Robert Kubica has defended his Formula 1 return with Williams, despite the team's poor pace.

The Pole's comeback eight years after his devastating rally crash was one of the biggest stories in the build-up to the 2019 season.

However, it has been overshadowed ever since by a combination of a slow Williams car and questions over Kubica's own performance.

"The season isn't over yet, we've only just had the fifth Grand Prix," he was quoted by GPBlog.com.

"Unfortunately, in this difficult situation, we often forget - and even I forget as well - about what I managed to achieve.

"Of course everyone including myself would like us to have better results, that would make things easier for me.

"But as I have said, it is much better to be here than to be watching the races on television."

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This weekend will see a big test of Kubica's limitations around the twisty streets of Monaco, with this race often cited as a reason why he couldn't return.

And as for Williams' expectations, well it follows the same pattern as the rest of the season so far.

"Following the race and test in Barcelona, we believe that we have improved the performance of the FW42 and increased our understanding of the car and the tyres," race engineer Dave Robson claimed.

"Whether this will show or not in Monaco is unclear due to the unique nature of the Monte Carlo circuit and unpredictable local climate.

"However, we look forward to the challenge of Monaco knowing that we will need to make some changes to the car to suit this circuit and knowing how important it is to develop the drivers’ confidence over the course of the weekend.

"We also know that Monaco can spring a few surprises and we will be ready to use our excellent reliability and pit stop performance to exploit any opportunities that arise."