No points, but promise aplenty for Williams 08 Apr 2007
Independent team out-pace Renault and Toyota at Sepang
Williams came away from the Malaysian Grand Prix empty handed, but the pace of both Nico Rosberg and Alex Wurz should put them in optimistic mood ahead of next weekend’s race in Bahrain. Rosberg was headed for sixth place before retiring 14 laps from home, while Wurz fought his way up from 19th on the grid to finish ninth.
A look at the fastest lap chart confirms Williams’ impressive pace at Sepang. Rosberg finished sixth in the table - with only the McLarens, Ferraris and one BMW Sauber in front of him - with Wurz just two places further back. For the Austrian, it was an enjoyable afternoon’s work.
“It was a good race and I had fun, especially in the first stint, when I had a good pace on soft tyres and could overtake,” said Wurz. “Starting from 19th made it difficult to fight against Trulli and Kovalainen by the end of the race and it was disappointing to finish just out of the points.
“I now look forward to Bahrain, as our car is now much better in qualifying and I hope that I can extract there the same race pace I had here to in order be able to bring some points to the people at home who are working very hard.”
Rosberg was similarly encouraged by the team’s showing, despite the as yet undiagnosed mechanical problem that put him out of contention. “I gave it everything I had, but it all came to a halt,” said the German. “It was a great shame not to finish but things are progressing and we hope we can do better in a week’s time.”
Williams now lie sixth in the championship table on two points, just one behind the works team’s of their engine suppliers, Toyota.
