Maldonado as a boss in Barcelona

By taking pole following the downgrading of Lewis Hamilton, few people thought that Pastor Maldonado could have competed for victory, starting with theWilliams staff himself. The Venezuelan did better since he offered the first victory to the Grove team since the success of Juan-Pablo Montoya at the Brazilian GP in 2004. If the track favored the leader with difficult overtaking, the driver Williams was constantly under threat of Fernando Alonso which even returned to the wheels of the FW34, thus being able to activate its DRS. But the leader was able to maintain the advantage by preserving his tires while maintaining a good pace to achieve victory. A lovely birthday present for Sir Frank Williams who recently celebrated his 70th birthday.

If this season of F1 is particularly contested, Pastor Maldonado fully deserves his victory after having impressed in qualifying. “It was really tight.”, admits the winner. “We were paying attention to tire degradation and I couldn't push too much to keep the tires alive until the end of the race despite Fernando's return. The gaps were really tight at times at the end of the pit straight but I managed to keep the advantage and control my race. My speed was very good today, the car and the team were fantastic. We made a small mistake at the last stop but it did not affect our performance. It’s a wonderful day for the team and myself. We have worked hard since last year to improve race after race and this is where we are today. The race was difficult with strategies and rear tire management. Monaco will be a great opportunity for us to shine again. Consistency will be the key thing in this Championship. »

Discover the analysis of the Spanish Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version and from Wednesday on newsstands.