Sergey Sirotkin described his final Formula 1 race with Williams Martini Racing as a “very painful” one.
The Russian finished fifteenth and last of the classified runners on Sunday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix., ending his 2018 season on a sour note.
Committed to a one-stop strategy, Sirotkin spent the majority of the race at the rear of the field unable to make up places.
Afterwards, he admitted his race was compromised from lights out after a poor getaway.
“It was a really bad race. I didn’t get the best start and straight away I lost a lot of ground and wasn’t in the best position for the next sequences of corners.
“I had problems with the car overheating so for one third of the race I had to do massive cooling. It was such a painful race, such a painful stint.
“I was trying my best to cool it down as quick as I could but as other cars pitted and came out behind me, I tried to fight, protect and cool the car at the same time and it was a mess.”
Sirotkin, who will be replaced by the ever-popular Robert Kubica in 2019, described the ending to his sole season in the sport as “painful”.
“I didn’t enjoy it. It has been a very, very painful race. I really wanted to enjoy it and it’s just so painful to finish the season like this.”
