Kubica only 20 percent ready for Australian Grand Prix

Williams F1 driver Robert Kubica says he has only completed enough laps in a fully built Williams FW42 car during pre-season to feel 20% ready for his Williams debut in two weeks in the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

With Williams’ late arrival to the first F1 pre-season test in Barcelona compromising their first week, and lack of spare parts hampering any running at the end of the second week it has been a trying start to both drivers’ Robert Kubica and George Russell‘s Williams F1 careers.

But while all of  new-to-F1 George Russell‘s interviews have been largely positive and optimistic, the battle-hardened Pole, veteran of 76 F1 Grand Prix has been more open in revealing his frustration at Williams’ plight.

“Going to the first race after eight years without doing a proper job of testing will be difficult” said Kubica.

“But this is the situation and I cannot change it, so I have to make sure we are doing everything we can from my side. ”

“Probably I know 20 percent of the things that I should know before going to Australia. The rest is unknown. I haven’t done longer than 15 laps long run, so there are a lot of question marks. But that’s the reality – we did the maximum of what we had.”

He also revealed that aside from a run on Wednesday, in which he set a best laptime of 1.19.3, much of the pre-season test – whist clearly worthwhile from a team and a car perspective – did more harm than good in preparing him for the start of the F1 season in a new car.

“The reality is, my test ended after the first run in the afternoon. The rest, I have to forget.”

“[The run on Wednesday] was one of the best of my runs in a Williams car so I get up a lot of confidence, but since then my confidence disappeared, because the car was not in the right state.”