CRUNCH TIME FOR KUBICA
POLISH STAR SET FOR WILLIAMS CHANCE,
Williams has batted away reports that it has already struck a deal with Robert Kubica for next season, but has admitted that this week’s test in Abu Dhabi will be conducted to assess the Pole’s readiness for an F1 return.
The British team is currently deciding between three candidates for its second F1 berth in 2018 with Kubica believed to be up against Paul di Resta and Toro Rosso refuge Daniil Kvyat for the seat alongside Lance Stroll.
Kubica has repeatedly been linked with a grand prix return after returning from life-threatening injuries sustained in a rally accident in early 2011. The 32-year-old has already tested a 2014-spec car for Williams at Silverstone and the Hungaroring, as well as testing for Renault in Hungary in the summer.
He was due to run in a current-spec Williams for the first time yesterday (Tuesday) during the Pirelli tyre test at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, but team technical head Paddy Lowe admitted there was more than just rubber to analyse.
“Robert is an impressive guy,” said Lowe. “We all saw how he operated in F1 in the past – he’s a great driver, very professional, very committed, enthusiastic, very intelligent. He’s an exciting prospect, that’s why we’re looking at him.
“We’re in a process with Robert, which is a matter of evaluating whether his injuries will have an impact on his ability to drive in F1, it’s as simple as that.
“So far it’s been fine, that’s all I’d say – we ran the 2014 car and there were no issues, so I think we just [need to] see how it goes this week, then we make our assessment. He will do a normal programme and in the process we can answer those questions.”
Lowe added that any decision to sign Kubica must be made on merit alone, not on the potential emotion of his fairytale F1 return.
“A lot of people say how great it would be if Robert was back in F1, but it’s important to be objective in what we do. There are other drivers under consideration, but we know how they perform because they’ve been racing – we have lots of race data. We won’t make a decision [on our driver lineup] this week and it won’t be next week, so it’ll be some time after that.”
Williams will also test Renault reserve driver Sergey Sirotkin this week, but he is an outsider for a race seat with the team. Mercedes-backed Pascal Wehrlein has also been linked, but Silver Arrows boss Toto Wolff said his chance of being signed by Williams was only “tiny” last week.