Sergey Sirotkin has admitted he is hoping Williams picks him instead of Robert Kubica to drive for the British team in 2018. Although Kubica is the hot candidate, and other drivers are still in the running, Russian Sirotkin actually got a test in the 2017 car this week in Abu Dhabi.
“I want to thank Williams for giving me the opportunity even if I don’t know what the future will bring,” the 22-year-old told France’s Auto Hebdo. Sirotkin, strongly backed by the Russian programme SMP Racing, was Renault’s reserve driver in 2017. Some believe Williams just wanted to collect a one-off sponsorship payment from SMP, while others think he is a contender to be the team’s reserve driver.