Robert Kubica says a lack of communication at Williams as part of the reason for a disappointing comeback season in Formula 1.
This time last year, we were waiting with bated breath to see the highly-respected Pole back on the grid for the first since his horrific rally crash in early 2011.
But, as the Grove-based squad lagged at the back of the grid, Kubica was often last and much slower than his teammate George Russell, leading to his departure at the end of the year.
“I have my opinions on many areas where I definitely could do better, but I was not helped as well,” he explained via Motorsport.
“With the circumstances we were in, it was extremely important for me to start the season with a good consistency so I could build up my comeback on this. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen.
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“Then there were occasions where I could perform and I did perform well, but they were hidden with some external factors. There were occasions where I definitely could’ve done better, and there were occasions where I didn’t hear any answer, or I had no idea why we were so underperforming from day-to-day.
“This is something which is worse because in order to improve you need to understand the reasons. There’s no point of having medicine for something which isn’t causing your illness.”
It was noted to Kubica that one area he struggled most compared to Russell was in high-speed corners, but he denied limitations from driving 70 per cent left-handed played a role.
“Sometimes we want to make people believe that Formula 1 is simple, but it is not,” he said. “There are a lot of factors which have a big influence on the final result, or on the numbers you see on the clock [stopwatch].
“One of the factors which was not influencing is actually my limitations in high-speed [corners].
“It is true that sometimes there were big variations, but it is also true that when you lack the grip, it is normal that you lose more in more challenging areas.
“Also you lose more when you have two-three corners in a row than only one corner then a straight line.
“That’s the fact. This is something where I’m sure my limitations are not influencing my driving, on this type of areas.”
For this year, Kubica will remain in F1 as development and reserve driver at Alfa Romeo, a move he described as “coming back home” as it was the same Hinwil operation where he won his only Grand Prix when it was BMW in 2008.
Polish media also revealed Robert will complete five Friday practice appearances as part of his role, though any pre-season test outings at this point are unknown.