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Williams could be set to announce a reserve driver role for Robert Kubica in 2018. It is now widely accepted in F1 circles that the British team has decided to pair the heavily sponsored Russian Sergey Sirotkin with Lance Stroll this year.
"The decision will be very quickly formalised," the French sports daily L'Equipe now declares. The report added: "All is not lost for the 2008 Canadian grand prix winner. Kubica will be offered a test driver role probably with a few Friday morning sessions at grands prix." (GMM)
Grand Prix of Belgium
C. Sainz jr
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Replies (8)
Login to replyjuju_hound
Posts: 180
I like the word "probably" most here.
Rindtchamp
Posts: 304
I hope he tells them to go and take a flying leap off a pier.
let them suffer with their two pay drivers.
JCF1
Posts: 27
I wonder if he has to pay 8 million to get that role?
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
But would it really be worth it for him?
Wouldn't he forfeit his insurance payout if he were to partake in F1 again? Or is it only in races? But even if it's only if he participates in races, then what happens if one of the drivers are unable to participate, and he takes that spot for one weekend? Is it then bye-bye money?
boudy
Posts: 1,168
no surprises there than. Williams are looking to extract the most amount of £££ of their drivers in order to have a solid financial footing.
Will he really make an impact? Why would you sign as reserve driver with an F1 when you can have an active drive in another class.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I agree, but I cannot fault him for making this move. This way, he can take the wheels should Williams grow tired of one of their drivers a la Toro Rosso in 2017, and since he'll have seatings adapted to him, the move will go pretty smooth. All of that while he get a taste of the car every now and then. Of course, the ultimate winner is Williams.
renaultFanF1
Posts: 80
I'm not sure if Williams is just greedy or they actually need so much sponsor money to keep performing up to their (low) standard. It is most probable that they are shooting themselves in the foot by not giving Kubica the seat, because young inexperienced drivers will cause more harm then they are worth
Barron
Posts: 625
I don’t think so. Points are worth more than sponsorship money in the long term so why have they gone this route? It is clear they don’t see Robert’s potential as a regular points scorer but obviously respect his set up & development skills. This points to me that he hasn’t the consistency over a Grand Prix distance otherwise they would have been nuts not to give him the seat. In Sirotkin they feel they have both speed and sponsorship so it’s a no-brainier if a decision for them. The definition of “greedy” is to take or consume more than you need. I hardly think this describes William’s situation at all..