Renault has once again rejected suggestions Robert Kubica could replace Jolyon Palmer during the 2017 season, following the confirmation of his upcoming appearance at the post-Hungarian GP test on Tuesday.
With the Pole making rapid progress in his effort to show he can make a widely-hoped return to Formula 1 and some frustration at the French manufacturer’s current eighth place standing in the Constructors’ Championship, many believe Kubica could race as soon as the Belgian Grand Prix in a month’s time.
However, Renault F1 chief Cyril Abiteboul continues to support the former GP2 champion, who has suffered horrible reliability this season and insist Kubica still has a long way to go before he becomes a viable driver option.
“We continue to support Jo and there is absolutely no change of plan,” Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.
“It is true that with Robert we feel we need to investigate a little bit further after all the tests we have done. Obviously, there have been the tests we did with the 2012 car, but also we have done other things – medical checks and simulator work that I don’t really want to elaborate on.
“It is true that based on all these things up until now, we want to have a closer look at how realistically it would be for Robert to drive again in a modern F1 car and possibly in a racing context.
“The last opportunity to at least do the test in a modern F1 car was the Hungary test and we are taking that opportunity, but that is really something that is more medium-to-long-term.
“It is not a short-term plan and it is not a short-term option to do anything with our driver line-up.”
After the 32-year-old was confirmed as a driver for the Budapest test, current Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg suggested few circuits would be better than the Hungaroring for the Enstone-based team to fully evaluate Kubica.
“The Hungaroring is one of the most strenuous tracks, because there is only one straight on which to relax,” the German told Auto Motor und Sport.
“After the race weekend, there’s a lot of rubber on the track too which means maximum grip. Anyone who passes that test can also drive a Grand Prix,” he claimed.
However, even a good performance still doesn’t guarantee Renault will consider Kubica for 2018.
“Before we can really consider him as a candidate, there is more that we need to look into and in particular we need to see how he will cope with cars with more downforce and with more power because clearly, the car he has been driving up until now is not representative,” Abiteboul said.
“Frankly, even if he does well, it does not mean immediately that we will decide to go for him for 2018,” he added.
