Thursday 26 March 2015

Williams Martini Racing sign Adrian Sutil as Reserve driver

JFX4635.jpg
(Sauber F1 Team)

The Williams Martini Racing Team confirmed on Thursday that they have signed former Sahara Force India and Sauber F1 Team driver Adrian Sutil as their official reserve driver.

The German lost his race seat with the Sauber F1 Team at the end of last season and will now be the Williams Martini Racing Team’s first port of call should Felipe Massa or Valtteri Bottas be unable to take part in a Grand Prix weekend.

The news means that the Grove based outfit now have five drivers with Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa racing for the team. Alex Lynn is the team’s Development driver. Susie Wolff was promoted over the winter to role of test driver however many (myself included) believed that the Scottish driver was going to be the team’s reserve driver as well.

However this has proven not to be the case with Williams Technical Director Pat Symonds confirming following the Australian Grand Prix that she is just the team’s test driver.
The Grove based outfit have now signed Sutil as reserve driver. Speaking about the news the German stated:

I'm very proud to be a part of such a famous and great F1 team. To work for Sir Frank Williams and his team means a lot to me. I would like to thank everyone at Williams for their belief in my qualities and the opportunity to work with such a successful and competitive outfit.

Williams Martini Racing Team Principal Sir Frank Williams commented saying:

I'm delighted to have Adrian join our stable of drivers for the 2015 season. Adrian brings extensive racing experience, having competed 128 Formula One races during his career. Having most recently raced during the 2014 season also gives him excellent knowledge of the current generation of race car and new Hybrid power units, which is invaluable for anyone needing to step into the cockpit in 2015. The fight for a top Constructors’ Championship position will be intense this season, therefore we have selected a driver with recent race experience and are confident that if the need arose, he would be a solid pair of hands to race the FW37 and assist our 2015 campaign.

© Ben Johnston 2015

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