Kubica back in an F1 car
Discussion
Mellow Yellow said:
142 laps completed and a best time of 01:18.572 (vs JPs qualifying time of 1:18.415).
That is awesome.So many times I heard - off the cuff - "Kubica was the most impressive today" comments by lesser known F1 people not tied to hype the main teams / drivers by the mainstream press.
Would be great to see him back.
andygo said:
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.
Indeed.& sticking it to the armchair experts who said he'd never get a super licence or pass the extraction test.
Will be great to see him back.
Z3MCJez said:
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.
I don't have anymore info than any other outsider but, there are three things that tell me that Kubica will be fine in these cars and he's pretty much on the pace.First, the thing that caught my attention was when he was on a long run yesterday on the Soft tyre in which he was able to push on them enough to show some degradation, starting off in the 1m21s and ending up in the 1m22s. You can tell a lot from the trend of the lap times on whether the driver had good control over the degradation or not, but unfortunately, I don't have that.
However, to be able to push hard like that on a fairly 'hard' compound on this track is a good sign. Incidentally, this is quicker than the pace of both the Renault race drivers in the 2nd stint of the GP...but I suspect fuel loads were lighter. If the fuel loads are comparable, get him in that seat now!
Second, the fact that he did two race distances. Though it was broken up into several runs (and not a full on race sim), it suggests he's thereabouts on fitness.
Third, the reports of him faster than the test driver on the old car/old Pirellis suggests that he has lost none of the sensitivity for the rubber. The old cars are very different to the current cars, but I think it's an important piece of the puzzle for Kubica to demonstrate that, even though he has tested the very early Pirellis in the 2011 pre-season.
Kubica's fastest lap on the super soft was a 1:18.952, and I suspect this was an FP3 style quali sim (not a full on Q3 one) and it compares well with the times set by the race drivers.
With more seat time, I'm sure he'll be able to push Hulk. He is only 32 and it is very attractive (IMO) to have him partner Hulk for a big Championship push before the 2021 rules reset. I sense that with Kubica & Hulk, it will be two guys pushing each other whereas with Palmer every weekend it's one driver being quick and the other one playing catch up all the time...not ideal if you suddenly find yourself right at the sharp end.
Dr Z said:
With more seat time, I'm sure he'll be able to push Hulk. He is only 32 and it is very attractive (IMO) to have him partner Hulk for a big Championship push before the 2021 rules reset. I sense that with Kubica & Hulk, it will be two guys pushing each other whereas with Palmer every weekend it's one driver being quick and the other one playing catch up all the time...not ideal if you suddenly find yourself right at the sharp end.
A pairing like this would also get quicker/better setups in quali/race?Maybe they will put him in for FP1 and/or rest Palmer for a race to allow a further test of his skills?
Dr Z said:
Kubica's fastest lap on the super soft was a 1:18.952, and I suspect this was an FP3 style quali sim (not a full on Q3 one) and it compares well with the times set by the race drivers.
I think every quick lap he did was the first of a 5 lap stint, so as you say more FP3 than Q3.Renault have said Palmer is safe for the rest of the year - and Kubica alluded to not being 100% happy and wanting more seat time. But i reckon it looks on the cards for 2018
deadslow said:
good achievement, plenty to be proud of. Would be mega to see him back.
I reckon we'll see him along side Hulk in Australia next year. I reckon both RK and Renault would consider it to be too big a risk to put him in the competition this year, so let him do all the pre-2018 season testing and get fully comfortable in the car then go racing in Oz.parabolica said:
I reckon we'll see him along side Hulk in Australia next year. I reckon both RK and Renault would consider it to be too big a risk to put him in the competition this year, so let him do all the pre-2018 season testing and get fully comfortable in the car then go racing in Oz.
Or use the rest of the races in 2017 to get fully comfortable in the car?carl_w said:
parabolica said:
I reckon we'll see him along side Hulk in Australia next year. I reckon both RK and Renault would consider it to be too big a risk to put him in the competition this year, so let him do all the pre-2018 season testing and get fully comfortable in the car then go racing in Oz.
Or use the rest of the races in 2017 to get fully comfortable in the car?I'd love to see him back racing sooner, but reckon the above is more likely.
parabolica said:
I reckon we'll see him along side Hulk in Australia next year. I reckon both RK and Renault would consider it to be too big a risk to put him in the competition this year, so let him do all the pre-2018 season testing and get fully comfortable in the car then go racing in Oz.
I still think they will push hard for Sainz with Kubica a back-up if unsuccessful. Not quite sure what to make of all this, as stated Renault could've made him look as fast as they wanted him too really, worth mentioning his fastest laps were on ultra softs, not that super software that were the softest compound at the race weekend.
He did a solid job, an fantastic job if you consider the extent of his injuries.
But in reality the stand out performers from the test seem to be Leclerc and Russell.
There's so much more talent than there is seats why would you invest so much into Kubica at his stage of his career when in reality, with the rose tinted glasses off he won one race and didn't exactly blow Nick Heidfield away on his 'first' career?
Maybe I'm just being a party pooper and I know we love a fairy tale but the amount of coverage this is getting surprises me.
He did a solid job, an fantastic job if you consider the extent of his injuries.
But in reality the stand out performers from the test seem to be Leclerc and Russell.
There's so much more talent than there is seats why would you invest so much into Kubica at his stage of his career when in reality, with the rose tinted glasses off he won one race and didn't exactly blow Nick Heidfield away on his 'first' career?
Maybe I'm just being a party pooper and I know we love a fairy tale but the amount of coverage this is getting surprises me.
VGTICE said:
I'd love to see him in Indycar the most exciting motor sport series at the moment.
I wouldn't, he is crash prone and indycar crashes are awful, there's a lot more energy to dissipate in an indycar crash (heavier, higher speed)Hopefully he gets a deal in F1 in some capacity
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