Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN are eager to keep Robert Kubica as their official third and reserve driver for the 2021 Formula 1 season, with Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur saying they are willing to expand his on-track action compared to in 2020.
Kubica joined Alfa Romeo as reserve driver ahead of the 2020 season, bringing with him PKN ORLEN as a sponsor, after spending 2019 driving for Williams Racing. He scored just a solitary point during his time with Williams in what was his first year back in Formula 1 since 2010 after a horror rallying crash put a pause on his single-seater career.
The Pole contested five free practice sessions during 2020 for Alfa Romeo, and also took to the track during the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, all while racing full-time in the DTM Series with BMW ORLEN Team ART. He scored one podium during his DTM season but could only finish fifteenth in the championship standings.
When asked about the potential of holding onto Kubica for next season, Vasseur says talks will happen between the two parties, but the hope is that the Pole will stay in a supporting role to Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi for another season.
“I hope so, but for sure the season was difficult,” said Vasseur to Autosport. “[It was] mainly for Robert because he had to do in parallel the DTM project and Formula 1.
“It was a crazy season, at least a crazy six months. But we would like to have him a little bit more into the car, a little bit more into the simulator to develop our tools.
“He’s fully committed with us, he’s doing a very good job and he showed us [in Bahrain] that the pace is still there. I’m very happy to keep Robert in the team for next year.”
