team's worst starting position was recorded in the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix, when Jo Vonlanthen qualified 28th for what was then known as Frank Williams Racing Cars.

The final period would see a fight between the McLaren's of Hamilton and Button and Vettel. Button and Hamilton would set fastest laps but it would be Vettel who would set a 1m:38.481, right at the end of the final period to secure pole. Hamilton would be second with Button third. Webber was fourth followed by Alonso, Massa, Rosberg, Schumacher, with Sutil and Di Resta completing the top ten.

Rubens would add that 2011 is turning out to be the most challenging of his nineteen year F1 career, but said that he still believed Williams can turn its performance around next year.

Rubens added: "Most definitely (it's my toughest season). We have been having a tough season.

"Last year it started tough but the team worked well together and we solved all the problems, this year with all the news of coming and going of people it's been tough to keep the team organised so it is suffering. If they keep it going with a good mentality they will sort it out."

For the Williams team any hope of a positive result would come down to strategy. But it is going to be a difficult thing to achieve starting from the rear of the grid.