Williams Jerez Test 07:02:2012 Day One

Driver Pastor Maldonado
Chassis / engine FW34-01 / RS27-5326/1
Location Jerez de la Frontera 4.428km
Objectives Systems checks and aero testing
Weather Dry and sunny all day
Ambient & track temps 16ºC / 25ºC

After the launch of the 2012 FW34 Pastor Maldonado would bring the new car out for its first run at the Jerez circuit. Williams' chief operation engineer Mark Gillan commented to AUTOSPORT: "We have a long checklist of systems checks and operational running of which understanding the cooling, to make sure that we are in the right region of the cooling as expected to make sure that the correlation with the tunnel is good. And understanding the subtle changes of mapping and the way Renault operates compared to our previous supplier."

After one installation lap Pastor would return to the pits for a check of the new FW34. He would return to the track for a slow second lap only to return to the pits. In 2011 the quickest time at the end of the weeks testing at Jerez was a 1m:19.832 from Rubens Barrichello in the Williams FW33. After an hour Pastor had yet to set a time but this was not unexpected. After two and a half hours of waiting Pastor would return to the track. Pastor would improve to set a 1m:23.457 on his first timed lap. He would continue setting a 1m:23.371 to be eighth fastest. Quickest was Raikkonen in his Lotus with a 1m:19.670. Pastor would return to his pit after setting this time. Pastor had completed sixteen laps at this time with his times ranging from 1m:23.371 through to 1m:26.189. Half way through the day and Pastor had dropped to tenth.

Pastor would return to the track for further running in the afternoon. He would times in the 1m:24 & 1m:23's, returning to the pits after this series of laps. He had completed twenty five laps in total by the unofficial lunch break. Pastor would remain in his pit for a considerable time. He would not return for the rest of the day as the team tried to sort out a technical issue with the car.

Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer: We performed a number of systems checks on the car today, including testing our new engine installation and some aerodynamic correlation runs. Unfortunately testing was cut short with a couple of initial teething problems which we are currently investigating. We intend to get these fixed this evening in time for a full test programme with Pastor tomorrow.

Pastor Maldonado: It feels great to be back with the team and to start putting some mileage on the FW34. The car felt good and the systems were all working well this morning. I like the feel of the new Renault engine as well. It’s still too early to make any predictions, but we are pushing hard and working to understand the car better.

The Williams F1 Team will be back on track tomorrow, Wednesday 8 February, with Pastor Maldonado continuing in the FW34 for the second day of the test.

DRIVER      	 TEAM 		  	TIME       BEST / TOTAL
						   LAPS
1 K Raikkonen 	 Lotus F1 Team 		1:19.670   28 / 75
2 P Di Resta 	 Sahara Force India 	1:19.772   49 / 101
3 N Rosberg 	 Mercedes 		1:20.219   31 / 56
4 M Webber 	 Red Bull Racing 	1:20.496   40 / 53
5 D Ricciardo 	 Toro Rosso 		1:20.694   34 / 57
6 M Schumacher 	 Mercedes 		1:20.794   11 / 42
7 K Kobayashi 	 Sauber F1 Team 	1:21.353   38 / 105
8 J Button 	 McLaren Mercedes 	1:21.530   35 / 62
9 F Massa 	 Ferrari 		1:22.815   35 / 69
10 H Kovalainen  Caterham F1 Team 	1:23.178   15 / 28
11 P Maldonado   Williams F1 Team 	1:23.371   12 / 25
12 P De la Rosa  HRT F1 Team 		1:23.676   42 / 44