Kubica takes part in first Williams FP1 session

Robert Kubica has taken part in his first Formula 1 weekend session since his horrific rally accident in 2011. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2010 was the last time the Pole took part in an F1 session before his first free practice outing at the Circuit de Catalunya on Friday morning.

Kubica was in contention for a race seat with Williams throughout the 2017 season, testing for them on multiple occasions. However, in January, the Grove team announced that Sergey Sirotkin would be Felipe Massa's replacement, while Kubica would take up a test and development role.

The first free practice session is one of three that Kubica will take part in this year. He is also set to jump into the Williams in Austria and Abu Dhabi later in the season. And the team's technical chief Paddy Lowe says that he is looking forward to Kubica's feedback after the session.

"They say that the car that is quickest around Barcelona is generally going to be quickest at most races in the season," he said. "It is the first race where traditionally you see many more upgrades arriving, as we are back to our truck-based logistics rather than airfreight which has seen us through the first four events.

"It’s going to be a busy weekend for us. We have Robert Kubica taking part in FP1 in place of Sergey; his first of three FP1 appearances this season. We have a busy Friday programme and it will be interesting to get Robert’s feedback on the car. Sergey has driven many laps on this track in pre-season testing so he won’t miss out too much."

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