It's judgment day for Robert Kubica who took to the Yas Marina track this morning for his ultimate test with Williams which will likely determine his fate for 2018.
The Grove-based outfit evaluated the Pole previously at Silverstone and in Hungary along with Paul di Resta where he both men tested a 2014-spec Williams, but Kubica is out today in the team's 2017 charger.
Tech boss Paddy Lowe and performance chief Rob Smedley are both trackside at Yas Marina to follow and assess Kubica's runs.
"We all saw how he operated in Formula 1 in the past – he's a great driver, very professional, very committed, enthusiastic, very intelligent," said Lowe.
"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 Formula 1, it's as simple as that."
The team have undertaken a few modifications on the FW40 allocated to Kubica, like assigning one paddle on the steering wheel for shifting up and down, to take into account the limited ability of the driver's right hand.
©Williams
"There are a few changes we’ll make for switch gear and so on," explained Lowe
"In actual fact, most drivers tune that to their preferences anyway. In most teams, you’ll find the steering wheel is different between the two drivers."
Kubica will complete Tuesday's morning session and hand over driving duties to Lance Stroll for the afternoon. He will resume his test tomorrow afternoon after Russian Sergey Sirotkin completes his Wednesday test.
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