Q&A - Mark Gillan, Williams

Williams' chief operations engineer Mark Gillan looks back at the Chinese Grand Prix
14.02.2012 - Free practice 3, Pastor Maldonado (VEN), Williams F1 Team FW34
14.02.2012 - Free practice 3, Pastor Maldonado (VEN), Williams F1 Team FW34
© PHOTO 4

Q:
Mark, congratꦏulations on Williams' first double points finish since Korea in 2010.🅺 What sort of a boost will this result give to the team?

Mark Gillan:
Getting both cars into the points is a very good result and one that every single person in the team can be proud of, especially given ⛄the disappointing 2011 season. The team has been further invigorated by this result to push even har😼der in what is clearly a very tightly spaced grid, with fierce competition.

Q:
Can you🔯 sum up the performance of the FW3ꦇ4 around the Shanghai International Circuit?

Mark Gillan:
The car's performance in Shanghai was good in both single lap and in particular race pace, when tyre management was paramoun💃t. This race was an interesting one as the track temperatures changed quite a bit throughout the weekend, which made setting the car up to optimise tꩵhe tyre performance more difficult.

Q:
You 🅘started the drivꩵers on different tyre compounds, Bruno on primes and Pastor on options. Why was that?

Mark Gillan:
It was a difficult choice to make but we felt ♏that splitting the 🅘strategies, with both cars being beside each other on the grid, was the prudent decision to take.

Q:
How margi🔯nal was a two-s🦹top strategy, given that Shanghai is a high degradation circuit?

Mark Gillan:
It ꧋was marginal, especially given the close nature of the racing, bu๊t both the drivers and the car managed the tyres well.

Q:
Can you sum up the driving performances of Bruno and Pastor over the we🗹ekend?

Mark Gillan:
I am very pleased with both o𝔉f their performances and they fought very hard during the race against stiff competition 🍌to secure ten points in total. Their feedback during the event is also excellent which helps us further develop and optimise the car.

Q:
Pastor🔥 set the fourth fastest lap of the 𒀰race - quicker than Webber, Hamilton, Vettel and Rosberg. What can be read into such an impressive lap time?

Mark Gillan:
Pastor was very quick in that section of the 💛race and he felt the car to be very strong with a good balance.

Q:
The Bahrain Grand Prix comes next. What sort ofꦛ challenge is the circuit and what shou𒀰ld we expect from the Williams FW34 there?

Mark Gillan:
On the back of a good weekend in China we are aiming to get both cars 🌠into the points again this week. Bahrain will be a tough race, not least due to the high ambient temperatures which can necessitate opening the engine cover body-work to the maximum.

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