From his single-seater debut in 2010, it took Sergey Sirotkin only seven years to reach the pinnacle of racing with Williams.
We look back at some of the 22-year-old's defining moments while on his path to the big time.
Formula Abarth is where Sirotkin started learning his trade.
Sirotkin raced in Auto GP in 2012, and became the series youngest winner when he triumphed in Valencia. ©AutoGP
In 2013 Sergey moved to Formula Renault 3.5 for two full seasons. ©WRI2
Hailed as a bright talent and financially supported by SMP, Sirotkin was brought to the attention of Sauber in 2013 and enjoyed his first run in an F1 car at the end of the season. ©Frederic Le Flochmore
Sirotkin was offered more mileage with the Swiss outfit in early 2014, and is seen here testing at Bahrain. ©XPB
In Bahrain, the young Russian charger put 75 laps under his belt, covering a distance of over 300 kilometres and recording the 8th fastest time. ©WRI2
Sirotkin made his F1 race weekend debut at the 2014 Russian GP at Sochi, running in Friday's free practice session and recording the 17th fastest time. ©WRI2
In 2014, he continued to hone his skills in Formula Renault 3.5 taking his first win in the series on home soil, at Moscow Raceway. ©WRI2
Sergey joined the ranks of GP2 in 2015, driving for Rapax, and achieved his first win in the feeder series at Silverstone's feature race. ©WRI2
In April 2016, Sirotkin was recruited by Renault as a development driver, enjoying an FP1 outing once again at his home race in Sochi. ©WRI2
Sirotkin remained in GP2 for the 2016 season but moved to front-running outfit ART Grand Prix. Over the summer, he clinched two consecutive wins, at the Hungaroring and at Hockenheim. ©WRI2
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. Sirotkin continued to build his F1 knowledge in 2017, running with Renault in four FP1 session. During the Russian's work with the French manufacturer, track-side operations director Alan Permane insisted the young charger "had the pace" to race in F1. ©WRI2more
©WRI2