Maldonado upbeat about Williams pace following practice for the Monaco Grand Prix

The Williams driver, who was also fifth quickest in the morning session on Thursday, reported that his car had given him reason to feel confident on a track he loves and excels on.

"The car is feeling really good this year and looks competitive in the running we have done today, so we're happy with that," said the Venezuelan. "It's a shame we didn't get to run as much during the afternoon, as we would have liked to have gathered a bit more data on the tyres but we still have P3 on Saturday.

"I love this circuit and think it's going to be a competitive grand prix."

Team-mate Bruno Senna was less convincing in terms of pace during the two sessions but admitted the intermittent weather had played havoc with his progress.

"It was great to be able to do both sessions today as it meant that we could learn bit by bit," he said. "It's been quite a few years since I drove something competitive here so it was good to have extra time to remember the track.

"We're chipping away and the afternoon session was hampered by the rain, but every little helps."