Williams' Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams believes that Robert Kubica's technical feedback has been 'invaluable' to the team's future hopes as they continue to recover from a difficult slump in form.
Kubica returned to a Formula 1 race seat for the first time in 8 years with the Grove-based outfit after spending a season with them as a reserve driver in 2018.
The Polish driver impressed the team with the level of technical feedback he was able to give from his time behind the wheel which led to his success in claiming a full-time race seat.
Williams admits the team knew where they would be in 2019 and using Kubica's strengths in the technical department with his feedback and ability to work with the engineers, was a key reason to his signing.
When asked today by sister publication Motorsport Monday about Kubica's contribution to the team, Williams said: "One of the reasons that I wanted to bring Robert into the team was, talking to him last year he did a great job for us as a reserve driver, and throughout last year we really saw his strength and his technical ability and his feedback.
"If you spend any time talking to Robert you know and understand how intelligent he is, how much knowledge he has around the car and its performance and how to get the most out of it.
"Obviously coming into this year, we knew where we were ahead of time and we knew therefore that we would need somebody, a driver, with that level of engineering intelligence that could really help translate what was going on in the car back to the engineers and back into the factory and that was a key reason why we brought him on board and he has continued that process with the engineers.
“He has been invaluable in helping to drive the performance that you are seeing we’re bringing to the car over the course of this season.”
Williams also praised the Pole on his continued determination to improve the team and himself as he continues to recover from his near life-ending rallying crash in 2011.
"Robert, as a person, he’s incredibly hard working and he’s very focused on what he’s here to do and we all know where he has come from and the accident that he has had and for anyone to come back into our sport having experienced such an accident is quite remarkable.
"It shows his resilience. The only other person I’ve seen that in myself, in my lifetime, is Frank. To come back from such serious injuries, to have that level of determination is really quite extraordinary and I think that probably sums Robert up in a nutshell."
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