LINKEDINCOMMENTMORE

LONDON (AP) — Sergey Sirotkin will drive for Williams and form the most inexperienced line-up on the Formula One grid with Lance Stroll.

The 22-year-old Sirotkin, who has previously been a test driver for Sauber in 2014 and Renault in 2016 and 2017, has been chosen to replace Felipe Massa to drive with the 19-year-old Stroll.

Sirotkin is set to become the third Russian to compete in a Formula One race after Vitaly Petrov and Daniil Kvyat.

Sirotkin has been supported through his career by the SMP Racing project of billionaire Boris Rotenberg, a close ally and former judo partner of President Vladimir Putin.

The new season gets under way in Melbourne on March 25.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.