Bruno Senna's seat at Williams is secure despite rumours suggesting he could be replaced by reserve driver Valtteri Bottas, the team have insisted.
"We are not replacing anybody," says Wolff
Bruno Senna's seat at Williams is secure despite rumours suggesting he could be replaced by reserve driver Valtteri Bottas in the near future.
The fortunes of Williams' drivers could not have been more varied at last week's Spanish Grand Prix: while Pastor Maldonado claimed his first Formula 1 victory - and the team's first since 2004 - from pole position, Senna crashed out of the race having also spun out of qualifying.
While Maldonado now has 29 points - 25 of which came from Sunday's win - Senna has bagged 14 so far this season.
The difference between the pair is more stark on Saturday afternoons, with Maldonado having now outqualified his Brazilian team-mate four times out of five.
Bottas has also caught the eye during his Friday practice appearances by setting faster times than Maldonado in three of the four sessions he has so far taken part in.
The 22-year-old Finn, who won the GP3 title in 2011, is taking part in 15 sessions for Williams this season and set the fifth fastest time in FP1 at the Circuit de Catalunya.
However, according to board member Toto Wolff, he will not be promoted to a race seat anytime soon.
"We are not replacing anybody," Wolff told
Autosport.
"We have contracts with two drivers, and we are supporting our drivers as much as we can and as well as we can.
"The decision to take on Bruno and Pastor was a very carefully taken one and we will push on - not do some knee-jerk exercise."
Wolff added: "With Valtteri, we are going through a development school and the decision to run him on Fridays was very carefully decided.
"We are not going to burn him up either by putting him in a situation that we think is not appropriate. So the rumours are rubbish."
