Sergey Sirotkin has had to reject a far-fetched theory put forward by former Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve, who suggested Robert Kubica is sabotaging Williams.

The Canadian has often expressed his displeasure at the Pole's attempted comeback, though did appear on his side at the start of the year when criticising the British team for putting money first when choosing Sirotkin for the seat alongside Lance Stroll.

After both drivers struggled for pace in Australia though, with Stroll claiming he could not race the 2018 car, Villeneuve claimed the problems could stem from Kubica, who is the development driver, misdirecting the team to make the car suit him.

"Robert is the driver who will most develop the car, and it's possible he will consciously make it difficult to drive for the other drivers," he told Sky Italy.

"His dream is to race the car, not to be the third driver, and so I do not underestimate this point. In his situation I would do exactly the same."

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The Russian driver, who retired in Melbourne due to a plastic bag in his brake duct, cast doubt on the idea though, believing the 33-year-old would not be so selfish.

"Technically it's possible," he told Sport FM. "But I know Robert and he's a good guy, so just as a person he would not do it.

"Plus, in your work, you are trying to improve the car, not just improve it for yourself. So even if he wanted to, I think physically it would not be so easy.

"The team will think 10 times about why the car needs this or that change to give an improvement in performance," Sirotkin added.