Kubica completes 100 laps for Williams in F1 tyre test

Robert Kubica has completed 100 laps on his opening morning of testing for Williams at the post-season Abu Dhabi Pirelli tyre test with no major issues flagged up.

With Williams running a final assessment on the Polish driver ahead of a potential for 2018 Formula 1 drive with the team, Kubica completed a full programme of 100 laps – nearly two race distances – in the 2017-specificaiton FW40 with a best lap time of 1m 41.296s on the soft tyre.

Kubica is hoping to impress by proving he’s fit for a full-time F1 return having left the sport in 2011 after suffering a partially severed right forearm in a rallying crash. The former Grand Prix winner handed over to Lance Stroll for Tuesday afternoon – with Williams permitted to run just one car during the tyre test – while he is expected to return to track action on Wednesday afternoon with Sergey Sirotkin in the car tomorrow morning.

Kubica is battling for the Williams F1 race seat against Sirotkin, Sauber’s Pascal Wehrlein, ex-Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat and Williams reserve driver Paul di Resta with Stroll expected to stay at the team for 2018.

Elsewhere Fernando Alonso’s final outing in the McLaren-Honda was disrupted by a spin into the barriers, which triggered a brief red flag stoppage, while Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen headed up the times at midday with a 1m 37.768s – around 0.8s off his qualifying time from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Over 500km under his belt in the FW40 and that’s a job well done for Robert on day one of the #AbuDhabiTest #F1 #Kubica pic.twitter.com/0jeplX3dcm

— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) November 28, 2017