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It was a big day for the Williams F1 team as Pastor Maldonado secured the team's first race win since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix with a brilliant performance in Barcelona. Starting from his first ever pole position, the Venezuelan also became the first person from his country to take the Chequered flag on a memorable day for a team desperate for a hero.

At the start of the race Pastor lost first place to the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso going into turn 1. He failed to get that position back on the first round of pit-stops, but on lap 25, the Williams team called him into the pits and made a quick stop, sending him back out in 3rd place with no position lost.

The out lap of Maldonado proved crucial as he did a screamer of a lap. This enabled him to overtake the Ferrari when it pitted. With the lead in hand and clear air in front of him, the Williams was able to keep the charging Ferrari at bay.

On lap 41, Maldonado made his final pit stop,and rejoined behind Raikonnen and Alonso. After 3 laps it was the turn of Alonso to pit, and relinquish the race lead to Maldonado.

The final 15 laps of the race saw a good battle between the lead duo, but it was Maldonado all the way till the end. He managed his tyres better than Alonso to finish on the top step of the podium.

An excited Maldonado shared, "It's an unbelievable feeling winning my first race. The car felt really consistent, was fantastic to drive and our pace was strong throughout. Alonso was chasing me hard but we looked after our tyres well and I managed to open the gap towards the end. The team has worked so hard all year and this win is for them. To be the first Venezuelan to win a Formula One race is a big honour and hopefully I will win more races in the future."

Pastor's teammate Bruno Senna had a short race. On lap 13 going into turn 1, the Mercedes of Schumacher rammed into the Williams. The seven time champion missed his braking point thus ending both their races.

Bruno Senna: "It has been a disappointing weekend for me on the whole. It was difficult to overtake at the beginning of the race and then Schumacher got a big DRS boost coming down the straight and went into the back of me. These weekends with lots of bad luck happen sometimes, but on the up side our car has shown excellent pace with Pastor's win. I am really happy for him and this will give the team a big boost headed into the next race."

Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer: "What can I say – a massive result for the team and a stunning drive by Pastor. The whole race went well from start to finish with every team member playing a vital part in this victory. We will allow ourselves a bit of time to savour the win and then will refocus to concentrate our efforts on continuing to improve throughout the remainder of the season. Obviously it was disappointing that Bruno got taken out of the race by Michael but Bruno is looking forward to getting back into the car in Monaco."

Laurent Debout, Renault Sport F1 team support leader: "There is nothing else to say but a huge congratulations to Pastor and the entire Williams team. Pastor drove a fantastic race to score his first win in F1, fully deserved. We are really proud to have contributed to helping the team score its first win since 2004 and the first Williams-Renault win since the 1997 season. What a feeling to deliver on the speed and performance we have shown since the start of the year."

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