Sergey Sirotkin says Williams’ ongoing Formula 1 struggles have not softened the blow of losing his seat for 2019, and would still want to race for the team.
Sirotkin raced for Williams in 2018 and expected to remain for this year, but long-term backer SMP Racing was unconvinced to commit for another season while Williams itself opted to promote Robert Kubica to partner George Russell.
Sirotkin’s season with Williams coincided with its worst campaign in history, leaving the Russian scoring just one point, which came courtesy of a post-race exclusion for Haas in Italy.
Williams’ fortunes have nosedived even further in 2019 with its FW42 off the pace, consigning Kubica and Russell to the back, often a second adrift of the midfield rear-guard.
Sirotkin has since taken up a reserve role at Renault – which he previously held in 2017 – and has joined SMP Racing’s WEC team, having also had test outings for Mahindra in Formula E and Audi in DTM.
But he stressed he has never taken satisfaction from the plight of his former employers.
“I never had the feeling that I’m glad I’m not driving for them,” Sirotkin told Motorsport Week.
“You always want to be racing, you always want to be fighting. Even if you’re in the slowest car on the grid, you still want to drive.
“We also need to remember that, for sure, the Williams is missing a lot of pace to the top teams, but if you’re considering generally in Formula 1 history, they still are very very quick cars, if not the quickest in all of F1 history.
“So I would still enjoy [racing for Williams].
“Everybody asks if I’m glad I’m not driving, but no, I’m not. I want to be on the grid and I’d prefer driving there much more than watching them from the outside.”
Sirotkin is not slated to drive Renault’s R.S.19 at any point this year, with tester and Formula 2 title contender Jack Aitken set to run in next week’s Barcelona test.
This is because Sirotkin – on account of his 2018 experience – does not qualify as a young driver, to whom teams must allocate 50 per cent of their in-season track time.
