Kubica: I’m in better physical shape than 2010

Robert Kubica says he feels fitter and in better physical shape now than his last Formula 1 appearance in 2010 before his rallying crash as he completes his Williams test in Abu Dhabi.

The Polish driver is aiming for an F1 comeback in 2018 having been out of the sport since suffering a severed right forearm in a rally crash in early 2011. Kubica tested for Renault earlier this year before the French manufacturer passed up Kubica to take Carlos Sainz Jr on loan from Red Bull for 2018 but he now appears to be favourite for a 2018 Williams race seat to replace the retiring Felipe Massa.

After notching up an impressive 100 laps during Tuesday morning of the post-season Abu Dhabi tyre test for Williams in his maiden run in the FW40, ending the day ninth fastest on the timesheet despite running a pre-set programme, Kubica returns to track action in the afternoon of day two.

Kubica is confident of his fitness despite the lasting effects of his arm injury and rejected the claims he has to drive “one-handed”.

”I‘m in physically my best shape, by far a better shape than I was when I was racing in 2010. So motivation is there and the body is reacting in a good way,” Kubica told reporters on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi. “Of course I‘m starting nearly from scratch because Formula One has changed so much in the last seven years that it’s like nearly starting from zero.”

“There is someone saying I‘m driving one-handed. I‘m not driving one-handed. I think it’s impossible to drive a Formula One car with one hand.”

Quizzed on whether he’s been given any further confirmation on his potential comeback to F1 in 2018, Kubica believes a decision will be made a few weeks after the Abu Dhabi test but is currently content with the progress he’s already made having tested for Renault and Williams this year.

“What the future will bring I don’t know, but definitively if you look at the overall picture, where I was 12 months ago and where I am now, it has been a good 12 months,” he said.