Sirotkin eventually signed a two-year contract with Williams over the off-season to replace retired Felipe Massa, the Russian bringing with him a reported £13million of sponsorship a year.
Williams also announced the signing of Robert Kubica, who has not raced in F1 since a life-altering rallying crash in 2011: the Pole will act as their reserve driver in 2018.
The Grove-based team are the second outfit to have released their car for 2018 after Haas dropped a surprise video of their 2018 challenger yesterday.
“We’re one of the first to show our car,” said Williams chief technical officer Paddy Lowe.
“It’s a very exciting moment. Everybody has a great anticipation about what this car will deliver.”
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The cars are the first look for fans of the new Halo driver protection system, about which fans and drivers alike have voiced their displeasure from its very inception, even before this Williams release.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen once again complained about the visual impact of the feature this week, well ahead of his team’s car launch.
“The halo – that will be very ugly,” Verstappen said.
“I am not looking forward to that.”
He added: ”Because the halo is quite heavy, it will be more than six kilos, it is definitely not favourable for me.
“Being a taller driver and also a bit of a heavier driver than most, it is definitely not ideal.
“But I am not going to adjust my training for it, because otherwise I won’t feel well during the races.”