Sirotkin: Smedley farewell will not hurt Williams

Williams driver Sergey Sirotkin has claimed Rob Smedley's departure from the side will not hurt Williams.

A few days ago, Smedley was announced to be leaving Williams at the end of the season - after five years at the team following his move from Ferrari.

Williams have had a disastrous season in 2018, with the side sitting rock-bottom of the constructors' standings and the team will have to make major changes to the machinery in time for 2019.

Sirotkin has praised Smedley's leadership skills, but believes his side won't be affected too much by the engineer's departure.

"Smedley is a great man and a leader within the team," Sirotkin said to FormulaPassion.it. "He has played an important role in Williams and I will miss a lot working alongside him in the future.

Sirotkin has only managed the single point this season, but the Russian driver stayed very secretive regarding his future in the championship.

"I think every driver is always convinced he deserves Formula 1 the following year," Sirotkin added. "For now, I am not able to say anything about what will happen in 2019, but I hope to have some information about it soon."