F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Kubica out to prove his mettle in final test with Williams

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.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Norris defends McLaren tyre gamble: ‘There were valid reasons’

Lando Norris refused to blame McLaren’s controversial tyre gamble for the team’s disastrous Canadian Grand…

3 hours ago

Russell ‘pretty damn frustrated’ after bitter Montreal DNF

George Russell stood in the Montreal paddock looking emotionally drained, struggling to process how a…

3 hours ago

Canadian GP: Sunday's action in pictures

The weather did not wreak havoc on Sunday's Canadian GP as expected, but it was…

4 hours ago

Canadian GP: Antonelli makes it win n°4 as Russell suffers big blow

Kimi Antonelli tightened his grip on the Formula 1 world championship with a commanding victory…

4 hours ago

Canadian Grand Prix - Race results

Full race results from the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, round 5 of the 2026…

5 hours ago

Why Lindblad was ‘a little bit sad’ after qualifying P9 in Montreal

Most rookies would celebrate a top-10 qualifying result at one of Formula 1’s trickiest circuits,…

10 hours ago