Robert Kubica says ROKiT Williams Racing are running out of time in pre-season testing as frustrations grow in the Williams garage.
Kubica is returning to the FIA Formula One World Championships this season after an eight-year absence but says the team aren’t where they want to be at this stage.
Williams missed the first two days of pre-season testing in Barcelona after the build of its test car was delayed and, with the team already on the back foot, Kubica did little to stem the worries.
He said: “Time is running out and from a driver point of view we haven’t done much work on the car so there is still a lot of things to discover and not much time before the first race.”
Kubica racked up the joint-highest number of laps on Wednesday with both him and McLaren F1 Team driver Carlos Sainz completing 130 laps each.
After a disappointing last season, fans of Williams were hoping the experienced Kubica alongside the exciting rookie talent of George Russell could bring back the glory days to the Oxfordshire-born team.
However, with the season on the horizon and Melbourne just two weeks’ away, Kubica says there’s a lot more work needed before then.
He added: “We are not in the position we would like to be from an engineering point of view, but I hope in the next few days we can start playing with the car and see how it reacts.”
Polish driver Kubica slotted into eleventh on Wednesday’s session setting a time of 1:19:367 but already his attentions are turning to Australia.
Keen to improve on his performance, Kubica is hoping the season starts without a hitch for Williams and said: “We have to keep working and keep improving to put maximum effort in, and I hope we have a smooth start to the season now.”