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First points of 2011 'bittersweet' - Williams

Pastor Maldonado retired after a collision with Lewis Hamilton © Sutton Images

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• Drivers:
• Rubens Barrichello
• |
• Pastor Maldonado

• Teams:
• Williams

Williams technical director Sam Michael has admitted his team's first points of the season were bittersweet after Pastor Maldonado retired from sixth position following a collision with Lewis Hamilton.

Rubens Barrichello picked up two points for a ninth place finish but the star of the show was Maldonado, who qualified eighth and was set for eight points before the accident. Michael said Maldonado had been "nothing short of excellent".

"It was great for everyone involved to get some points on the board and we must thank Rubens for bringing home our first of the season," he said. "It was however, somewhat bittersweet because Pastor was looking good for a big points haul. Rubens as well was perhaps looking good for an even better result but the first safety car came out and damaged his position significantly.

"You can see this from the number of cars that were running behind him that ended up in the top five after the safety car. Monaco is normally a lottery in that respect so to come away with some points is a good result for the whole team."

Asked for his thoughts on the collision between Maldonado and Hamilton, Michael simply said: "It was a racing incident."

Michael said the car's overall performance had been promising.

"The FW33 was performing well," he added. "In the race, I was particularly impressed at the speed we had on the same age of tyres as the top cars. For sure there is still a lot of work to do but we are heading in the right direction."

He is confident Williams can remain competitive at the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix.

"Every circuit has been different this year, but with the improvements we have coming to the FW33 next weekend we should be competitive."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.