Williams sign Adrian Sutil as their reserve driver for 2015

It has been announced this morning that former Sauber driver Adrian Sutil has signed as Williams’ reserve driver this season.

Although Williams already have a test driver in place in Susie Wolff, Pat Symonds revealed in the wake of Valtteri Bottas’ absence in Australia that the Scot was not their reserve driver.

Symonds added that the team would be looking for such a candidate immediately and it would appear that Sutil is the driver they were looking for. The former Sauber driver was left without a race-seat for this year’s Championship after being dropped by the Swiss team in the wake of a dismal 2014 season.

Williams made the announcement this morning to the press and stated that Sutil will spend time in the team’s race simulator to ensure he is “fully accustomed to the Williams Mercedes FW37 controls and procedures” should he be required to race.

In his own interview with the media today, Sutil has stated that he is delighted to be working with the Williams team and is grateful for the opportunity. Sutil stated the following:-

‘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.’

It is clear for all to see that Sutil is delighted and thankful for the opportunity that WIlliams have given him this season as a reserve driver and he will want to show and reward their faith by ensuring that he does everything possible to help the team develop and improve the car further in order to achieve more success than last season.

Meanwhile in his own interview with the media today, Williams Team Principal Frank Williams has welcomed Sutil to the team and is delighted to have him on board this season.

Williams stated the following:-
‘I’m delighted to have Adrian join our stable of drivers for the 2015 season. Adrian brings extensive racing experience, having competed in 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.’

Williams just like Sutil is delighted to have secured the services of Sutil and believes that his racing experience will help the Williams team develop and improve further as a result of this. You can understand why Williams have signed him up especially given the fact that he does have experience racing in the current technical regulations alongside many years of experience racing in the sport and they believe that he is the best fit for the team to achieve further success this season.

I have over the past few months stated my own opinions on Sutil having had his chance in Formula One, has done the best he could with the equipment he was given and needed to move on. And I still stand by that viewpoint but I do understand why WIlliams have selected him as a reserve driver for this season due to his vast experience and knowledge from many years in the sport, even though my heart does go out to Susie Wolff still; despite her only being the test driver for this season,

Overall, I may not agree with the decision that they have made; but for Williams’ sake, I hope that this pays off for them and they achieve the results that they want to. It is clear they feel that they will benefit from Sutil’s experience and are happy with the choice they have made and believe that this will strengthen them as they look to build on the recent successes that the team have achieved under their restructuring period.

But for Sutil, he has been given another chance to show that he can make a contribution to the sport as a driver. I still feel he does not deserve it and that there are better drivers available that can do the job better than him. But it is now imperative that he grabs this chance and can do the job that Williams needs him to do and expect him to do at the highest standard.

Sarah Jones-@jonesy_laaa