2018 Williams car is 'aggressive' - Sirotkin

Sergey Sirotkin has revealed that from what he has seen so far in his short tenure with Williams, the 2018 car is a lot more 'aggressive' than the previous version from last season, whilst also providing an insight into his relationship with Lance Stroll.

With Felipe Massa retiring in the summer, Williams were forced to find a new driver for the 2018 campaign, and Sirotkin was eventually selected.

The Russian was the final confirmed driver in the grid for the upcoming season so has not had as much preparation time as other performers, but has witnessed enough to claim that the new vehicle is a lot more 'aggressive' than last year's car.

"Although we announced our cooperation not so long ago, we started preparing at the Abu Dhabi test," he told the Russian publication Sport-Express.

"I have seen the new car in the wind tunnel and I can say that it looks cool -- much more aggressive. The simulator and other indicators confirm that a tangible step forward has been made."

Williams has received criticism for selecting two drivers, Stroll and Sirotkin, who allegedly have plenty of financial backing behind them, with Stroll, in particular, having a very rich father, but Sirotkin has brushed off the negativity and insisted Stroll will not use this to his political advantage in the team.

"Some people talk about the influence of his father on the team, but I do not see that within the team. I try to do my work as well as I can every day, and I'm sure that the team will see and appreciate it."

Sirotkin was given the seat with Williams ahead of Robert Kubica who had been attempting to make a comeback from a serious injury in the sport. The Russian claims that there is no problems between him and Kubica, who has now been confirmed as a reserve driver for the team.

"Robert is a very nice guy with character and charisma, which is important because we have to spend time together," he said.

"He is a talented and fast driver and completely understands the nuances of working with the car, which everyone knows. I will not compare him with myself, but it's good to have someone like him to help me to develop and also Lance and the whole team. Together we have a very good and quite young team."