Robert Kubica's F1 riddle: Williams set on driver linked to Russian billionaires and Putin

Six years ago, he was left in intensive care wondering if he would ever walk again. Then he looked as though he might be back competing in the fastest sport in the world.

But now the dream seems to be over as Williams reportedly prepare to hand the wheel of their second F1 car to Sergey Sirotkin for the 2018 season.

The young Russian tested alongside Kubica in Abu Dhabi last month and is thought to have impressed the team with his pace despite the Pole producing the quickest Williams lap-time of the two days. However, the times are understood to be somewhat misleading, with Sirotkin not given the same opportunity to do a qualifying run as Kubica and the “adjusted” times placing the Russian 1.6 seconds ahead of his rival and 1.3 seconds on the harder compounds.

However, there is there another reason behind the potential appointment of Sirotkin, could it be money?

According to multiple reports, Sirotkin will bring with him a sponsorship deal for the next two years worth as much as £15million. When put into the context of Williams’ financial results for 2016, that is close to a 10 per cent increase on the revenue of their entire group. The F1 team on its own turned a profit of just £12.4m. There is little doubting that the eight-figure sum Sirotkin may represent could have turned their heads.

Express Sport approached Williams to ask about the presence of a financial package backing Sirotkin from SMP Racing, and they would not comment on the issue.

But, if the reports are correct where is the money coming from? Pull at that thread, and you find your way to the very top.

Sirotkin is part of the SMP Racing stable, a Russian outfit that also claims Vitaly Petrov among its 21 “pilots”.

The team are understood to be behind the massive financial backing of Sirotkin – who would be the grid’s only Russian driver after Daniil Kyat was dropped by Toro Rosso.

That would appear to be an important factor. Russian pride is at stake. Since the Russian Grand Prix’s reinstatement back in 2014 (100 years after its last edition), Kvyat has flown the flag at Sochi. In 2015, he even managed to finish fifth, one of his best ever results in F1.

But after his fourth retirement of the 2017 season, he was dropped unceremoniously by Toro Rosso, having been demoted from the senior Red Bull team mid-season in 2016. All of a sudden, Russia were forced to consider a home Grand Prix without a home driver.

So up step SMP Racing who could provide a huge cheque and a reasonably capable driver, who is already Renault’s reserve, to fill the void. But with how much input from the Kremlin?

SMP Racing was founded by Boris Rotenberg, a man who also founded SMP Bank along with his brother Arkady. Both men are billionaires but have chequered pasts. Arkady was twice listed on the EU list of sanctions against Russia – after successive appeals the General Court of the European Union decided that he “benefited from decision-makers who were responsible for the annexation of Crimea” for the period 2015/16.

Brother Boris was was never subject to EU sanctions.

But both men were hit by US sanctions in 2014 and had assets frozen because of their close links to Vladimir Putin. 

How close are the brothers to the Kremlin? About as close as to each other.

The pair are family friends of Putin and have known him, it would appear, since childhood. But their bond really comes through sport. Boris was a keen martial artist as a child and trained in judo alongside Putin, who famously still enjoy the pursuit to this day.

Both Boris and Putin have maintained their friendship through the intervening years.

Indeed the Rotenbergs’ company has won a number of major infrastructure contracts in Russia, especially in relation to the Sochi Winter Olympics.

So when it came to needing to get a Russian driver into F1 seat to save Russian honour, did Putin put in a call to his old friend Boris? We will never know.