Sergey Sirotkin says he hopes Williams’ impending upgrade package can turn around it flailing fortunes in Formula 1, amid a lacklustre start to 2018.
Williams adopted an overhauled aerodynamic concept for this year as it sought to improve on fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship, but instead has slumped to last place.
Lance Stroll’s eighth-placed finish in Azerbaijan is the squad’s sole top 10 result in 2018, leaving it at the foot of the standings, nine points adrift of nearest rival Sauber.
Williams has also suffered 12 Q1 exits from 16 attempts, with Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin regularly lapping towards the rear of the field.
Williams has already implemented a recovery strategy and Sirotkin is hopeful that the first substantial FW41 upgrade package, set to be introduced in "one-two months’ [time]" will prove influential.
"We do have some quite interesting bits coming, which again we expect them to sort out much bigger [issues] than all the other bits we’ve brought up to now," said Sirotkin.
"Will it be exactly as it says on the paper? And will it be already straight away a solution to sort all the problems? I don’t want to promise.
"[But] those bits are something we really hope are going to make the difference."
Sirotkin says the realisation of its position at the second round of the campaign in Bahrain was a crucial factor in the team’s current attempt at turning around its fortunes.
"From Bahrain onwards it was like turning around point from where we started to work very well and fighting the problems,” he said.
“Up to Bahrain we had a bit of time to see the cars in different areas, different situations, to realise exactly what the problems are.
“Bahrain was probably a turning point to get a good idea from there onwards, we started the big projects the result of which we’re hoping will come in next month or so and we hope is going to solve those issues.”
Sirotkin is one of only two drivers yet to score a point this season, along with Haas’ Romain Grosjean.
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