Sergey Sirotkin
Sergey Sirotkin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sergey Olegovich Sirotkin August 27, 1995 Moscow, Russia |
| Occupation | Racing driver |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Known for | Formula One driver for Williams (2018) |
Sergey Olegovich Sirotkin (; born 27 August 1995) is a Russian racing driver who most recently took part in the 2025 Middle East Trophy representing SMP Racing. His Formula One career spanned the season.
Originating from Moscow, Sirotkin is the son of Oleg Sirotkin, who formerly led Russia's NIAT. He started karting at the age of 12 and progressed to Formula Abarth in 2010, securing the 2011 European Championship title and finishing second in the Italian Championship that same year. After competing in Italian Formula 3 and Formula Renault 3.5, he advanced to the GP2 Series with Rapax in 2015. Across two full seasons in GP2 with Rapax and ART, Sirotkin achieved several victories and twice ended the championship in third place.
Following his role as a test driver for Sauber, he was appointed reserve driver for Renault in . After impressing at the Yas Marina post-season test, he secured a race seat with Williams for , replacing Felipe Massa alongside teammate Lance Stroll. Sirotkin earned his first World Championship points at the 2018 Italian Grand Prix but was released after the year when SMP withdrew its backing due to concerns regarding the performance of the FW41.
He later returned to Formula One as a reserve driver for Renault and subsequently for McLaren in , maintaining his association with Renault through before exiting the sport. Since then, Sirotkin has shifted focus to sportscar racing, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship, GT World Challenge Europe, Intercontinental GT Challenge, and SMP's Middle East Trophy campaign.
Early and personal life
Sergey Olegovich Sirotkin was born on 27 August 1995 in Moscow, Russia. His father, Oleg Sirotkin, served as head of Russia’s National Institute of Aviation Technologies. Sergey completed his studies at Moscow Automobile and Road Construction University in 2017, earning a degree specializing in race car engineering.
Karting
Starting his karting journey in 2008, Sirotkin advanced through international competitions, reaching the KF3 and KF2 categories by 2010.
Formula Abarth
At just 15 years old, Sirotkin transitioned to single-seater racing by joining the inaugural season of Formula Abarth in Italy with Jenzer Motorsport. He made his debut at Vallelunga, where he scored points during his first race and completed the season ranked 18th overall. Continuing with Jenzer in 2011 as the championship divided into European and Italian series, he switched to Euronova Racing by Fortec prior to the Spa round. He clinched the European Series championship by winning five out of fourteen races. In the Italian Series, he finished as runner-up with two victories but narrowly missed out on the title following a mistake during the final race at Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
Auto GP World Series
In the 2012 Auto GP World Series, Sirotkin remained with Euronova Racing. During his debut event at Monza, he qualified on the front row, missing pole position by just 0.04 seconds to Adrian Quaife-Hobbs. Although he stalled at the start of the first race, he managed to finish fourth in the second race, setting the fastest lap in both contests.
At Valencia, Sirotkin overtook the championship leader Quaife-Hobbs before the opening corner to secure his inaugural victory. He once again recorded the fastest lap and became the youngest driver to win in Auto GP history. This achievement extended his streak to four consecutive fastest laps, breaking the previous record held by Romain Grosjean.
He wrapped up the season ranked third overall behind Quaife-Hobbs and Pål Varhaug, claiming two wins at Valencia and Sonoma, seven podium finishes, and earning his first pole position at the Marrakech Street Circuit.
Formula Three
In 2012, Sirotkin competed in the Italian Formula Three Championship with Euronova. He secured two victories at the Hungaroring and Monza, along with four additional podiums. Out of 24 races, he scored points in 22, excluding a retirement at Vallelunga and a disqualification at Monza. He finished fifth in both the European Series and Italian Series standings.
Formula Renault 3.5 Series
Sirotkin made his debut in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series at Moscow Raceway, his home round, driving for BVM Target alongside Nikolay Martsenko. He finished twentieth in the first race and retired from the second.
For the 2013 season, he competed full-time with ISR Racing, securing podium finishes at Alcañiz and Hungaroring, plus three other points-scoring results, ultimately placing ninth in the championship.
In 2014, Sirotkin switched to Fortec Motorsport, partnering with Oliver Rowland. He claimed his first pole position and maiden victory in Formula Renault 3.5 at Moscow Raceway. Despite experiencing five retirements due to mechanical failures, he consistently earned points when finishing races, missing out only once during the season. He concluded fifth overall with a total of 132 points.
GP2 Series
Sirotkin entered the GP2 Series in February 2015 with Rapax. Without prior experience on the Silverstone circuit, he won the feature race there for his first GP2 victory. Throughout that season, he added four more podium finishes and ended as third-place rookie overall.
For the 2016 campaign, Sirotkin joined reigning champions ART Grand Prix. The start of his season was challenging, including a spin and stall at Barcelona and a crash from pole position in Monaco. Nevertheless, he recovered strongly with double podiums in Baku and another pair of podiums at Hungaroring. At Spielberg, despite earning pole position, a poor getaway combined with a ten-second penalty hindered his race result. He claimed victory in the feature race at Hockenheim and finished runner-up at Sepang after encountering technical difficulties at Monza and Spa-Francorchamps. Sirotkin completed the year third in the drivers' championship, tied on points with Raffaele Marciello but ranked higher due to having more wins.
FIA Formula 2 Championship
Sirotkin made a brief comeback to the Dallara GP2/11 vehicle during the 2017 FIA Formula 2 Championship at the Baku event, stepping in for the injured Alexander Albon at ART Grand Prix. He managed to score points in both competitions. In 2020, he reappeared in Formula 2 pre-season testing with ART Grand Prix, substituting for the quarantined Christian Lundgaard.
Formula One career
In July 2013, Sirotkin joined the Sauber Formula One outfit with the goal of participating in Friday practice sessions that year and securing a race seat for . He continued as a test driver in 2014, completing 75 laps during Bahrain testing and obtaining his Superlicence. His first involvement in race weekend free practice came at the 2014 Russian Grand Prix, where he posted the 17th fastest time. However, Sauber’s organizational changes prevented him from obtaining a contract for the 2015 season.
By April 2016, Sirotkin had taken on a development role at the Renault Sport F1 Team, making an appearance in first free practice at the 2016 Russian Grand Prix. He maintained his position as Renault's reserve driver throughout 2017, participating in free practice sessions at the Russian, Spanish, Austrian, and Malaysian Grands Prix, receiving commendations from Renault team principal Cyril Abiteboul.
Williams (2018)
Following the conclusion of the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Sergey Sirotkin underwent testing with Williams as part of their driver evaluation process for 2018. Williams was impressed by his speed, technical insights, and dedication, leading to his signing in January 2018 to replace the retiring Felipe Massa alongside Lance Stroll.
At his debut during the Australian GP, Sirotkin qualified 19th but retired early due to a brake system issue caused by a sandwich bag. He out-qualified Stroll in Bahrain and China but finished just behind him in 15th place on both occasions. At the Baku GP, Sirotkin advanced to Q2 for the first time with a 12th place qualifying but was forced to retire after a collision on lap one. Additionally, he received a three-place grid penalty for the Spanish GP following an earlier incident. Although he qualified ahead of Stroll in Spain, the penalty relegated him behind his teammate on the starting grid; he then finished last due to a seat malfunction.
In Monaco, Sirotkin again qualified ahead of Stroll but incurred a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for a pit stop delay, ending up second last. Throughout much of the season, the Williams FW41 remained the slowest car on track; Sirotkin finished last or near last in Canada, France, Austria, and Britain. A minor improvement saw him match his Baku qualifying position in Germany; however, he retired due to an engine oil leak. Rain-affected qualifying in Hungary did not improve his fortunes as he again finished second last.
After the summer break, Sirotkin showed progress with a 12th-place finish at Spa ahead of Stroll despite an early collision with Valtteri Bottas. In Italy, he earned his first World Championship point when Romain Grosjean was disqualified, promoting him to tenth place. At Singapore, Sirotkin out-qualified Stroll but ended last after sustaining front wing damage and receiving a time penalty for blocking. His home race in Russia concluded with another last-place finish following incidents involving other drivers. Although he lost qualifying battles to Stroll in Japan, he finished ahead of his teammate during the race.
During the United States GP weekend, Sirotkin outperformed Stroll in both qualifying and race results; however, Stroll reversed this outcome in Mexico. In Brazil, Sirotkin once again out-qualified and finished ahead of Stroll.
Before the Abu Dhabi GP, it was confirmed that Sirotkin would not continue with Williams for 2019 after sponsor SMP Racing withdrew support due to unsatisfactory team performance and car development progress. In Abu Dhabi qualifying, he placed penultimate and finished last amid overheating problems during the race. He concluded the season at the bottom of the drivers' championship standings with only one point obtained at Monza.
Reserve driver positions (2019–2020)
During 2019, Sirotkin held reserve driver responsibilities for both the McLaren and Renault Formula One squads. He maintained his role as Renault's reserve driver throughout the 2020 season.
Sportscar racing tenure
In the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans, Sirotkin competed with SMP Racing, teaming up with Mikhail Aleshin and Viktor Shaytar, ultimately finishing 36 laps behind the leading LMP2 contender. For the 2019 event, he piloted an LMP1-class BR1 alongside Stéphane Sarrazin and Egor Orudzhev, although their race was compromised by a mid-event crash.
The year 2020 saw Sirotkin join AF Corse, where he raced a factory-backed Ferrari 488 GT3 in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.
Summary of karting career
| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Silver Cup — KF3 | 11th | |
| Göteborgs Stora Pris — KF3 | Ward Racing | 1st | |
| CIK-FIA Viking Trophy — KF3 | 27th | ||
| CIK-FIA Monaco Kart Cup — KF3 | 19th | ||
| WSK International Series — KF3 | 12th | ||
| CIK-FIA Asia-Pacific Championship — KF3 | Tony Kart Junior Racing Team | 11th | |
| 2009 | South Garda Winter Cup — KF3 | Tony Kart Junior Racing Team | 16th |
| Trofeo Andrea Margutti — KF3 | 32nd | ||
| WSK International Series — KF3 | 22nd | ||
| German Karting Championship — Junior | Ward Racing | 20th | |
| CIK-FIA Viking Trophy — KF3 | 3rd | ||
| CIK-FIA World Cup — KF3 | 26th | ||
| 2010 | South Garda Winter Cup — KF2 | Energy Corse | 16th |
| CIK-FIA Viking Trophy — KF2 | Ward Racing | 4th | |
| CIK-FIA European Championship — KF2 | 54th |
Summary of racing career
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | Podiums | Points | Final standing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2010 | Formula Abarth | Jenzer Motorsport | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 18th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Formula Abarth European Series | Jenzer Motorsport | 14 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 175 | 1st | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Euronova Racing by Fortec | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full Formula Abarth Results(key) (Entries in bold represent pole positions) (Entries in italics denote fastest laps)
Complete Italian Formula Three Championship Results( key) (Pole positions shown in bold) (Fastest laps shown in italics)
Full Auto GP World Series Results(Legend) (Entries in bold denote pole position) (Entries in italics signify fastest lap)
Full Formula Renault 3.5 Series Results(Legend) (Races marked in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics denote fastest lap) ...
Note: Did not finish but classified for completing over 90% of the race distance. Full GP2 Series / FIA Formula 2 Championship Results(Legend) (Entries in bold signify pole position) (Entries in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula One results(key) (Races shown in bold denote pole position) (Races in italics signify fastest lap)
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