Sirotkin: The most painful race of the year

Sirotkin was 18th in FP1, 19th in FP2, 17th in FP3 and 18th in qualifying, more than three seconds slower than the fastest time in Q1.

But due to penalties taken by frontrunners, the Williams driver started the race higher up on the grid than expected but was soon gobbled up by the pack and spent the rest of his afternoon at the wrong end of the field. He crossed the finish line last of the 18 cars running at the end

Sirotkin reflected afterwards, "A very painful race. The most painful race of the year."

"I think we could have picked up some very good points from this race, in terms of where we have been and where the pace was, but from the start, every single bit went wrong for us."

"We’ve always been in the worst possible position on the track with the worst possible traffic situation. A few things we managed very well, but despite that, the whole race has turned around against us and it was a very painful moment for me."

Sirotkin's future remains uncertain since it merged his backers SMP Racing only have a one year deal in place for him with Williams, and although he is in the running for the seat it is not yet signed, sealed and delivered.