Williams deputy team boss Claire Williams has claimed the ongoing situation regarding Lance Stroll and his move to Force India is "distracting" their 2019 driver line-up decision.
Following the purchase of the Silverstone-based squad by his father Lawrence during the summer, the Canadian is expected to leave his current seat and replace Esteban Ocon, however, it is unknown if that will happen before the end of the season or will wait until next year.
“It is a bit of a moving target at the moment (around Lance),” Williams told Sky Sports. “We’re going through those conversations and waiting to see where and when he’ll end up.
“It’s more about what happens at Force India than it is about us. We’re going race by race.
“Lance and Sergey [Sirotkin] are here for us and I’m sure they will be for the next race too.”
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Faced with the potential for needing a third driver this season, it means Williams are having to put back their plans for 2019, where it is thought Sirotkin will stay alongside a new teammate.
“Everything that’s recently happened with Force India and the Stroll scenario has distracted us from our focus on driver evaluations," Claire continued. “We are now halfway through that progress.
“We won’t be making a decision anytime soon, you know what we’re like at Williams we tend to leave this right until the end of the season.”
Given the drop in sponsorship revenue as Martini and Stroll leave, it is thought finances could be a factor in who Williams choose, though the team has shrugged off any claims of budget shortfalls for next season.
