Small shoes a pain for Sirotkin on test debut

2014 F1 season

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Sergey Sirotkin’s first appearance at a Formula One test was disrupted by an unusual problem – his shoes were too small.

The Russian teenager had to switch to larger footwear after his first runs in the C33 at the Bahrain International Circuit.

“In the afternoon we had some difficulties with my shoes,” Sirotkin explained. “They were too small, so it was pretty painful when I was braking.”

“When we changed the shoes, it was still not the best and difficult to drive.”

Nonetheless Sirotkin was able to cover the necessary minimum mileage required to obtain an F1 superlicence, which will allow him to participate in grand prix weekends.

“It was not easy, but I am glad we completed the 300 kms,” he said. “We know that there is a lot of potential for improvement and we should all be happy with this.”

Sirotkin, who will begin his second season in the Formula Renault 3.5 championship this weekend, added: “It was the first time for me in Bahrain and I liked the track.”

“In comparison to what I am used to driving in World Series by Renault, I have quite a lot more engine power and more acceleration with the Sauber C33.”

Sirotkin’s best lap during the test was a 1’39.023, the eighth-fastest of the day.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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30 comments on “Small shoes a pain for Sirotkin on test debut”

  1. That is strange. Surely he knows what size he wears

    1. Some people’s feet swell due to physical strain, which is something a braking foot would experience. I always found that looser shows are better for this reason when driving competitively. Good air circulation inside the shoes helps as well, as it cools the feet and also prevents the foot from sticking tightly to the insides of the shoe, causing irritation for skin.

    2. Lol, maybe he’s got large front-feet, so do I, and needs large shoes. He should’ve bring his own racing shoes.

      1. Clucky (@cluckyblokebird)
        9th April 2014, 3:45

        Large ‘front-feet’? What kind of animal are you?

        1. Giraffe.

        2. Haha. I lost my words…

    3. or maybe the Sauber cockpit only warrants shoes of a certain size; I can only assume that larger shoes wouldn’t fit in the cockpit?

      1. isn’t Sutil a tall driver? Surely he has experience of cars with Formula Renault and wud have sorted this problem out

      2. isn’t Sutil a tall driver? Surely he has experience of cars with Formula Renault and wud have sorted this problem out

        1. I have heard about rumours of Hulk having to cut out bits of the heel so his boots fit in some cars cockpits but I can’t remember which car he was driving when he had to do this

          1. I think it was in Sauber last year.

      3. Was just reading last week about Derek Warwick having this problem 25 years ago – good old Adrian Newey had made the cockpit so small his boots wouldn’t fit in…
        Formula 1’s minimum weight limit, by Nigel Roebuck (Motor Sport)

        I have quite a lot more engine power and more acceleration with the Sauber C33.

        …but less grip?

        1. Got the wrong team, I meant Ross Brawn! (before I get any snotty letters written in pencil)

    4. @foleyger sometimes it differs from brand to brand… it’s still a very weird problem :P

    5. Maybe it’s because he’s so young his feet are still growing.

    6. or maybe the team or his physio brought the wrong size shoes to the test. i doubt a driver is the one who carries his outfit and equipment to the circuits.

  2. Stephen Higgins
    8th April 2014, 19:02

    Try pulling the tongue out, Sergay.

    1. whoa man, easy there…

  3. Wasn´t Hulkemberg whose feet wouldn´t fit the cockpit and had to cut his shoes last season?

  4. James (@chairmanmeowmeow)
    8th April 2014, 19:52

    Well he does have some big shoes to fill.

    1. Zing +1 for first pun!

  5. I knew Russia had financial troubles but I didn’t realise they were this bad.. Poor guy

  6. Sirotkin thought it wouldn’t be too difficult to jump in the shoes of Sutil and I can’t blame him for that. It’s just that the shoes don’t fit.

  7. Not satisfied with forced-dieting, the teams are requiring foot-binding to reduce mass and improve packaging of the car.

    1. Yeah that’s going too far! Pastor’s frontal lobotomy didn’t work out for him either ;-)

      1. Wow. That’s pretty funny :)

  8. At least Sirotkin’s lap times were decent.

  9. Well, no pain, no gain Sergey!

  10. If he doesn’t know how to buy racing shoes, .that’s not a good sign surely ,. .

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