New Williams appear to be more competitive

Pastor Maldonado had plenty of positive words to say about the upgrade package Williams tested at the Circuit de Catalunya on Saturday. The Grove-based squad applied a heavily-revised rear bodywork layout to its new FW35 chassis for the final two days of running, with the Venezuelan driver instantly feeling more downforce.

"This car is even easier, we have more downforce," Maldonado told reporters in Barcelona. "The car feels a bit different; the new aero package is quite big so you feel the difference. It’s working quite good.

"We’ve been focused on getting data on the package and we didn’t work on the proper set-up of the car so I’m very happy. I think we have improved from the aero point of view and it’s clear there are some gains."

Maldonado, who wound up fourth quickest on Saturday's timesheets, is completing his final stint behind the wheel of the FW35 in Barcelona on Sunday morning, while teammate Valtteri Bottas is scheduled to take over for the afternoon session.