Robert Kubica has reportedly been offered a full-time race seat with the Williams F1 team for the 2019 season, which would see the Polish driver partner Mercedes-backed rookie and Formula 2 champion George Russell.
A report by Autosport reveals that the 33-year-old has also been offered a Ferrari reserve role, which has made his decision all the more difficult, though it's expected he will reveal his plans in the next couple of weeks.
Kubica hasn't raced in F1 since 2010 following his near-fatal rallying accident in 2011, which caused him serious injury to his arm, limiting his movement.
Kubica has vowed to return to the sport he loves and has been working hard to raise his fitness level and overcome his injuries and last year he tested for Renault, but missed out on a race seat. He later tested for Williams in Abu Dhabi driving a modern car for the first time and completed more than 100 laps.
The team decided to partner Sergey Sirotkin with Lance Stroll instead due to the funding the Russian driver provides. However with tougher Russian sanctions in place, Sirotkin's funding isn't easily accessible and the team are therefore considering a number of other drivers including Kubica, Esteban Ocon and Paul di Resta amongst others.
Kubica has emerged as the favourite and has reportedly been offered a formal contract to partner Russell in 2019. Williams are keen to turn their fortunes around – they currently sit at the bottom of the standings – and see Kubica's experience and expert technical feedback as reason enough to run him. He has also secured several million in backing.
But his decision has been made more difficult by the chance to join Ferrari in a reserve role. The Italian outfit is set to lose two of its development drivers in Daniil Kvyat and Antonio Giovinazzi. The former is rejoining Toro Rosso and the latter is replacing Marcus Ericsson at Sauber to drive alongside current Ferrari man Kimi Raikkonen.
Kubica admitted he would make a decision after this weekend's Brazilian GP, although formal confirmation isn't expected quite so soon.
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