Kubica P7 on his Formula 1 return

Editor

Robert Kubica was seventh fastest on Wednesday morning as the Polish driver returned to the F1 test arena with Renault.

Initially lapping in the 1:23s as he adjusted to the 2017 F1 machinery, Kubica shaved 4.5s off his time as the morning progressed to finish with a 1:19.681 at lunch.

The Polish driver, who was 2.5s slower than Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel on Wednesday morning, covered 74 laps.

Kubica’s fans were thrilled to see him back in action and flocked to the circuit to watch his first public outing in an F1 car in six years. The fans were even chanting his name.

It was a trouble-free morning for the 32-year-old, who will be back in the car after the lunch break.

Meanwhile it was Vettel who was quickest with a 1:17.124 while Lando Norris was second for McLaren in his first outing in the MCL32.

Kimi Raikkonen, who replaced Vettel after the German had covered 40 laps, was third ahead of Carlos Sainz while Force India’s Lucas Auer moved up to fifth with a low-1:19 half an hour before midday.

Continuing his good form from Tuesday, George Russell was P6. The Mercedes junior ran the Halo during the morning’s session.

The timesheet:
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1’17.124 40 laps
2 Lando Norris McLaren 1’17.894 (+0.770) 57 laps
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1’18.237 ( 1.113) 20 laps
4 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1’18.850 ( 1.726) 68 laps
5 Lucas Auer Force India 1’19.292 ( 2.168) 49 laps
6 George Russell Mercedes 1’19.499 ( 2.375) 36 laps
7 Robert Kubica Renault 1’19.681 ( 2.557) 74 laps
8 Pierre Gasly Red Bull 1’20.337 ( 3.213) 60 laps
9 Luca Ghiotto Williams 1’20.414 ( 3.290) 67 laps
10 Santino Ferrucci Haas 1’21.235 ( 4.111) 57 laps
11 Nobuharu Matsushita Sauber 1’23.133 ( 6.009) 45 laps