Maldonado’s maiden victory ends long drought for Williams

Within a month of founder Sir Frank Williams’ 70th birthday, it was the team’s first win since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, 132 races ago.

Starting the weekend as a 300-1 outsider, Maldonado became the first Venezuelan to savour the winner’s champagne, finishing just 3.1 seconds ahead of home favourite Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari. Kimi Raikkonen was third.

For only the second time in F1 – the other occasion being in 1983 – there have been five different winners and five different winning constructors in the first five grands prix of the season.

Pole position man Maldonado, who only took one point for Williams throughout a wretched debut campaign, said: “It is a wonderful day, not only for me, but the team. Yesterday we had a great qualifying, and today it was a tough race, especially with the strategy because of the tyres.

“This is my first podium, my first victory, so you can imagine what I feel.”

With his car sporting a new upgrade package this weekend, Alonso is happy to be in the hunt for the title again. He said: “We were lucky at the end with Kimi closing in, but this second place is fantastic, a step forward in terms of the championship.”

From second on the grid Alonso made a superb start to lead, despite the best intentions of Maldonado to put the Spaniard off his stride on the long run down to the first corner.

Suggestions it would be Lotus’ day soon evaporated as Alonso and Maldonado pulled clear of Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean, who were second and third three weeks ago in Bahrain.

Instead, it became a battle between Alonso and Maldonado, and a cat and mouse game surrounding pit stops.

Initially Alonso held sway through the first round after around ten laps, although he was unable to shake Maldonado off his tail, which proved crucial through the second phase.

Maldonado was first in after 25 laps, Alonso waiting until three laps later and being comfortably passed by the former as he emerged back on to the track.

With a four-second lead Maldonado made his third stop after 41 laps, and again Alonso waited three laps, and again he filed in behind his rival.

The question was whether either would make a fourth stop, which would have brought Raikkonen back into the equation. Raikkonen managed to reel in the front two following his third and final stop after 49 laps, but neither of the leaders pitted again, so Raikkonen had to settle for third, 3.8secs down on Maldonado and 0.7secs adrift of Alonso.

Reigning champion Sebastian Vettel was sixth despite four trips to the pits, including a drive-through penalty for ignoring yellow flags following a smash involving Bruno Senna in the second Williams and Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher.

Lewis Hamilton, demoted to the back of the grid, managed to make a two-stop strategy work by finishing eighth in his McLaren, one place ahead of team-mate Jenson Button.

Bathgate’s Paul Di Resta finished 14th in his Force India after tyre trouble.