Renault Sport managing director Cyril Abiteboul has expressed his happiness at seeing both Sergey Sirotkin and Robert Kubica earning opportunities at Williams for the 2018 Formula 1 season.
Sirotkin, who will race alongside Lance Stroll, completed six practice appearances during his two-year spell as reserve driver at Enstone, while Kubica, now reserve and developmental driver at the British team, initially completed a number of tests with Renault during last summer as he looked to make a much hoped for return to F1.
“I’m happy to see drivers we had connections with raising their profile and raising their skills,” he said while introducing the French manufacturer’s group of young drivers for 2018 earlier this week.”
Though there has been some disappointment that it was the Russian who beat the Pole to the race seat, with many believing the decision was financial, Abiteboul insists Sirotkin is more than capable as a driver.
“For Sergey, it shows Renault can influence the life of a driver and then if they can make it into F1,” the team boss claimed.
“We were very impressed as a team by his ability to understand the car and the dynamics of the car and he certainly has the knowledge and in my opinion also the talent.”
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1992 F1 champion Nigel Mansell is also easing concerns over what is the youngest line-up on the grid this year, with Stroll and Sirotkin a combined 41 years old.
“In years gone by, without the computer aids, I’d be concerned by two young drivers in the team,” the Williams legend told Motorsport.com.
“That is not so much the case now with so many support engineers and so much information.”
After being in the mix regularly with Red Bull and Ferrari in the early years of the current hybrid formula, the Grove-based team has struggled in recent years, falling behind Force India and now facing further threats from the likes of Renault and McLaren.
“I hope the car is good and that there’ll be some races where they can shine. I hope they don’t fall down the grid,” Mansell added.
The Briton does see the presence of a former Grand Prix winner in Kubica as a positive, however, believing his knowledge could be invaluable to the two men behind the wheel.
“It depends how much experience a driver has got of winning and competing at a high level,” he stated.
“I find it interesting having been teammates with world champions and working with all of them closely, you tend to learn an awful lot real quick. You have more insight. It always interests me to get someone else’s perspective.”
