Formula 1 | Kubica rejected by Williams due to poor feeling with the new Pirelli compounds?

In an interview given to the columns of Sportowefakty.wp.pl, Andrew Benson of the BBC clarified Williams' choice to reject Robert Kubica, underlining how Sergey Sirotkin proved to be a more concrete and less risky driver to put in the car. Despite his talent, in fact, Kubica faced various difficulties during the Abu Dhabi test, struggling quite a bit with the new Pirelli compounds.

The Pole is having his first experience with tires designed by the Milanese manufacturer and this has complicated things, forcing the former Renault driver to do additional adaptation work. Furthermore, the pace in the qualifying simulation proved to be not very effective even with a very low quantity of fuel, not convincing the management of the Grove team. The choice to promote Sirotkin is therefore not only dictated by the enormous dowry offered by the Russian SMP Racing (around 20 million dollars. ed.), but also by some purely sporting reasons.

Here is the information released by Andrew Benson: “The main problem for Robert was speed on the qualifying simulation. With a low amount of fuel he was unable to keep up with the group, struggling with the Pirelli compounds. In all the simulations at Yas Marina, Kubica failed to significantly improve his pace. Furthermore, other information reports a real difficulty with Pirelli tyres, especially in adaptation. There is nothing strange in this: many riders on the grid, despite the many kilometres, continue to complain about the little feeling that these tires offer. It's a product that must be managed perfectly."

“For Kubica, however, the adaptation process can be a much more difficult challenge: unlike the rest of the drivers, in fact, he has not driven any car with Pirelli compounds, which is why he has no feedback. He has to start everything from the beginning. In the end, making a reasoning that touches both the sporting and the economic side, the Williams management decided not to risk it, stating that Kubica did not offer the same guarantees as Sirotkin. Hence the choice to hire the Russian alongside Lance Stroll" he added.

Roberto Valenti