Maldonado urges Williams to keep improving even after Spanish GP victory

The Venezuelan, who made his grand prix debut at the start of the 2011 season, put on a superb performance at Barcelona, starting from pole position and resisting pressure from Fernando Alonso to give Williams its first win in eight years.

Maldonado insisted, however, that the victory does not change anything for the team, and reckons it should continue to push to try and be as competitive as its rivals on a more consistent basis.

"After the victory it doesn't change anything," Maldonado told a news conference. "We need to keep working like that, keep pushing. We are not in the best position now against the other teams, still we need to keep improving.

"We have a lot of work to do, the car is getting more and more competitive, and me as well.

"The feeling is really good, the feeling in the team is getting higher and higher especially after the victory and now we need to continue like that and push and push and push."

Maldonado, the first Venezuelan winner in Formula 1, admitted repeating the feat will not be easy given how tight the battle in front is this year.

"It is really special to win especially the first one, but for sure it is going to be difficult now," he said. "The gaps between teams are now so small, everything can make a difference and we need to put everything together to make a step forward.

"Williams is doing a very good job at the moment, the people are very motivated, they are pushing so hard, it is a very good feeling here in the team. And we still need to improve our car. We are not at 100 per cent at the moment, we are not the best team but we are not that far. We are there, we need to try and improve every time and that is it."

Maldonado, who is seen as a Monaco specialist having won in GP2 and in Formula Renault 3.5, reckons Williams should be competitive this weekend too, although he admits it is hard to predict.

"I have always been so good here in GP2 and the World Series," he said. "Last year I was doing a good job, P6, but it is always difficult. This kind of track you never know due to the traffic and everything. You have to be ready for the track. I will do my best, I think it is still possible to be competitive here so we will see."