Robert Kubica has admitted he would feel disappointed if he did not now land a 2018 Williams race seat after feeling “confident and comfortable” in his appearance for the team at F1’s post-season tyre test
In what is being viewed as Williams’ final check on whether the Pole is physically able to return to F1, Kubica completed the first of two half days in Abu Dhabi as he drove the FW40 for the first time.
Kubica completed exactly 100 laps and recorded a best time of 1:41.296 which placed him only ninth in the timesheet, but set on the soft tyre. Set in similarly hot day-time conditions, it was slightly faster than Williams race driver Lance Stroll’s quickest lap in Practice One of the Abu Dhabi GP last Friday, although car and fuel settings are unknown.
“What the future will bring, I do not know, but today was the kind of day that if nothing else happens there will be disappointment because I feel confident and comfortable,” said Kubica.
Having not driven an F1 car for over six years before this summer, Kubica believes he has made good progress in the tests he has completed since and insists the arm injuries which had appeared to end his career are not signifcantly impairing him.
“I am starting from scratch because F1 has changed so much over the past seven years, but the experience I gained while racing in F1 has helped me to get on top of the learning process,” he added.
“I have some limitations and I have to adapt, but one positive thing is how my body is reacting and how natural I feel every day when I am driving these cars, so that gives me a lot of confidence.”
Kimi Raikkonen topped the timesheet with a 1:37.768 on Pirelli’s new hypersoft tyre, which debuted on Tuesday.
Daniel Ricciardo was second for Red Bull ahead of world champion Lewis Hamilton and Haas’ Romain Grosjean.
Every driver than Kubica set his fastest time on the new-for-2018 hypersoft compound.
Stroll took over from Kubica for the final three hours of the day and was fifth fastest on the hypersoft, 1.7 seconds faster than the Pole.
The 2018 hypersoft tyre is three steps softer than the 2018 soft tyre and two steps softer than 2017’s fastest ultrasoft tyre
Kubica will be back in the FW40 on Wednesday afternoon to close the test after Sergey Sirotkin makes his own Williams debut on the final morning.
It is believed Kubica is poised to partner Stroll in 2018 so long as he is able to cope with the physical demands and rigours of driving the FW40 in this week’s outing.
Fernando Alonso completed 115 laps on his final day in a Honda-powered McLaren and was sixth fastest, although his running was interrupted by a spin into the barriers during the morning.
Abu Dhabi tyre test timesheet: Day One
Driver Team Time
1. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:37.768
2. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:38.066
3. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:38.551
4. Romain Grosjean Haas 1:39.270
5. Lance Stroll Williams 1:39.580
6. Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:39.762
7. Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:39.803
8. Nikita Mazepin Force India 1:39.959
9. Robert Kubica Williams 1:41.296
10. Sean Gelael Toro Rosso 1:41.428
11. Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:41.681
12. Oliver Turvey McLaren 1:41.914
