Why Sergey Sirotkin deserves a seat in Formula 1
A brief story on why the young Russian has the skills for Formula 1.
Sergey Sirotkin has come into Formula 1 at a fascinating point. 2017 was a year that consisted of significant changes, and not just changes with the car.
2017 was a ‘changing of the guard’ type moment. It was Felipe Massa’s last season, Jenson Button said his final goodbye in Monaco, and Fernando Alonso’s future was once again debated.
Impending doom was also forecasted for Red Bull after reaching to the WEC to find a driver. While this was not a huge issue, it made people take an interest in their somewhat depleted young driver program.
All of this paved way to an exciting 2018 season with regards to the driver market. If anyone is following this year closely, you will know it’s a proper silly season.
This is also where Sergey Sirotkin inserted his presence in Formula 1. The name was an outside-of-the-box pick for Williams. They lost Felipe Massa, and they were in desperate need of money. By 2017 year end, Williams had only earned just over 14 million pounds before tax. That includes revenue from all sources, one of which being Williams Advanced Engineering.
Sergey was battling for a seat with former F1 driver, Robert Kubica. Robert was top class driver but had to take time off after an accident outside of F1. As a fan favourite, there was some uproar after picking Sergey.
This made for a rocky entrance as the fans and some press were difficult on him. The main reason being his ‘money’ bought him a seat, and this is true, but people seem to disregard that he is a skilled driver.
During the 2016 GP2 season, now known as Formula 2, he finished third. Placing behind Pierre Gasly and Antonio Giovinazzi. Starting off with three retirements in the first five races, there were some hurdles to overcome. However, during the fifth and sixth race, he grabbed two podium finishes (a 2nd and 3rd respectively).
He finished off the remainder of the season with two wins and four additional podiums, and only two more retirements. In 2017 he was primarily out of racing but earned multiple F1 tests with Renault and one with Williams.
The 2017 F1 test drives were following up on some he did during the 2016 GP2 season with Renault. He also got an elevated role with Renault, a third driver position. The most crucial test was with Williams. His first outing with Williams in 2017 was during the Austrian Grand Prix.
He finished 17th in the first practice session, ahead of Alfonso Celis, Pascal Wehrlein, and Marcus Ericsson. He did 27 laps with a fastest lap of 1:08.586. His most standout test, however, was in Malaysia with Renault.
He would take an unexpected tenth place on the timing board for the first practice session. The session yielded limited lap time due to weather, but Sergey put in a great time in these conditions. It was somewhat overshadowed by his spin and Pierre Gasly placing ninth in the same session.
Williams was impressed by the initial showings and wanted to make a move on Sergey. Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal of Williams, was keen to point out that it was inappropriate to label him as a paid driver.
“It’s nothing new in F1 that drivers come with money, and thank goodness that they do,” said Williams. “It would be incredibly naive for anyone to make that statement, saying, ‘He’s just a pay driver.’ It’s great if a driver has financial interests from partners — it’s great for the team, it’s great for the driver. — Claire Williams to AutoWeek.com, Feb 16th, 2018
2018 was once again a slow start for Sergey (this seems to be a trend in his short racing career) but from what was seen in GP2, it gets better. Adjusting time is always needed when coming to Formula 1, and Sergey seems like a driver that needs some time to adjust.
Although that adjustment period was a few races in GP2, the learning curve will be steeper in Formula 1 which means that time is extended. This is just the beginning for Sergey Sirotkin. Picking up his first point at the recent Italian Grand Prix (due to Romain Grosjean disqualifying, but still), will take a lot of pressure off of a young driver like that.
Williams seems like they are going to stick with him for a while so it will be interesting to see how he develops. A lot of his success will, unfortunately, be related to the car he is driving. This is something that could potentially halt his Formula 1 career moving down the line, but for now he deserves a seat.
By: Andrew Miles
