The return for Robert Kubica to F1 hasn’t been an easy task with the difficult situation that ROKiT Williams Racing find themselves in but the Polish driver is still enjoying.
Following his horrific rally crash, Kubica’s life changed upside-down as the Polish driver found himself away from competing in F1, which is all he had in his life to do. After battling the injury – marks still visible – and also depression, Kubica re-surfaced in the F1 world.
His first test with Renault was a gift from the French manufacturer, as he was getting ready for the new F1 season with Lotus when the crash happened. Things became more serious but Renault couldn’t offer him a F1 seat as he then moved to Williams.
He lost out Sergey Sirotkin in 2018 but replaced the Russian in 2019 to make his dream F1 return, which is a miracle of sorts as doctors more or less told him that he won’t be able to compete in F1 ever again, considering the magnitude of his injuries.
Although he has had his return in F1, it hasn’t been easy especially with the difficult situation Williams is in. Despite that, the Polish driver says he is enjoying every bit of being in the sport again, which may sound strange but is nothing short of an inspiration.
When asked by official F1 website if he has any regrets returning, he quickly prompted: “No, why should I?” He continued then: “This might sound strange, but I’m enjoying being back. It’s probably because I was away for a long time.
“I know we are struggling, and we are slow, and the races are difficult, but I enjoy it. You have to accept it and then react to the situation you find yourself in. I know where I have come from, what I have done to be here. It wasn’t easy.
“Sometimes, from difficult situations you can still find the positive, although for most people it’s not an easy thing to do. I have to make sure that I improve as a driver. I have learned a lot. Now I have to try to build up better performance in myself.
“I have to improve. It’s something I’m looking forward to. I’m not frustrated, honestly. All of us are trying to do our best with what we have but when you see such a big offset in car behaviour and you know it’s limiting you a lot as a driver, it’s difficult.
“On the other hand, it’s a good thing that this has happened now, and that we can try to understand what is going on at this stage of the season. We need to find a solution and hopefully it will take less time than we think.”
While Kubica shows maturity needed when in this kind of a situation, the Polish driver admitted that the realistic target for Williams when they knew of trouble was to have a smooth start to the season with testing which didn’t happen.
It did leave him a touch disappointed as he had to switch his focus straight into the development of the car rather than get back into the groove himself after years of being away. The pre-season test was the first time to learn the nuances but he couldn’t.
He can’t change the past now but he is certainly helping as much with his feedback to change the future along with George Russell. “It’s good to be involved,” he said. “This is the other reason I am here. I’m happy to help, happy to get involved if I’m asked.
“But it’s also the right thing to let everyone get on with their own jobs and step back when needs be. In the end, you have very little influence. No one in the team is happy about the situation, and we would all like to see Williams further up the grid.
“It would be good to have less to worry about – that would make me feel far more comfortable and would allow me to focus more on performance. That’s really what we need.” It is a long road ahead for Williams but Kubica is keeping the positivity alive.
Check out the list of stats and info from F1 Azerbaijan GP
Robert Kubica reveals he nearly crashed in Turn 2 at Azerbaijan GP start
