Ending weeks of speculations, the Williams F1 Team have now confirmed that Russan racer Sergey Sirotkin will be stepping into the second F1 car for the 2018 Formula 1 season. The 22-year-old replaces the legendary Felipe Massa, who retired from the sport at the end of the 2017 season and will be seen racing alongside teammate Lance Stroll. Serotkin is a former F1 test driver with Renault and managed to impress Williams with his performance at the Abu Dhabi Pirelli tyre test last November, where he drove the FW40 for the first time. The announcement also ends speculations of Rober Kubica making a comeback with Williams, and instead will be a reserve driver for the team.
Speaking about his new role with Williams, Sergey Serotkin said, "To say I'm happy and proud to join such a famous team like Williams is an understatement. 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."
Speaking about Serotkin's recruitment, Williams F1 deputy Team Principal, Claire Williams said, "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."
(There's still time for Robert Kubica to make a full-fledged return to F1, it seems)
Serotkin was in line amidst a number of other drivers to pilot the single-seat FW40 this season, while reports also suggested Kubica was also in contention. Nevertheless, the latter has been signed as Williams' reserve and development driver for 2018. With the last vacant seat occupied on the grid, all 10 teams now have two race drivers confirmed for the 2018 F1 season.
Serotkin has been a young racer and a member of the SMP Racing Programme that develops Russian drivers from karting through every level of circuit racing. The 22-year-old competed in GP2 in 2015, finishing third as the highest-placed rookie. The next year saw him being selected as a test driver for Renault Sport F1 with the second season in GP2 where he finished third overall. Serotkin continued with Renault F1 in 2017 as well and even participated in four Friday practice sessions, as well as the Bahrain test.
As a member of the SMP Racing programme, which develops Russian drivers from karting through every level of circuit racing, Sirotkin competed in GP2 in 2015, finishing third as the highest-placed rookie. In 2016, he was selected as test driver for Renault Sport F1 while continuing in GP2, where he came third overall. In 2017 Sirotkin continued with Renault F1, and took part in four Friday practice sessions, as well as the Bahrain test.
While this will be Serotkin's debut season with Williams, Stroll meanwhile will be moving into his season with the team. The team is also working on the new car for 2018 dubbed as the FW41 that should be revealed in the following weeks as well. Interestingly, Stroll at 19 years and Sertokin at 22 years, make for the youngest driver line-up on the grid.
