Robert Kubica had been in strong contention for the main driver's seat at Williams for the majority of 2017.
Having tested Renault's cars from the 2013 season through to the 2016 campaign, Kubica proved that he still had the potential to get the most out of the cars despite his disability.
Kubica severely damaged his right arm in a rallying accident, leading to a large chunk of his arm having to be amputated. Throughout his recovery, he was told that he would never be able to drive a single-seater car again, however, Kubica defied the barrage of negativity and pushed through to once again silence those around him.
Coming into the 2017 Formula One season, Felipe Massa (who had already come out of retirement once), made it clear that at the conclusion of the 2017 campaign, he would be stepping away from the sport for good. This left Williams Martini Racing scratching their heads as to who would be appropriate to fill the soon to be vacated seat, partnering youngster Lance Stroll for 2018.
Three names became prominent in the media as the speculation grew... These were: Robert Kubica (once of BMW Sauber Petronas and Renault), Paul Di Resta (best known in F1 for racing for Sahara Force India); and Russian Formula 2 competitor Sergey Sirotkin. The obvious choice amongst fans was Kubica, due to his previous race win in what ultimately, was not an overwhelmingly convicing BMW powered Sauber at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.
Di Resta was viewed as the second best British driver behind the now 4 time World Champion Lewis Hamilton. He had showed much promise in again, a very disappointing Force India and therefore was a natural candidate for the British team.
Sergey Sirotkin has been one of the fiercest competitors in F2 over the last few years... Despite this, Sirotkin never won the Championship title thus making him the rank outsider for the highly coveted seat.
The seat was eventually claimed by the Russian, who Williams believe from a business standpoint, was the best choice going forward. While the partnership does boast youth, with Stroll being 19 and Sirotkin at 22. The Stroll family is also extremely wealthy, while Sirotkin is backed heavily by Russia, enabling millions of dollars to be invested in the team from both drivers overall.
This decision however, has led to much criticism from die-hard F1 fans who say that Williams have sold out for the money, turning their back on raw talent. The talent of both drivers is not be disputed by anybody other than team principals in context however given the pedigree of Kubica compared to the other driver's who were in contention, one can understand the outburst from disappointed supporters.
It remains to be seen whether Williams have taken the best option in Sirotkin but what remains prevalent is Kubica as their test/reserve driver, the ability he has and the possibility of progressing after this season should another vacancy become available...
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