Sergey Sirotkin, set to smash the record next year as the youngest ever F1 racer, has hit back at claims he is a "pay driver". The 17-year-old's father is a key figure among the Russian entities that have bailed out the ailing Sauber. Currently just ninth in the Formula Renault 3.5 series, behind highly rated drivers like the McLaren-backed Kevin Magnussen, and the likely next Toro Rosso driver Antonio Felix da Costa, Sirotkin's fast-track to the grid has earned him the 'pay driver' label. "That is completely wrong," Sirotkin told Basler Zeitung newspaper. "There is much more to it. We are talking about a big project, where another driver could have been selected....
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