Sirotkin not taking joy from Williams' struggles

Sergey Sirotkin says that he is taking no pleasure from seeing his former team Williams struggle at the back of the grid in 2019.

Sirotkin raced for the Grove squad last season, when it also struggled at the rear of the field.

However, Williams has taken another step back this year and is well over one second down on its nearest competitor. 

After being kicked out of the team in favour of Robert Kubica, who worked as its third and development driver last season, Sirotkin admits he wishes he was still racing for Williams despite the tough period it is currently enduring.

"I never had the feeling that I’m glad I’m not driving for them,” Sirotkin said to 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.”

Since leaving Williams, Sirotkin has taken on a role with Renault, acting as its reserve driver for the 2019 season.

He has also competed at two races in the World Endurance Championship with SMP Racing, finishing fourth at the 6 Hours of Spa last weekend.