I'm up for it ,and promise to take out Elton at any opportunity!:eek:
DECEMBER 18, 2017 Billionaire backer pushes for Sirotkin seat Powerful Russian businessman Boris Rotenberg says he is pushing hard to secure Sergey Sirotkin's place on the 2018 grid. The matter of Williams' final driver for next season has become the subject of high speculation, with Russian Sirotkin and Robert Kubica vying for the seat. It was claimed last week that the British team was ready to end Kubica's comeback hopes by confirming a deal for Sirotkin. But Williams now says a decision will not be made until January. Sirotkin's backers, including the SMP Bank owner and billionaire Rotenberg who is reportedly close to Vladimir Putin, are reportedly promising over EUR 15 million in sponsorship. Rotenberg told Russian media he is working hard on the deal. "I never like to talk in advance," he said. "It's like football, when you only say you want to win the next game. "We are all hoping and trying to do everything, but it depends not only on us. The main thing is that they (Williams) understand us, but in any case Sergey deserves to go to formula one," Rotenberg added. "He beat the competition, going faster than Kubica and at the level of Stroll. So we now have the opportunity to put him into a car," he said.
So 1 test of unknown full parameters and Sirotkin is the next Schumi LOL. Williams the utter joke. So 2 wealthy men pressuring the team. The level of Stroll LOL?????????? That is not much on comparison LOL!!
So the latest news is that Kubica as ofered Williams 6 mil for the first 7 races...after that, if they like him, they will keep him, if not, well, they can pick Sirotkin.....it's better than nothing, and if the car was any decent Robert would trounce the ltle brat.....of course we all know williams is only after the money so they would +probably sack him anyway, but if Robert was able to show he's still very good, someone else might pick him up.
Gutsy move by Robert and his backers. And a fair chance to show what he can do. The question is whether or not Williams will give him 100% support for those races or just take his money and do nothing else for it but give him a seat in a car. At this point I do not have a lot of faith in the integrity of the Williams people. They could give Robert zero support for the money, let him struggle and fail, and then blame him and pocket the money or spend it on Stroll.
With Williams set to take Sergey Sirotkin, what's it like for those working in a team to know a driver has been taken primarily for commercial reasons? He seems to be an OK driver, but he's nothing amazing, so surely that just makes all the hard work feel like it's for nothing? David Mills, via email Williams is in a very difficult position for next year. It has Lance Stroll in one car with only a year's experience and, to be honest, he didn't improve as much as I expected as the season progressed. Yes, 2018 could be a very different story for Stroll, but with the information currently available Williams shouldn't expect too much. As for the second driver, Robert Kubica would have been a gamble. He was quick but his experience is now from quite a few years ago. Daniil Kvyat has current experience but his performances with Toro Rosso were a bit questionable. Sirotkin comes with only testing and Friday morning practice experience with Renault, so again is questionable. Paul di Resta again has experience from a few years ago and I am sure would have done a positive job. Pascal Wehrlein has current experience but, like di Resta, didn't seem to have much of a budget, which surprises me with the Mercedes contracts. For Williams, a better budget means it will be able to build and develop the car at a faster rate. I am sure it would have signed Kubica if his budget had come through, but it seems to have stumbled. Kvyat or Sirotkin are very similar gambles. Either of them could come good and be another Max Verstappen, as Stroll could, so I am sure it is down to who has the biggest budget and that would allow Williams to spend as required to get the car to the level required if it does ever get a top line driver. Provided, that is, it has the ideas and direction required. https://www.autosport.com/f1/feature/7914/would-sirotkin-demoralise-williams
Joe Saward offers this insight into the Williams driver situation - https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2017/12/19/the-williams-situation/
The Williams deal stinks. I still feel Kubica would be better served if he stepped away from F1 this year, did Indy Cars instead. If he has what it takes, it will show there and with much less political BS. There are bound to be new and better openings in F1 by halfway through the 2018 season.
Unfortunatly time is not on his side, he's not very young and he must take advantage of the hype it has been crated around his possible return...
My guess is that the Russian's check will bounce back right before the first race and Williams will need to beg Massa again to come off of retirement.
Hahahahaha, all credibility if that story gone ‘Either of them could be another max verstappen, as stroll could’ Course he could, they just mean that he could get acne and a bad attitude on track, not that he could emulate the speed and race raft of lil Maxine
Briatore ‘very sorry’ Kubica sensational F1 comeback failed Flavio Briatore says it’s a shame Robert Kubica will not make a sensational return to formula one in 2018. A source close to Kubica, the former BMW and Renault driver who almost lost his arm in a 2011 rally crash, admits the Pole’s comeback bid is now “game over”. Other sources claim Williams has definitely signed up Sergey Sirotkin, the Vladimir Putin-linked Russian driver. https://www.thisisf1.com/2018/01/04/briatore-very-sorry-kubica-sensational-f1-comeback-failed/
Well it certainly isn't a formal announcement from Williams so I take it with a grain of salt. I'm not convinced that Williams still has what it takes to be a winning team and so if they don't chose Kubica, I would not feel he lost that much. If he is really committed to open wheel racing and wants to get back in F1, I think a good showing in Indy Car would be a faster ticket to a stronger F1 team than Williams. Sauber/Alfa, Hass/Maserati, Toro Rosso/Honda would all be better matches for Kubica's talent and hunger.
Kubica's tyre struggles behind Williams decision to choose Sirotkin Robert Kubica's difficulty in adapting to Pirelli's new tyres is allegedly the reason behind Williams decision to run Sergey Sirotkin alongside Lance Stroll this year. Polish sports website Sportowefakty.wp.pl published an interview with BBC's Andrew Benson in which the F1 reporter offered some insight on what transpired during the post-race Pirelli tyre test in Abu Dhabi at the end of November. While details about the relative performance of Kubica and Sirotkin were scarce, the Russian driver apparently delivered a superior result, and proved faster on Pirelli's new rubber. "The main issue for Robert was primarily the speed on “qualifying” laps, during which the car has a small amount of fuel in the tank," Benson is quoted by Sportowefakty.wp.pl. "Kubica, on all his runs using the tyres could not significantly improve performance. "I also received information that the 33-year-old himself revealed to his manager his problems with adapting to the new tyres provided by Pirelli. "There is nothing strange about this. Many regular F1 drivers complain about the revolutionary tires of the Italian company. "For Kubica, however, the adaptation process can be a much more difficult challenge. Unlike the rest of the drivers, the Pole has not driven any of the last six seasons since Pirelli became F1’s partner. "In the end, Williams management in Grove decided that Kubica couldn’t get the job done and that in their current situation there is no room for risk. Hence the choice of Sirotkin." Benson reported last week that Williams was currently in the process of finalising Sirotkin's contract, with an announcement due any day. The 22-year-old Russian driver's cause was also likely helped by his financial support package, courtesy of his long-time backers SMP and worth a reputed $20M. http://en.f1i.com/news/289797-kubicas-struggle-tyres-set-back-sirotkin.html
Specially when this "tyre explanation" comes after Williams reportedly left some time to Kubica to try and match Sirotkin's money contribution...
JANUARY 10, 2018 Sponsor issues no comment to Sirotkin reports A man close to the negotiations has issued a firm "no comment" on whether Williams' 2018 driver lineup is now complete. Although Robert Kubica was earlier a popular contender for the seat, it is now firmly believed that Russian Sergey Sirotkin will become Lance Stroll's teammate this year. However, former F1 driver Mika Salo is not commenting. "I cannot comment on anything about that at all," he is quoted by Ilta Sanomat newspaper. The Finn, who drove for Ferrari and Toyota, is now the sporting director of SMP Racing -- the motor racing arm of the Russian bank SMP that will reportedly back 22-year-old Sirotkin to the tune of $20 million in 2018.
Kubica now in talks with Williams for support role: (From: https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/kubica-in-talks-for-williams-support-role-for-2018-995381/ ): Sergey Sirotkin is the favourite to get the race drive alongside Lance Stroll, having fended off competition from Kubica, Daniil Kvyat, Paul di Resta and Pascal Wehrlein. Williams has insisted throughout the process that its decision on the driver to partner Stroll would be based purely on performance and Sirotkin is believed to have come out on top. Kubica was purely focused on getting a race seat in F1 this season, but when it became clear that was unlikely to happen, he and his team switched tact. Talks regarding alternative options began, with Kubica keen to be involved with Williams in some guise during the coming campaign. It is understood discussions are centred around a supporting role, helping drive car performance and development, with the potential for more time behind the wheel. Such a move would make sense for both sides, with Williams gaining an experienced driver to support what is likely to be an inexperienced line-up. Kubica will get more time to prove he can compete at the highest level again. Williams is refusing to comment on the make-up of its driver line-up for 2018 and will make an announcement in due course. Until his recent Williams test, Kubica hadn't been in F1 or driven an F1 car for 6 years, and during the recent test, it appears he couldn't get to grips with the modern day Pirelli tyres, and get them to work at their optimum performance, so just how good would he be as a development driver? - Let's not forget that reading, understanding, and optimizing the performance from the tyres, is a major part of today's F1. The article claims that being a development driver for Williams would give him: "more time to prove he can compete at the highest level again", but would it really? - Nobody pays any attention to how "development drivers" do in the simulator, if Williams go with Stroll and Sirotkin then they can't really afford to sacrifice either driver's free practice sessions for Kubica to brush up his driving skills, and with in-season testing being practically non-existent, he's going to have limited opportunities to demonstrate that he can compete at the highest level again. Becoming a Williams development driver would be a desperate attempt by Kubica to remain on the F1 radar, but it's pretty much the only hand he has left to play (no pun intended!) - I just can't see how it could work for him.
JANUARY 16, 2018 Kubica deserves a chance says Isola Robert Kubica needs more time to re-adjust to modern formula one. That is the view of Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola, amid reports Williams is now preparing to finally announce that Sergey Sirotkin will race for the team in 2018. Pole Kubica may be given a test role, but many are disappointed that Williams or Renault did not give him the chance to make a popular return to F1 seven years after serious injury. "He did not drive a formula one car for a long time and therefore needs time to adjust," Isola is quoted by Algemeen Dagblad newspaper. "In Abu Dhabi you could see that he was getting used to the car. The 2011 car was very different from the 2017 one, but I felt that he performed more than well and had no limitation. He really deserves a chance," he added.
