Pastor Maldonado was cautiously optimistic after scoring Williams' first point of 2013

Pastor Maldonado struck a tone of cautious optimism after scoring Williams' first point of the season in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.

Maldonado said his car handled consistently during the race, something that certainly wasn't the case earlier in the season. Furthermore, he was encouraged by his car's performance in the Hungaroring's slow corners - seen as another area of weakness - and speculated whether Pirelli's change in tyre construction has played a part. "We know we are not the quickest but we are consistent. This is our strongest point," Maldonado said. "We are not going very fast but we're consistent: good management from the tyres; good pit stops; good strategy. "In the last two or three races, we've been able to fight for the top ten but for so many reasons we were not there. The last race at Nurburgring was potentially P8 or P9 for us but we missed a pit stop, the last one. "I think it's a small step forward but it's not enough. We need to keep improving, especially in qualifying. "I think with these new tyres it's much better for us. I'm encouraged to see how it will be at Spa; normally in the high-speed corners our car is quite good. "In qualy, I'm more comfortable in the car. It's performing more with these tyres; you can explore more the tyre potential. Before, I was completely dominated by the tyres and the car."