Executive Director of the Russian Automobile Federation (RAF) Sergei Sirotkin who has already played in Formula 1, told that he saw no reason to think about continuing his racing career under the current conditions.
Sirotkin became executive director in May 2022.
– Quite unusual for me, – said Sirotkin on the air of the program “All for the match!”. – I think now it makes no sense to go through the whole chain of events that led to such an appointment. In fact, the situation here may be as follows: the federation itself is a large body which still functions very well and fulfills its statutory missions. The federation has a president – Viktor Nikolayevich Kiryanov, they have a big council, a sports council, which bears great responsibility for certain decisions that are made, and in general for everything that happens in the federation. Now I join that. And here, probably, such a good combination turns out when I, a person who has gone through all of motorsport, both in Russia and in Europe, both at the level of Russian karting and at the level of Formula 1, with my even less professional with a fresher and more athletic look, I am ready to look at well-established rhythms in the federation, on the work that exists there, to breathe new life into it.
At the same time, it is important to stress that the federation itself has always existed and will continue to exist. That is to say, the task is to come and change something, to say that we do it this way, because I know better, no.
– Will it be possible to combine now? Because you have your own karting academy and at 26 you would like to see the rest of your racing career.
– With a career as a pilot now, everything is not so simple. We understand very well why. I don’t even see much point in it. I now have in my hands a valid contract with Ferrari, signed on both sides, in GT racing (Gran Turismo car racing championship). I don’t think I’ll be able to drive for a year or two right now. I try to think in perspective. What will it give me if I go more or less in a season. It won’t do me much good. But I don’t think I’m at the age to think about getting high for another year.
—Alonso 40…
– Alonso has done more in motorsport than me. Therefore, he has the right, and he doesn’t just get high, but does a great job for the Alpin team.
– Do you have any ideas for developing children’s motorsport?
— Of course, we have a lot of ideas for the development of youth motorsport, karting is currently more widespread, accessible, karting is a platform that can be a gateway for a large number of children starting out in sports car. There are also many other disciplines. What is important for us is a development plan for the channels in the country, when a person comes, tries, and then what. This is a sensitive subject in motorsport. A person is forced to travel a lot for his money, which greatly limits the circle of people who reach a high level. I consider it important to develop programs that will make motorsport more honest, open and accessible from this point of view. The point is that it must be an understandable chain of development, which, when only the pilot enters this environment, would make it possible to understand that if successful, the pilot will have the possibility of going further. I would definitely like to build such a ladder in Russia.
– How can the RAF assist riders who, in light of recent events, may have issues with licensing?
– The approach must be purely individual. As a country, we would like our pilots to fight under the Russian flag, but the environment itself dictates different conditions for us. We are working with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) to rethink the way we approach our drivers. The situation itself pushes us to be less dependent on the West, on imports, on prices, on the euro exchange rate.
How many years does it take to get there?
— From three to 5-7 years. But at first we will be dependent on the situation in which we currently find ourselves. The sooner we start, the sooner we end. If I complete my duties in the RAF, that will be more important to me than a few GT races.
Sirotkin competed intermittently with Formula 1 from 2014 to 2019. The best place is 10th.
Source : MatchTV
