Wolff admits to Sutil blow

Test driver Susie Wolff has admitted that she suffered a major blow when Williams announced that Adrian Sutil was to become their reserve driver.

The Scottish racer will compete in FP1 for Williams on Friday in the Spanish Grand Prix, but she still feels a long way away from a permanent race seat.

She told BBC Sport: "I have shown I am capable, I'm in a very competitive team, I drive a car which is capable of podium positions. That was a sign that, 'Yes, you're close, but you are still very far away'.”

Wolff was expected to race in the Australian Grand Prix this season when first-team driver Valtteri Bottas pulled out with a back injury.

However, she doesn’t have the licence to compete in races and the team didn’t feel that she was ready.

A new points-based system will make it even harder for drivers to get super licences in the wake of Toro Rosso’s appointment of 17-year-old Max Verstappen.

Wolff can see her F1 dream slipping away, but hopes that the system will change.

"To find the budget to go through all those formulas, to get into the right team so that you actually win the championship in those formulas, that is a huge task for any driver regardless of gender.

"I hope it will get tweaked and adjusted. Love it or hate it, motorsport is not purely talent. It never has been and never will be."

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