Robert Kubica, Williams, Circuit de Catalunya, 2019

Kubica: Williams built car five times quicker than usual

2019 F1 season

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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.

Robert Kubica, Williams, Circuit de Catalunya, 2019
Kubica had his first run in the car this morning
“Well actually I did some tests in the past where I was on the track for two days and I [didn’t] jump the car so it’s not the first time situation for me.”

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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2019 F1 season

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17 comments on “Kubica: Williams built car five times quicker than usual”

  1. “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.

    1. 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.

      1. Sorry…other little funny I had in mind was ‘Williams car five times quicker than usual…’

      2. @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!

  2. If only the car was 5 times quicker… ;)

  3. 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.

    1. 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.

      1. 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

    2. @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.

      1. 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.

  4. 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.

    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.

  5. I believe in Kubica. It is probable that Williams was built five time quicker in the last five days.

  6. Next time just build it once ;)

  7. If they have built a car 5 times quicker than usual we could see some lap records fall. :)

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. 5 times faster and 5 times less time to put 5 times less parts on the car

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