F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Williams chose Sirotkin on ability, insists SMP boss

The co-founder of SMP Racing has insisted that Sergey Sirotkin won his 2018 seat at Williams based on ability alone.

There have been complaints that the team chose Sirotkin over Robert Kubica because of the sponsor money he can bring from SMP. But Boris Rotenberg insists that is not the case.

"Money is always an important part of motorsport, it's an expensive sport," he acknowledged this week. "But here it's not a money principle.

"It's Sergey, who's proven he can work with the car," he said. "He can be as fast as the team's regular drivers.

"He can work with the machinery, the engineers, and establish a great relationship with the team.

"That's why Williams chose him," he added. "Because in Abu Dhabi he did the best he could and surprised everybody."

Prior to those tests, Kubica had looked to be in pole position for the race seat. However his pace was reportedly not as good as that of the young Russian, who duly got the nod to replace Felipe Massa for 2018.

As well as Kubica, Sirotkin overcame interest in the seat from the likes of Paul di Resta, Daniil Kvyat and Pascal Wehrlein. The 22 year-old will line-up alongside Lance Stroll for the Australian Grand Prix next month.

Rotenberg said that any money being paid out to Williams would pay for technical development.

"We're investing money, but we're investing it in technology, in the new car, that we'll see in February and going forward."

SMP Racing chief executive Dmitry Samorukov echoed the remarks.

"The monetary part will be directed at the development of technologies, for the car to go faster," he said this week.

"To be even more precise: we know that the financial cooperation with Williams will go towards improving the car.

"Whatever the money is, it will go towards making the car more competitive."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Alpine double-podium in Brazil could deliver $30 million windfall

Alpine’s remarkable double podium at the São Paulo Grand Prix with Esteban Ocon and Pierre…

14 hours ago

F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2024 São Paulo GP

Alexander Albon, Williams (Did Not Start): 5.5/10 Alex Albon is definitely going through something of…

16 hours ago

Jos Verstappen rips British media after Brazilian Max fest

Jos Verstappen wasted no time after his son spectacular win at the São Paulo Grand…

17 hours ago

Leclerc left with ‘mixed feelings’ after disappointing Sao Paulo GP

Charles Leclerc's weekend in Sao Paulo was unfortunately a stark contrast to Ferrari's recent triumphs…

19 hours ago

Back when Kimi knew exactly what he was doing

Twelve years ago on this day, Kimi Raikkonen took a popular win at the 2012…

21 hours ago

Mercedes fined for starting grid tyre pressure infringement

The Mercedes team was hit with a fine by the FIA after Sunday’s Sao Paulo…

21 hours ago