Deputy Williams boss Claire Williams has claimed Robert Kubica was chosen for a 2019 race as he was “the best driver” available to the team.
On Thursday, it was confirmed the Pole would fulfil his goal of returning to Formula 1, eight years after his career appeared to have ended by a rally crash which left him with critical injuries.
Speaking after Kubica had driven in Practice 1 in Abu Dhabi on Friday, Williams insisted that desire had not driven the Grove squad’s decision.
“It’s a great story, but to us, it’s not about the story, it’s about choosing the best racing driver for us,” she told Sky Sports. “It’s all part of the Williams puzzle to get us back to where we need to be.
“We did a full evaluation process with the pool of drivers we were looking at, but Robert has done a fantastic job for us this year.
“Even with the fact we didn’t select him going into this year in the race seat role, he’s still stepped up as our reserve driver and he’s spent so much time with the team.
“He has been really impressive working behind the scenes.”
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The backers for the driver he’ll be replacing, Sergey Sirotkin, had suggested it was their call to pull the Russian out after a single season having been disappointed by Williams’ level of performance.
Therefore, with Kubica offering sponsorship from Poland and Esteban Ocon unable to meet the financial demand, some think that could be the real motivation.
“His commitment, his tenacity on what he wants and what he wants to see the team doing is really impressive, with the feedback he’s been able to give and he’s a good driving force,” Claire continued.
“Just such a tenacity that he has after his injury is so super impressive and if he applies all that next year, I know he’s going to do a great job for us.”