Williams believes they can be competitive in the Land of the Rising Sun
Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna are eager to race at Suzuka, a circuit rich in history and a track that offers a real challenge to Formula 1 drivers. Based on performances in Singapore, the Williams drivers believe they should be competitive in Japan.
The Suzuka circuit is a track sculpted for drivers and will be a real test for them but less so for their cars according to Mark Gillan, the chief operations engineer of the Williams team: « Suzuka is an old-school, truly fantastic circuit with a layout resembling a figure-eight that proves to be a real challenge for the drivers. The layout also offers very high cornering speeds and puts a heavy load on the tires, but it’s quite reasonable when it comes to the brakes. »
Pastor Maldonado is also eager to go to this venue, which has been part of some great chapters in Formula 1 history: « I really appreciate this track because it’s one of the historical layouts of Formula 1. There are beautiful fast corners, and we run almost with the maximum downforce. It’s a great challenge for the drivers. »
The Venezuelan driver also appreciates the atmosphere created by the Japanese fans: « I can’t wait to go to Japan this week. I think everyone in the paddock is looking forward to this race, because the fans in Japan are among the best in the world and they always welcome us very warmly. »
Same impatience on the part of Bruno Senna, who can’t wait to return to the circuit where his uncle Ayrton won his three world championship titles: I’m looking forward to the Japanese Grand Prix. It’s one of my favorite circuits of the year, and it’s very fast and flowing but quite narrow compared to other circuits we visit. It feels really very fast and it’s one of the biggest challenges for a driver. It’s quite similar to Spa-Francorchamps, so it’s a real driver’s circuit.
Even if he expects to be competitive, the Brazilian driver knows he may need to be wary of the weather: « You can have variable weather in Japan ranging from hot and sunny to heavy rain that can stop qualifying. It’s still always exciting and we have good potential to be competitive there. »
Mark Gillan is also optimistic about the performance forecasts of the FW34 in Suzuka, considering the Singapore race and the addition of some upgrades: After Singapore, we have worked hard to ensure that our cars will be as reliable as possible for the remaining races. Given the excellent pace shown in Singapore both during qualifying and the race, we expect to be strong in Suzuka and will bring some new features as part of our ongoing development.
