Why Kubica rejected Ferrari for Williams

Joas van Wingerden

Friday 4 January 2019 14:02

Robert Kubica says his "racing mentality" led to him rejecting a chance to work with Ferrari in 2019 and opting to sign a race deal with Williams. Kubica was reportedly the Scuderia's first choice to replace Daniil Kvyat as development driver.

The Pole confirmed earlier this year that he missed out on a race deal with the Scuderia for the 2012 season after suffering life-altering arm injuries in a rally crash the previous year.

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He will return to the F1 grid this year for the first time since that accident, replacing Sergey Sirotkin for Williams a year after the Russian was selected ahead of him.

Although he has previously admitted that a Ferrari deal would have helped him achieve a lifelong dream, Kubica says the chance to go racing in F1 once again was too good to turn down.

Kubica told Autosport: "I knew what I would have liked to do, but sometimes things are a bit more complicated than they look from the outside.

"I had some opportunity which I think was very interesting and it was not easy to say no.

"In the end, I am a racing driver - even though I haven't been racing for quite a long time - and this racing mentality has won out.

"I'm happy to have made this decision because it is a big challenge."

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