Russian rookie Sirotkin will surprise, says Williams

LONDON: Williams say Russian rookie Sergey Sirotkin has earned his place at the Formula One team on merit and is likely to surprise people this season.

The 22-year-old will partner Canadian Lance Stroll, still only 19, at the former world champions after replacing retired Brazilian Felipe Massa.The Russian was previously a Renault reserve and finished third overall in the GP2 support series in 2015 and 2016.

A product of the SMP young driver programme established by Russian oligarch Boris Rotenberg, Sirotkin’s rise has raised questions about how much it has been accelerated by his financial backing.

“I think probably Sergey is one of those drivers you haven’t heard of as much as maybe some other new talents who come into the sport, for whatever reason that may be,” said deputy team principal Claire Williams at a team launch.

“But I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people this year. His technical capability, combined with his track efficiency, is really impressive,” added the daughter of team founder and principal Frank.

Both she and technical head Paddy Lowe rejected suggestions that money had influenced the decision.Sirotkin was chosen after a showdown between him and Poland’s Robert Kubica, a former race winner seeking to return seven years after a near-fatal rally accident that almost severed his forearm.“The selection process we used for that race seat was incredibly exhaustive, the most exhaustive I’ve ever been involved in, involving the technical team,” said Lowe.