A new Williams sponsor has said that the deal with the British team is not connected with the arrival of Russian driver Sergey Sirotkin.

Earlier, Russian software company Acronis backed Daniil Kvyat at Toro Rosso, but that money is now moving over to Williams.

However, Acronis boss Serguei Beloussov told Championat: "We started negotiating with Williams much earlier.

"Sergey was part of Renault and he could have stayed there or gone to Toro Rosso.

"Our agreements do not depend on Sergey's contract. Of course, the fact that he is at Williams is a plus and meant we preferred Williams."

Sirotkin is heavily backed by the Russian bank-run SMP Racing programme.