Sirotkin confirmed as Lance Stroll's teammate at Williams
- Published on 16 Jan 2018 12:39
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Williams has officially confirmed its 2018 line-up, with Sergey Sirotkin claiming the seat ahead of Robert Kubica. The young Russian became a contender for the seat following the end of the 2017 season, when he took part in a post-season test for the Grove-based team.
The 22-year-old has competed in a number of free practice one sessions with Sauber and Renault since 2014, and finished third in the GP2 standings in both 2015 and 2016. Sirotkin admitted that his dream had come true, now that he is an official F1 driver.
"To say I’m happy and proud to join such a famous team like Williams is an understatement," he said. "It took a huge amount of work to get where I am, and I’m really happy and thankful to everyone involved. The result of our combined efforts has helped me achieve my dream, and rest assured the team can rely on me to deliver my best."
Deputy team principal Claire Williams added: "After an extensive driver evaluation process, I am thrilled to have our 2018 line-up finalised, and I’m excited to see what next season brings. We have taken our time to evaluate all the available options, and I’m confident Lance and Sergey can deliver the best results for the team.
"The Williams philosophy has always been to promote and develop young talent and Sergey fits right into that ethos. Lance has had a record-breaking debut season, and with a year now under his belt, he will be ready to hit the ground running in 2018. We have a talented driver line-up for 2018, that we are confident will deliver some exciting results for the team.”
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (14)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
It will be interesting to see what Sirotkin can do in F1. AFAIK he has been on the F1 radar for some time, but has seemingly been forgotten.
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
I'm happy for him!
reg
Posts: 162
Good luck to him, I suspect he will surprise us with his speed, after all Stroll is not exactly quick is he?
Orchide
Posts: 82
Deputy team principal Claire Williams added: "After an extensive driver evaluation process, I am thrilled to have our 2018 line-up finalised”
She should have used a calculator...took a long time recalculating rubel to £ vs zloty to £.
Barron
Posts: 625
I think you oversimplify Williams dilemma. If it was just about money, Williams wouldn’t have even gone through the rigorous testing procedure would they? They would have just signed Sirotkin. I think the boy will do well and I just hope Williams deliver him a half decent car..
Orchide
Posts: 82
The testing was just a show for the public.
Wasn’t Di Resta faster than Kubica during the tests? He just dissapeared as he didn’t have any money or sponsors to back him.
It’s been a hype if Kubica should return or not and the marketing department at Williams must be thrilled. Sadly the circus around the last seat @ Williams is mostly at Kubicas expense.
It was just about money...if not the most logic thing would have been to sign Wehrlein or perhaps Di Resta.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
I am willing to give Sirotkin a chance, and for everyone's sake let's hope he does well. Furthermore, I'm glad that Kubica stayed as the reserve driver. This will also give him a better chance to make an impression if he does manage a comeback, as he will be more familiar with the new cars.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Wasnt he deemed a promising talent a few years ago?
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
@CALLE.ITW I know he was discussed while he was at Renault, but for a guy that hasn't won a championship in any category since 2011, I still don't think his credentials are stellar.
boudy
Posts: 1,168
I for one am glad that he's in the Williams. When he did free practice he looked quick. I'd rather have someone new then someone who already had a go. Kubica now has the opportunity to show that he's capable of. However I just can't see anyone taking the risk on him again. Anyway, good luck to both of them. Would be great if he was quicker than stroll.
Kean
Posts: 692
I think he will be quicker than Stroll. Before his name started popping up as a potential replacement for Massa I didn't give him a second thought. But now, with all the hate toward him, I feel bad for him and wish he performs really well just to shut everybody up.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
"Lance has had a record-breaking debut season". Claire is good!
Kean
Posts: 692
Yeah, I reacted to that as well. Claire is a glass-is-half-full kinda girl.
Harryw
Posts: 107
Sad day for Williams that they now have two pay drivers. Latest being one bringing in dirty putin money. F1 need to urgently balance revenue to teams so this doesn’t happen. Should be purely on merit.