Kubica believes Williams' 2018 issues are more complicated than 2019

Robert Kubica says that the problems that Williams is facing in 2019 are less complicated than those it suffered from last season.

Williams has found itself as the grid's backmarkers for the second consecutive year, albeit further behind the rest of the pack this year.

Kubica acted as the Grove squad's test and development driver in 2018, before receiving a full-time drive alongside Mercedes junior George Russell

The Pole says that the unpredictability of the FW41 from last year hasn't carried over to 2019, as Williams knows where it is lacking compared to its rivals.

“In some ways it’s easier problems to solve as you know the area and you know what’s lacking,” Kubica said. “Last year it was much more complicated, the limitation of the car were changing and was very inconsistent.

“But from the other hand it’s difficult to change something in a couple of months if you arrive with this, it’s difficult as we struggle to create, to put the grip into the car, the downforce, and there is always a reason but it’s true also that you need to unthink new ideas or something that could unlock a lot of improvements.

"We just need to make sure it will happen and as soon as possible. I think last year the issues were completely different and were difficult to predict.

"It was a bigger shock why we struggled so much but there were corners where we were not struggling and the car was quite competitive.”

"I was not expecting to struggle with other issues we faced from Barcelona. From the performance point of view I would say it’s the same as what we’ve seen in the windtunnel and everything. Then of course you never know what will happen with the other [teams].

“If the others keep the same performance as last year we will be more behind than last year from our numbers, data and simulation. This is more or less what happened.”

Replies (3)

Login to reply
  • Sadtomato

    Posts: 48

    So in a nutshell he is saying they are up s*** creek !

    • + 0
    • Apr 7 2019 - 16:14
  • denis1304

    Posts: 284

    what were they doing last year? definitely not developing 2018 car and then come to testing without 2019 car.
    you can see how McLaren made progress after abandoning 2018 car and focusing on this years car

    • + 0
    • Apr 7 2019 - 23:25
  • Pbr81

    Posts: 2

    I think it's not that obvious as it seems. They probably couldn't work on a 2019 car without fixing correlation of what they see in the simulator (and wind tunnel) and what is on the track. So the only good thing about that situation is that now they see it's a cr*p but they understand it a bit better. Now it's time to make a progress, although it might be a bit difficult without proper people. I'm not sure if they know what to do next. There is also another thing related to production of developed parts. As they know -> others did a good job to prepare to the new 2019 regulations, they didn't. So it's a question if they should develop FW42 as it is (and provide parts) or try to make something better but that would harm current driver results (specially RK using the prototype with more than 5kkm). Definitely they'll struggle a lot.

    • + 0
    • Apr 9 2019 - 12:58

AZ Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

AZAzerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

World Championship standings 2025

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
14 - Mar 16 2025
Australia
21 - Mar 23 2025
China
4 - Apr 6 2025
Japan
11 - Apr 13 2025
Bahrain
18 - Apr 20 2025
Saudi Arabia
2 - May 4 2025
United States of America
16 - May 18 2025
Italy
23 - May 25 2025
Monaco
30 - Jun 1 2025
Spain
13 - Jun 15 2025
Canada
27 - Jun 29 2025
Austria
4 - Jul 6 2025
United Kingdom
25 - Jul 27 2025
Belgium
1 - Aug 3 2025
Hungary
29 - Aug 31 2025
Netherlands
5 - Sep 7 2025
Italy
19 - Sep 21 2025
Azerbaijan
3 - Oct 5 2025
Singapore
17 - Oct 19 2025
United States of America
24 - Oct 26 2025
Mexico
7 - Nov 9 2025
Brazil
21 - Nov 23 2025
United States of America
28 - Nov 30 2025
Qatar
5 - Dec 7 2025
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
14 - Mar 16 2025
Australia Albert Park
21 - Mar 23 2025
4 - Apr 6 2025
11 - Apr 13 2025
18 - Apr 20 2025
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
2 - May 4 2025
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
16 - May 18 2025
23 - May 25 2025
Monaco Monte Carlo
30 - Jun 1 2025
13 - Jun 15 2025
27 - Jun 29 2025
Austria Red Bull Ring
4 - Jul 6 2025
United Kingdom Silverstone
25 - Jul 27 2025
1 - Aug 3 2025
Hungary Hungaroring
29 - Aug 31 2025
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
5 - Sep 7 2025
Italy Monza
19 - Sep 21 2025
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
3 - Oct 5 2025
17 - Oct 19 2025
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
24 - Oct 26 2025
7 - Nov 9 2025
Brazil Interlagos
21 - Nov 23 2025
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
28 - Nov 30 2025
5 - Dec 7 2025
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team -
  • Points -
  • Podiums -
  • Grand Prix -
  • Country PL
  • Date of b. Dec 7 1984 (41)
  • Place of b. Krakau, PL
  • Weight 72 kg
  • Length 1.83 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar