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Di Resta says Williams made "risky" decision with line-up

Published on 03 Feb 2018 12:11
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By: Fergal Walsh

Paul di Resta believes that Williams has made a risky decision with its driver line-up for 2018. The Grove-based squad retained Lance Stroll for a second year, but had to search for a replacement for Felipe Massa, who retired from the sport following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The team ultimately chose Russian Sergey Sirotkin, who took part in a two-day test with Williams alongside Robert Kubica. Kubica too was hoping to win the race seat, but had to settle for the role of reserve and development driver.

Di Resta joined Williams in 2016 with reserve driver duties, and was called into action at the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix when Massa was deemed too ill to race. The Scotsman believes he did an impressive job at a private test at the Hungaroring, testing alongside Kubica.

"I was very happy with the test I did," he told RACER. "Exceptionally happy with the test I did. I had one of those days in a car that you couldn't ask for any better, and I feel that I delivered to the best of my potential, which they can see.

"It's a risky decision, the driver line-up, in the experience the guys have got," he continued. "Obviously, Lance has got a year under his belt, Sirotkin coming in. The key things for me is already you've got McLaren who are a key championship contender and Renault as a constructor should be able to beat somebody like Williams. Where does that fall within where you are in keeping the momentum?

"Obviously as the years go on, the experience of having a Mercedes engine diminishes a bit, so they've got a tough ask. There's more to the decisions than everything that comes out and fundamentally that board sat together and took what their best [decision] was from what they had on the table, for all the reasons that come into it," he concluded.

Fergal Walsh

F1 News Felipe Massa Sergey Sirotkin Lance Stroll Robert Kubica Paul di Resta Mercedes Williams McLaren Renault

Replies (8)

mcbhargav

Posts: 1,332
Lol! they made a financially prudent, competitively compromising decision.
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- Feb 3 2018 - 15:02
Kean

Posts: 692
What I find annoying is Williams saying they chose Sirotkin because he was the best driver they could find. Smedley confirmed to Sky that DiResta had been faster than Kubica in Hungary, yet DiResta was not called upon in Abu Dhabi likely because he didn't have sponsorship, Kubica and Sirotkin did. So clearly Williams is hurting financially and are looking for pay drivers. I'm fine with that, if only Williams would come right out and say it. This BS about Sirotkin being the most talented when there are drivers like Rosenqvist, Buemi, Vergne, DiResta and Wehrlein out there is really annoying.
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- Feb 3 2018 - 17:36
- Barron
  
  Posts: 625
  Well, I can’t find any references to the Di Resta Sky statement you quote but the truth is that Sirotkin went quicker than all contenders on tyre corrected times, so it’s not all down to money. You couldn’t expect them to come flat out and say they picked Sirotkin because of the cash (even if it were true) as there would be one majorly demotivated Russian on the grid next month and some very unhappy shareholders. Come on, be honest, if you were team boss and had to choose, which way would you go? Kubica with the unknown risks of his injury, and already at an age when some drivers are thinking of hanging up their helmets, Di Resta who didn’t exactly set the world on fire last time, or Sirotkin, a youngster with some potential? The world belongs to kids now anyway so I believe Williams made the correct choice, for now. They’ve still got Robert on-board and they could always parachute DiResta in if things didn’t work out. It’s a win-win for Williams.
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  Feb 3 2018 - 19:20
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Agree with Barron. The way I see it is that it wasnt a big risk at all. They got one driver and got to retain two spares to boot, which they can use in case Sirotkin doesnt fit their standard. I dont think they can get a better deal than that.
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  Feb 4 2018 - 07:44
- s_ya
  
  Posts: 21
  All right, support BARRON.
  
  And to create a good car every team needs Finance. Not all manufacturers... Not all rich...
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  Feb 4 2018 - 20:25
- Kean
  
  Posts: 692
  I'll concede that it is pretty dumb of me to expect Williams to say they picked him because of the money. What good would that do really, and I'm not saying Sirotkin is slow. In previous posts I've stated how he fared pretty well in GP2 and so on. What I am saying is that Williams didn't look for the best driver out there. They looked for the best driver with substantial financial backing. It was in a TV interview that Smedley nodded in the affirmative when asked if Di Resta had been faster, but obviously they picked Kubica over him otherwise we would have seen Di Resta in Abu Dahbi. This article in a way confirms that he was fast on the day, it reads as if he wants to say he was the fastest driver but is not allowed to. Williams picking Sirotkin over Kubica I'm fine with, Sirotkin was faster. But I can't buy into that they picked the fastest driver when they were just looking at a small pool of drivers.
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  Feb 5 2018 - 07:26
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Well thats the story of F1. As for Di Resta hinting at him being faster than Sirotkin: Wouldnt you, even if you were in fact slower?
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  Feb 5 2018 - 17:47
boudy

Posts: 1,168
This is just the way Williams is they are reliant on drivers bringing in sponsorship. However the issue I have is that they have gone for 2 relatively inexperienced F1 drivers which is ok if you bring in super talented drivers but they aren't that great. My impression is that sirotkin is slightly better but it's close. Hope they do well and give force India a run for their money.
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- Feb 3 2018 - 22:28