Ronnie O'Sullivan digs out F1 star's billionaire dad and claims he 'couldn't afford' help

 Ronnie O'Sullivan made some interesting comments after beating Si Jiahui.

Ronnie O'Sullivan name-dropped Formula One driver Lance Stroll while discussing his partnership with psychiatrist Steve Peters at the World Snooker Championship. The Rocket surged into the semi-finals with a 13-9 victory over Si Jiahui on Wednesday night. He will go up against Zhao Xintong in the last four as looks to maintain his hopes of winning an eighth Crucible crown.

O'Sullivan made a slow start to the final session against Si, losing three of the first four frames. He made his superiority count in the latter stages, though, and completed his victory with a break of 74. It ended up as a relatively comfortable win but the 49-year-old had to dig deep to recover from his sluggish start.

After the match, O'Sullivan claimed that he would have Peters working with him every day if he could afford it. While making his point, he brought up Stroll, who is supported in F1 by his billionaire father and team owner Lawrence.

"Steve has been amazing with me," said The Rocket. "It has been a tough job for him this week but I have tried to give it my best and I have and I'm just hanging in there. If I could afford him I would have him every day.

"Like Lance Stroll's dad, write the check out, he's here full-time. Obviously he is a busy man and I couldn't afford to have him full-time. Any little bits.

"I try to time it when I can have him. Obviously Sheffield is a big tournament so it's nice to have him around when this event is on."

O'Sullivan has worked with Peters at various points throughout his career, winning four of his seven world titles with the psychiatrist in his corner. The man from Essex will be hoping to draw on all of his wisdom to get through a tough semi-final against Xhao.

He still feels that he is nowhere near his best level and complained about his performance against Si, saying: "I’m grinding it out. Had some work done on my cue. The cue feels awful. I am playing awful. I need a new ferrule. I miss the buzz of playing well.

"I’m trying all sorts, to hold the cue in a different place, try anything. Si played poorly in the whole match. He let me off. He gave me chances.

"I'm looking forward to each match. I will keep plugging away. I love the Chinese guys to do well. It’s not easy for them. They are brilliant, a credit to China. Zhao is a formidable opponent."