Kubica has no regrets about F1 comeback despite Williams struggles
Robert Kubica insists he has no regrets about returning to Formula 1 despite the competitive struggles Williams is facing


Williams has endured a tough start to the 2019 season, which started with its FW42 arriving late to pre-season testing.
Its technical chief Paddy Lowe has decided to take a leave of absence, and the car proved to be the slowest on the grid by some margin at last weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
But Kubica said the personal satisfaction of returning to F1 after more than eight years away outweighed the negatives of his current situation.
Asked by Autosport if he had any regrets, Kubica said: "No - because in the end I took the decision after thinking for more than six weeks last year.
"I knew it would be an extremely difficult challenge for me to be back in such a competitive sport and being on the grid, and I knew it might be difficult for Williams.
"But I didn't expect to come to Australia so unprepared.
"[That's] not from a physical point of view but from a lack of driving. For me, before testing, Barcelona would be the most important days of the last eight years as a driver - although not as a person, when I was in hospital and couldn't walk.
"As a driver, there haven't been more important test days in my life from the driver point of view as Barcelona.
"Unfortunately Barcelona didn't work out at all.
"So it put me into the difficult position, but somehow I have to go through them here, in Bahrain, and probably for a couple more races.
"But I hope and, from what I can see, I think I cannot regret. Even if I struggled here [in Australia], I still enjoyed it, which is a big difference compared to long time ago.
"I am not an emotional guy but after the race, it felt like a great achievement."
Kubica was three laps down in Melbourne and last of the 17 finishers, although his race was compromised at the first corner when he lost his front wing in a first-corner clash with Pierre Gasly.
He said he will probably never be able to completely silence questions that surround him after the arm injury he suffered in a rally crash in 2011, but added he would never have forgiven himself had he turned down the chance to make a comeback.
"Because of my limitation, I always have to show more than the others because people always have doubts," he said.
"The only thing I can do is try to do my job the best I can, and try to leave all the grands prix with positives and negatives.

"I don't believe that there can be 100% positive things. You can always do better things. Even if you are winning races, you can always improve.
"Knowing how F1 has changed, I think I am honest enough with myself to judge properly and correctly what I have to learn, where I have to learn and improve.
"I think only this approach brought me back to F1 and actually kept me fighting.
"Otherwise for me it would have been much easier six years ago to accept opportunities I have in GT3 or DTM, enjoy, have even less stress, and probably have more fun with driving because I will be probably fighting for better positions.
"But somehow there is a reason why I am here. And it might be that at the end of the year I will regret something, but one thing I will not regret is to try."

Flexing floors and impervious sieves - Whiting remembered
Video: Australian GP damage to Hamilton's Mercedes F1 car explained

Latest news
Why Albon won't be "throwing around laptops" to gain a 2023 F1 edge
OPINION: At the Williams 2023 Formula 1 season launch, Alex Albon’s easy-going nature was again a point of focus. But does being “too nice” really matter in modern F1? Albon’s own expressions put that in an intriguing new light
Why Alfa Romeo has kept its blade roll hoop on 2023 F1 car
The Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team has retained its unique blade roll hoop for the C43 but designed it to withstand load tests that the FIA will introduce in 2024.
Daly to attempt 2023 Daytona 500 with The Money Team
IndyCar driver Conor Daly has announced plans to enter the 2023 Daytona 500 with The Money Team, making his superspeedway debut in NASCAR Cup.
Fenestraz risked 'finishing on three wheels' with Diriyah FE pass on Mortara
Sacha Fenestraz reckoned he took a "big risk" in passing Edoardo Mortara late on in the second Diriyah E-Prix, which secured eighth for the Nissan driver's first Formula E points.
Why Albon won't be "throwing around laptops" to gain a 2023 F1 edge
OPINION: At the Williams 2023 Formula 1 season launch, Alex Albon’s easy-going nature was again a point of focus. But does being “too nice” really matter in modern F1? Albon’s own expressions put that in an intriguing new light
How the last Sauber-built Alfa offers F1 2023 evolution clues
Alfa Romeo has become the first Formula 1 team to reveal a new car for 2023, in addition to a fresh livery. This offered a first look at some of the understated changes produced by the revised regulations, along with points of convergence in the second year of the ground effect rules
The pioneering F1 car that preceded Lotus’s terminal decline
In the hands of Ayrton Senna the actively suspended 99T would be the last F1 race-winning Lotus but, as STUART CODLING reveals, it was a complicated machine that caused more problems than it solved
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.