When the time came to decide his options for 2019, Robert Kubica admits that turning down an offer from Ferrari wasn't an easy choice.
Over eight years after a horrendous rally crash forced him to leave Grand Prix racing, and after a year of validating his ability to drive an F1 car in anger, Kubica will be back on the grid in Melbourne.
The 34-year-old has committed to Williams for 2019, but only after discarding a tempting offer from Ferrari to work as the Scuderia's simulator and development driver.
"I knew what I would have liked to do, but sometimes things are a bit more complicated than they look from the outside," Kubica told Autosport.
"I had some opportunity which I think was very interesting and it was not easy to say no.
"In the end, I am a racing driver - even though I haven't been racing for quite a long time - and this racing mentality has won out.
"I'm happy to have made this decision because it is a big challenge."
Kubica has learned to compose - and drive - with the limited strength of his right arm, a legacy of his 2011 accident. While he is fully aware of the challenge that awaits him this season, the Pole is convinced he will be up to the task, and make the most of the opportunity provided by Williams.
"It's not easy to become an F1 driver: it's not easy to convince people you can do it and establish yourself in an F1 paddock," he said.
"You have to have a lot of drive to do it because I went through this 12 years ago, and in the end, I said I think I have the energy to do it again.
"I'm not worried or scared of this challenge and I think I can make it work.
"I have a great opportunity and it is a happy ending to the long journey I have been on."
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