Sergey Sirotkin believes his and Williams’ pace at the Monaco Grand Prix proves that its low-key performance at the preceding event in Spain was a one-off.
Williams has struggled in Formula 1 this season, with its sole points finish coming courtesy of Lance Stroll in Azerbaijan, as it occupies the foot of the 10-team Constructors’ Championship.
Sirotkin’s struggles were accentuated in Spain as he was knocked out in Q1 and spun in the race en route to finishing as the final classified runner, three laps down.
Sirotkin, though, rounded out the top 10 in FP1 and FP3, and finished eighth in Q1, before taking 13th in Q2, labelling the result “a bit behind where we expected to be”.
While Sirotkin’s race was ruined by 10-second stop/go penalty after a wheel assembly issue meant his tyres were not fitted at the three-minute signal, he exuded confidence over the FW41’s pace.
“I’m happy that we are back in our normal routine, our progression, and just once again confirmed that Barcelona was a weekend off and a weekend to forget,” Sirotkin said of his one-lap pace.
“It’s a positive trend, obviously Barcelona was a one-off and it was important to prove that.
“I didn’t want that to upset our mentality and our motivation for all the work here and back at the factory.
“Now we can confirm Barcelona was a one-off, we are there, fighting, not just for the result but mentally for all of us.”
Sirotkin reckons that his performance in Monaco only went to emphasise that the nature of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya starkly highlighted Williams’ weaknesses
“Up to Barcelona it was all looking very good, were working hard, slowly of course, could see some improvements here and there, building slowly, building the base,” he said.
“Then Barcelona was a big crossover and everything, it was a really [stand out] track for us which really highlighted all of our difficulties and problems at the moment.
“[The Monaco pace] is important, I would feel myself stupid if I said this and then we came [to Monaco] and it would be the same [as Barcelona].
“I knew it was not going to be the same but I proved it is a bit different, happy we proved this and I hope somehow this result [13th in Q2] will please all the people working here and back at the factory.”
Williams confirmed on Wednesday that Dirk de Beer has departed his role as Head of Aerodynamics.
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