Robert Kubica praised how quickly his Williams crew completed building the team’s FW42 chassis after it was hit by delays.
The team’s car ran for the first time on the third day of testing, five days later than planned.“It’s not ideal but it looks like I learned that in life nothing can be ideal,” said Kubica. “We have what we have and I think still the team did the good job to bring and to build up the car in probably five times shorter time than normally should be. So we have to have big respect.
“But on the other hand we have to understand what happened because [we lost] in the end four days or three days.”
Kubica, who has handed the car over to team mate George Russell for the rest of the day, said he hasn’t been able to do any preparation for the first race of the season yet.
“Definitely we cannot talk [if] I did prepare something for Australia. I’m in the same situation as I was one month ago, three months ago. So this week it was more about getting something done for the team which was a big challenge to bring the car first and now we are here it’s more about prepaying the car for next week.”
“It doesn’t feel like day four of testing,” he added, “it felt like day one. So I get the opportunity for 12 laps to get a feel of the car which is of course limiting. But at least most of the stuff we achieved, not all, it wasn’t an easy morning.”
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Kubica arrived at the circuit on Friday ahead of the team’s intended first run of the car in a filming day last weekend. “I never waited so long to get the 12 laps I could drive my own pace,” he said.
He admitted the FW42 is still missing some vital parts. “You can get a feel of where it is,” he said. “It’s not like the car is completely off.
“I think there is still something to put on the car, probably not a lot but there are for sure things which were compromised. But it is not right that I talk about them.
“I’m here for driving so I have to concentrate on this. Finally I have a car so hopefully next week we can concentrate on preparing better for our first race because it is very close.”
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GongTong (@gongtong)
21st February 2019, 14:59
“it’s more about prepaying the car for next week.”
I wouldn’t normally make fun of a typo, but as a Williams fan, in our current situation, it’s either this or cry:
I didn’t realise we were taking on our pay drivers on weekly contracts these days.
Robbie (@robbie)
21st February 2019, 15:17
Lol had the same type of thought about that typo, but really I wish them all the best and I truly feel for them. Better days ahead.
Robbie (@robbie)
21st February 2019, 15:43
Sorry…other little funny I had in mind was ‘Williams car five times quicker than usual…’
Shimks (@shimks)
23rd February 2019, 22:09
@robbie @gongtong It will all come good for Williams. I doubt very much it will be this year but keep the faith: they will survive and they will grow stronger. More painful changes are obviously necessary first, and from what I’ve seen this week, it is probably going to get even worse before it gets better. But, eventually, our beautiful phoenix will rise. No-one is going to let Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited disappear. If a Stroll can be found for Force India, then – in the absolute worst of scenarios – a Stroll will be found for Williams. Have faith, Peeps!
Paweł
21st February 2019, 15:02
If only the car was 5 times quicker… ;)
svianna (@svianna)
21st February 2019, 15:53
Getting tired of this nonsense. Williams, let’s face it, is at the end of it’s life cycle. Their pinnacle is long gone. Sir Frank with his stubbornness, has led the team to it’s highs and now to it’s lows.
Cheapskating F1 is unsustainable.
Oxnard (@montalvo)
21st February 2019, 17:16
Williams looked equally as bad in 2011 and 2013. They bounced back. Don’t see why they can not bounce back again. Just look at Sauber, that team was written off.
billy
21st February 2019, 22:17
They didn’t bounce back though. Everything reset in 2014 and they just happened to have the best PU. They’ve been quickly swallowed up in the development race since the reg changes
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
21st February 2019, 21:47
@svianna you never know… and in any case, what’s the alternative? just give up? I rather have them making up the numbers… it’s not nice, but they are still going. After such a long time in the sport, with the way it is right now, that’s an achivement in itself.
Esploratore (@esploratore)
22nd February 2019, 3:02
That could be it for a team like sauber or minardi, a team like mclaren or williams can’t just be content with “still being in f1”, they won in the past and they race to win, not to fill up the back of the grid.
Pedro Andrade
21st February 2019, 16:49
Robert may end up not being on the pace, but this quote shows how having him as the lead driver is definitely a plus for Williams. For me this is the attitude a team leader should have in these difficult times.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
21st February 2019, 16:55
I believe in Kubica. It is probable that Williams was built five time quicker in the last five days.
ColdFly (@)
21st February 2019, 17:49
Next time just build it once ;)
glynh (@glynh)
21st February 2019, 18:27
If they have built a car 5 times quicker than usual we could see some lap records fall. :)
Darryn Smith (@darryn)
21st February 2019, 18:42
I’d be wondering why it takes them so long normally if it’s possible to do it five times faster. They need a good house cleaning at Williams it looks like.
kpcart
22nd February 2019, 11:39
Williams has 2 tasks… To make it to Melbourne with a weeks testing development and to develop the car over the year to achieve better results than last year. It seems like a disaster at the moment, but they have signed a major new sponsor, even if late, they finally have a car at the tests and they have 2 solid drivers. I hope this was was their rock bottom, and now get to work and move up the grid.
Erik
23rd February 2019, 18:05
5 times faster and 5 times less time to put 5 times less parts on the car