Sergey Sirotkin has bemoaned the performance of the Williams Martini Racing FW41 after an inconsistent start to the Monaco Grand Prix weekend.
Sirotkin managed to make the top ten in an impressive Free Practice 1 despite making contact with the barrier on the start-finish straight, forcing his mechanics into some early repair work on the right rear corner. Free Practice 2 saw the Russian fall to fifteenth, only improving on his morning time by four-tenths of a second.
The FIA Formula 2 series graduate put the lack of performance in FP2 down to excessive traffic around the Circuit de Monaco and problems with the new hyper-soft Pirelli tyres.
“I would say today has gone quite well,” said Sirotkin, one of just two drivers yet to score in 2018.
“FP1 was reasonable, FP2 could have been quite a bit better. With the traffic and everything, I didn’t have a clean lap. There was always something compromising my lap, I was not in the right spot or the right window for the tyres.
“There is room for improvement but it’s good.”
Sirotkin did find positives, noting that Williams are in better shape comparative to the Spanish Grand Prix a fortnight ago, however the rookie followed team-mate Lance Stroll‘s lead in criticising the balance and general performance of the FW41, calling it a “demanding” car.
“We’ve seen already position-wise we are better than in Barcelona, but it was not the best of what we could do,” he added.
“I would not say we are very optimistic but it’s looking quite good. It’s challenging but if it was easy anyone would do it. We don’t have the easiest car to drive here. It’s a very demanding car and track but I really enjoy this challenge.”
