The Williams Formula 1 Team have announced German Driver Adrian Sutil as their reserve driver for the 2015 season.

The appointment comes after it was discovered at the Australian Grand Prix that Williams do not have a reserve driver. This came about after Valtteri Bottas suffered from a lower back injury during qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. Williams said that they were working on a plan to appoint a reserve driver if Bottas was unable to race in Malaysia.

Sutil is no stranger to F1. He started his career at Spyker in 2007 which became Force India. He raced at Force India from 2008 to 2011. He returned to F1 in 2013 to drive for Force India again and switched to Sauber in 2014. He was left without a drive for 2015 after Sauber announced Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson would drive for them in 2015.

“I’m delighted to have Adrian join our stable of drivers for the 2015 season,” said team founder and Team Principal Sir Frank Williams.

“Adrian brings extensive racing experience, having competed 128 Formula One races during his career. Having most recently raced during the 2014 season also gives him excellent knowledge of the current generation of race car and new Hybrid power units, which is invaluable for anyone needing to step into the cockpit in 2015,” he added.

“The fight for a top Constructors’ Championship position will be intense this season, therefore we have selected a driver with recent race experience and are confident that if the need arose, he would be a solid pair of hands to race the FW37 and assist our 2015 campaign.”

Adrian Sutil said: “I’m very proud to be a part of such a famous and great F1 team. To work for Sir Frank Williams and his team means a lot to me. I would like to thank everyone at Williams for their belief in my qualities and the opportunity to work with such a successful and competitive outfit.”