“Our target for qualifying is to get both cars into the top ten”.

Williams’ Technical Director has been saying this ahead of every race weekend this season but his statements have rarely stood up.

It is vitally important that Williams have a good qualifying session tomorrow because as we all know at Monaco, it’s virtually impossible to overtake during the race.

The worrying thing for the British outfit is that both cars have qualified in the top ten only once and that was in Malaysia. Barrichello also qualified in the top ten in Australia but apart from that; the Brazilian and Nico Hulkenberg have failed to qualify in the top ten on all other occasions.

All in all they have qualified outside the top ten a combined seven times out of ten and it doesn’t come as a surprise that a slow car has only picked up an embarrassing eight points this season.

Michael’s aim of getting both drivers qualified in the top ten seems slightly unrealistic after looking at these statistics. Qualifying in the top ten at Monaco almost guarantees you a points finish due to the nature of the track so I can see Williams picking up a couple of points.

This is Hulkenberg’s first time at Monaco in a Formula One car so I think it would be too much to expect a good qualifying session then a points finish from the German youngster. The streets of Monaco are unforgiving and I wouldn’t rule out the rookie crashing.

However, Rubinho’s vast experience could mean a couple of points for Williams. I know I bang on about the 37-year-old’s experience but if it wasn’t for the Brazilian then Williams could be sitting here with no points after 5 races and looking rather silly.

Pace is by no means everything at Monaco so I think Barrichello can qualify 9^th or 10^th while also making up a couple of places in the race. It’s hard to finish in the top eight because there are eight formidable drivers racing for four superior teams but I don’t think 9^th is out of the equation for Barrichello. The lack of pace Williams have got shouldn’t hurt them too much round the streets of Monaco so this should mean Barrichello at least can be competitive in the race.

It’s just a shame that we’re talking about Williams hoping for an average finish at best. I accept that Formula One has moved on and Williams have been left behind to some extent but is it too much for us to expect them challenging for decent results like podiums?

The money that Williams have, they should be much more than a mediocre outfit. Michael’s ambition to qualify in the top ten tomorrow is for a team mixing it at the front of the grid – not one that’s fighting for a couple of points.

Don’t forget to follow Formula1FanCast.com on Twitter for all the latest Formula 1 News and Blogs and you’re sure to Like our Facebook Page as well!

Related posts: