Kubica back in an F1 car

[kambites]

I'm sure the team could make him look as fast or slow as they want relative to the other drivers to us outsiders.

[skinny]

Frimley111R said:

So far he's 1.2 secs off JP. I think its going to be hard on him from a media viewpoint. Everyone expects him to jump in and produce some outstanding times compared to current drivers. He is/was great but he needs a chance. Getting anywhere near JP will be impressive.

I would say he is close to JP but it's difficult to know what Renault are doing with the car. However, he is currently at 114 laps for today (the race was 70 laps) and seems to be putting in long stints. They appear to be running this as a true test / development / feedback day rather than a media show-off.

But for ref, his fastest lap so far is 1:19.681 from this morning

JP's quickest lap times were:
P1. 1:20.461
P2. 1:21.175
P3. 1:18.956
Q1. 1:18.699
Q2. 1:18.415
R. 1:21.589


Kubica's 1:19.681 would have put him 18th on the grid in Saturdays qualifying, ahead of the two saubers and Paul Di Resta in the Williams

Edited by skinny on Wednesday 2nd August 14:51

[Dr Z]

skinny said:

I would say he is close to JP but it's difficult to know what Renault are doing with the car. However, he is currently at 114 laps for today (the race was 70 laps) and seems to be putting in long stints. They appear to be running this as a true test / development / feedback day rather than a media show-off.

The reported times on his long runs sounds quite competitive whichever way you slice it, to be honest.

I think this test is going really well for RK so far.

[skinny]

Agreed, he's certainly not embarrassing himself.

New personal best lap on super-softs running a short stint (possibly qually sim) 1:18.952

That would have got him into Q2 on Saturday.

Edited by skinny on Wednesday 2nd August 16:10

[Nardiola]

They're saving some ultra-softs for later too, hopefully with the wick turned right up

[FourWheelDrift]

Would only be to understand the tyres and can't be used to gauge overall speed against others as the ultras were not available for the GP during the weekend.

[deadslow]

plus he is bound to be getting tired, so performance could dip

[IforB]

If he's done over a hundred laps at a pace even close to the regular drivers, then heads will start getting poked above parapets.

He's never driven a current spec car before, nor has he got that much experience in the last few years.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm impressed by what he's done, even if he's a few tenths off Palmer.

Edit to add. On his last supersoft run he was a tenth of Palmer's qualifying effort and has completed 130 laps in total.

Good job I reckon.

Edited by IforB on Wednesday 2nd August 16:38

[PeXy]

ignore me, miss read live feed,only a couple of tenths off JP time in qualifying though.

[deadslow]

good achievement, plenty to be proud of. Would be mega to see him back.

[skinny]

Double race distance covered, very consistent lap times and decent pace.
I'd say he's done exactly what he needed to.

good on ya bobby k!!

[andygo]

Incredible performance. To jump in and do a double race distance in itself is outstanding, but to be on the pace highlights what a special talent he has.

[ajprice]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/131093...

Happy with the day but not 100% happy. He noticed the differences to the old car especially the weight.

"In a rally car when you put a 20kg spare wheel in a car which is weighing 1,300kg you feel it, so imagine in a 600kg car adding 100kg."

[Mellow Yellow]

142 laps completed and a best time of 01:18.572 (vs JPs qualifying time of 1:18.415). Presumably, Renault weren't putting him in the the car as a favour for old times sake, the main purpose was to get his Super Licence back and establish that he's both fast enough and has the stamina to be competitive in a 2017 car. Kubica's done that, I'm sorry to say I think the writing is on the wall for JP. I reckon they'll want Kubica in the car before the end of the season to use what's left of 2017 to further evaluate him, they've not much to lose.

[cuprabob]

Is there anything stopping them from at least putting Kubica in the car for FP1 in the upcoming races?

[DanielSan]

cuprabob said:

Is there anything stopping them from at least putting Kubica in the car for FP1 in the upcoming races?

I believe the FIA had already said that giving him a new super licence wouldn't be an issue going off what they'd seen already and with him being an ex driver as it were so there's nothing stopping Renault getting him into some FP1 sessions

[Z3MCJez]

Mellow Yellow said:

142 laps completed and a best time of 01:18.572 (vs JPs qualifying time of 1:18.415). Presumably, Renault weren't putting him in the the car as a favour for old times sake, the main purpose was to get his Super Licence back and establish that he's both fast enough and has the stamina to be competitive in a 2017 car. Kubica's done that, I'm sorry to say I think the writing is on the wall for JP. I reckon they'll want Kubica in the car before the end of the season to use what's left of 2017 to further evaluate him, they've not much to lose.

I'll wait for Dr Z to unpick the long-run times to work out whether he really was on race pace, but it looks like from where I'm sitting. I wonder how that hot lap compares to the Palmer qualifying lap (once adjusted for fuel/boost etc.) and then there'll need to be some read-across for track conditions. I'm sure Renault will have all of that already, and will be able to tell who was quicker.

However, he has firmly put in its place the argument that he hasn't got the stamina. It will now by $$$ and times. But there must be some sponsorship out there for Kubica to get back in the car. And I don't think we'll be waiting until the end of the season if they're going to make the switch. It will be by Spa, or Monza at the outside.

I wonder if Renault have Kubica on an option? As one of the properly funded teams, they can probably manage without Jolyon's money anyway. There actually at a point when they can fight for positions. They can certainly get 5th place with a decent run from here. The prize money is hard to penetrate, but it's probably worth being 5th and not 8th even if you give up $10m in Jolyon money. Certainly from a marketing perspective.

Jez

[Frimley111R]

cuprabob said:

Is there anything stopping them from at least putting Kubica in the car for FP1 in the upcoming races?

He isn't their third driver is he? So presumably the current third driver would/should get that option?

[Jinba Ittai]

Kubica couldn't have done more yesterday, and I'm sure there is plenty more pace to come from him this being the first time he's driven a 2017 spec car.

The sticking point clearly is Palmer's contract. I've no doubt they would have removed him by now if he didn't have a watertight full season race contract. I would imagine there must be performance clauses on both sides, but so far he must have satisfied them. To get Kubica in the car this season I can see only two options. - negotiate a pay off for Palmer to leave, or put ball bearings on the steps of Palmer's motor home.......

[Boring_Chris]

Pebbles167 said:

He's a great driver for sure, but the main question really, is will he be allowed to drive an F1 car with his hair thinning like that? With F1 being keen on safe cars/drivers, and so many other drivers with a full head of hair, Sadly I just can't see it.

Edited by Pebbles167 on Tuesday 1st August 17:59

This is what caused my career in F1 to stall. Had to have been.