Williams Martini Racing driver Sergey Sirotkin says he has “good memories racing at Monza,” as he looks to score his first Formula 1 points, at the thirteenth time of asking.
Russian driver Sirotkin is in his first season of F1, and is to date the only driver on the grid yet to score a point, as Williams has struggled with its FW41 chassis throughout 2018.
The car is reported to carry too much drag in a straight line, and lose downforce through the corners. Former driver Alex Wurz indicated that a major problem, especially early in the season was an ‘aerodynamic stall’ at the rear of the car, on corner entry.
As a result, Williams has scored just four points in the first twelve races of the season, courtesy of Lance Stroll’s eighth place in Azerbaijan.
The team sit at the foot of the constructors’ table and was overtaken in the standings by the reborn Racing Point Force India Formula 1 Team squad in the Belgian Grand Prix.
In previous seasons, Williams’ reputation for producing low-drag, high top speed cars led to the team to look to the Autodromo Nazionale Monza for a good result, and Sirotkin hopes that his past experience of the circuit will help the team this weekend.
“I have very good memories of racing at Monza, as I raced there a lot in my junior categories,” he explained.
“I like the spirit of the track and the challenges that the high-speed, low-downforce corners create for the drivers. The track will throw some challenges at the car, which will be nice to evaluate,” he added.
“It is [also] the last European race [of the season], so we will have to enjoy it as much as we can.”
In his junior career, including in what was then GP2, now FIA Formula 2, Sirotkin never managed to win at Monza, although he did post two fastest laps in the 2012 Auto GP World Series double-header held at the circuit.
