Robert Kubica said he had a good feeling after participating in an official Formula 1 session for the first time since 2010, but the gloss soon wore off, thanks in part to the underperforming FW41 he was tasked to run with around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday.
Kubica took over the car of Sergey Sirotkin on Friday morning but ended only nineteenth fastest in a session that included a brief spin heading into the final chicane, with the Pole completing twenty-four laps of the Spanish circuit.
However, he admitted the FW41 was far from easy to drive but he had to stick at his programme that included aerodynamic testing, with Kubica feeling he gave some good feedback to the Williams Martini Racing mechanics that he hopes will go towards improving the balance ahead of Saturday’s running.
“It is a good feeling – not so much from being in the car but from before that, because I’m back driving in an official session, even if it’s only FP1,” said Kubica.
“It’s the first time since the end of 2010 so there’s some emotion, but this disappeared very soon as we have quite a difficult car to drive. The balance was quite off, but somehow we have to stick to what we’ve got to complete our aero tests and evaluations.
“It wasn’t an easy session, but we managed in difficult conditions and I was able to give some good feedback. When you’re struggling so much it’s difficult to enjoy it, but still I’m happy because I think the most difficult car we’ve had was in this session and I managed to stay cool, and somehow extract what I thought was a reasonable level of performance.
“I think I can be happy as I did what I was asked to do.”
