Sergey Sirotkin is fulfilling a dream. The Russian driver will be one of the rookies on the grid this 2018 season. He was announced as an official driver and did not raise too many passions about it. The decision left Robert Kubica out of an official seat and that has not helped him precisely. His goal fot this 2018 has to be to prove that Williams’ decision is the correct one.
“Better than I could have dreamed. Being in F1 and in Williams is to be very proud”, Sirotkin said, to start the press conference. The Russian joked when he was asked about his confidence during the winter of being the chosen driver: “It depends on the month of winter you tell me. In some I was convinced in others not so much. But we are here and it is the important thing.”
After praising the city of Barcelona affirming that it is a city which “likes a lot”, Sirotkin did not want to set goals for 2018, for now: “It’s hard to say. I can tell you the podiums, victories, to be in the points, but, I do not know exactly. It’s better to see the first races and then set the goal.”
The Russian driver has highlighted the work of Williams despite the adverse weather conditions that have lived during this first week: “We have not had the best conditions. It has not been the ideal situation, but both, me and the team have tried to do as much work as possible. I have tried to do the best I could to give my feedback. There is a great atmosphere in Williams.”
Sirotkin says he has a “good feeling” of the car, but that they have not gone yet to score a qualifying lap: “I think that right now, taking the car to the limit is not the best thing. Now we have to look at other things, not just the clock.”
The times marked so far, despite not being a clear point of reference, predict a very tight middle zone. Precisely one of these teams is Williams. Sirotkin prefers to wait for the second week of the test: “Surely next week everything will be clearer and we will be able to work better and see the differences between the teams. Everyone is evolving, like us, so everything will be very tight. Next week will give us a picture closer to reality.”
On the Halo and the rain, Sirotkin has not noticed difference: “No. There’s no difference. It just makes a bit difficult for us to get in and out of the car, little else.”