Piotr

For those of you who think this was the right decision by the stewards, go back and re-watch my favorite - Massa vs. Kubica at Fuji in 2007. In the downpour. They each broke several rules, but NOBODY protested or complained. Nobody remembers who won that race, but everybody remembers that short duel. It didn't even matter that Massa won it. It is now a classic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRpQ-w6d6xU

You should read the summary of c#ckpit radio between Kubica and his race engineer. Kubica has to correct his engineer several times during the race. Moreover, every time Kubica was closing in on Russell, his race engineer would request him to do things to actually slow him down. And the infraction of the starting procedure is completely inexplicable. Where did Williams get their racing personnel? Karting? It's a disgrace. And now Williams stated Kubica will NOT get a new chassis. So he will have to keep driving that heap for the rest of the season, even though they new it was faulty after Barcelona - TWO MONTH ago!!! WTF, Claire???

The fact that the British press is reporting only half of the facts regarding Williams got me thinking. The fact that Williams is so far behind is well known and there might be a lot of reasons. More puzzling is the fact that Kubica is consistently outperformed by Russell. Now, if these were hundreds or thousands of a second, it could be easily explained by driver's skills (strange as it would be anyway). However, we are talking 0.5 s, which normally means difference in the cars. Williams as much as admitted it after GP china - they had no choice, as when Kubica and Russell swapped floors and nose cone, Kubica was faster in FP-1 by... 0.5 seconds. (they used their own floors and cones for the rest of the weekend, and Kubica was again slower by 0.5 seconds). Kubica said that at the same settings, his car's grip is 8% off the Russell's Having a capability of reading British, as well as Polish press (and, therefore, also German and Italian one), I gathered the following: 1. Chassis - The chassis that Kubica has been driving was built for Barcelona testing. It is widely believed that, besides having over 6,000 km (oldest on the grid), it was faulty due to manufacturing defects. Specifically, it is likely too flexible (thus Kubica cannot attack the kerbs without shedding pieces of his floor). This would explain hitting curbs (too much flexing), lack of predictability, and 8% differencec in aero from Russell. Russell got the newer chassis built to spec. Kubica was to receive new chassis in Barcelona, but after Baku fiasco, it went to Russell (again). Williams stated they have no intention of building a fourth one at this time. Bad luck Kubica. 2. Rest of the car - Kubica seems to be given used spare parts from Russell's car or broken parts repaired by his crew. This includes his floor. Russell receives a complete set of new spares to go with his new chassis. Not to mention Kubica's car develops weird faults and ailments. For instance, in Baku, his brakes worked unpredictably locking at weird moments. 5 minutes before his crash in Q 1, Kubica reported that his brakes don't work correctly. The press took his explanation after a crash as admitting to an error - what he actually said was that he did not / could not (as a Polish person, his word choice could mean either) properly adjust to the changing brake characteristics. Watching video of his first turn in Baku, it's clear that his brakes locked up again and he almost crashed in the same spot. The car CLEARLY swerved to the right, as he was turning left. Not to mention pieces of his car falling off in every race. 3. Pit Crew - Russell so far had flawlessly performing pit crew. Kubica's pit crew committed 2 pit stops of over 10 seconds each (both time crew mistakes). And, of course, that drive-through penalty in Baku due to the race start procedure infringement. Does anyone in Williams know F1 regulations????/ 3. Race management - this one is probably the second worst of his worries after chassis . The transcript of his conversation with his race engineer shows a complete inability of his race engineer to properly communicate appropriate data to Kubica either by complete ineptitude or lack of engagement in the race. How that engineer has a job, is a mystery to me. Not to mention completely baffling strategy, which seems to be designed to slow Kubica down every time he gets close to Russell (like pitting him 7 laps AFTER the virtual safety car, or changing his fast tires to slower once BEFORE the faster ones even started to degrade, or switching his engine to a slower mode): https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/bioryi/1_oclock_or_11_oclock_engine_mode_6_and_100/ 4. NOBODY on the team talks to Kubica about car improvements. Note, that in EVERY interview when asked about improvements or engineering work, he says " talk to George or the team." this is from the guy who is legendary about giving invaluable information about the car to the engineers (reportedly, last years mid-season improvement was due to the comments he gave engineers). Taken one at a time, these issues point to a badly run team that just doesn't care. Taken together, they point to something more sinister. At the beginning of the season, several Russian bloggers commented to Polish bloggers that they feel sorry for Kubica, because Williams WILL destroy his comeback just like they destroyed Sirotkin's career. I did not understand what they meant. Now I surely do.

You are ridiculous. WHAT stand toward BMW ? Kubica wanted to push for the win, BMW decided to wait, and then quit F1 altogether, so I am a bit confused here. He is NOT bringing as much money as Sirotkin, so he did not "buy" his seat. Vettel is practically as old as Kubica, which makes Vettel a hypocrite. "Nonsense that he will be helping develop the car?" Do you know ANYTHING about Kubica? Do you know ANYTHING about F1 pre 2018????? Literally EVERY team Kubica worked for indicated that his knowledge about the car sets him apart from all other drivers, VETTEL included. Again, it cracks me up when a arm-chair "expert" worries about "the safety." F1 evaluated him in 2017 and determined it is safe for him to drive. People who forgot more than WE will ever know about the safety in F1 declared that Kubica is safe. Kubica clearly has shown he was faster than both Williams drivers to date. So, what is it really that you have a problem with??

Well, if we go that far... I remember Ronnie Peterson burning alive on live TV. Besides that, I agree with you... LOL

Wow, I just noticed the pic in my avatar. My son was 4 years old then. He is 18 now and going to college... i FEEL old. More Kudos to Kubica for coming back after all that time...

Cool! So you remember my fights with Kati regarding Nick Heidfeld vs Kubica? Good old times!

And so here I am, 7 years later. I bet nobody remembers me, but so be it. I'm excited Kubi is back, and like millions (yes, millions) of his fans, I consider him a winner, regardless where he places next year.

Same genetic material?

Funny, I work with a lady JUST like you - nasty, sarcastic, and vindictive.[ It's GOOD to be back...]

I found the fault with your reasoning. As per Webber, they were both told that the race was over and to dial down their engines. Therefore, Webber expected that, according to his team, Vettel would not be racing or trying to pass him. So, in effect, Vettel cheated. As is appropriate of a team that was cheating for years now. I mean, "were finding ways to bend the rules."

And vice versa, I'm sure.

PLEASE post something I can disagree with? I miss good 'ole times...

Well, I just saw an incredible pass (sans DRS and KERS) by.... Sato! remember him? He is driving indy cars, and boy, was it exciting to watch (St. Petersburg, Fl). Kubica will contest 7 rallies in the WRC series this year, after crashing out (and almost going down a cliff face) in the Canary Island rally (he was leading by 1m05s at that point). DTM is heating up. PLENTY to choose from. And I agree - this was a farce, not a race.

Exciting, but not as much as Kubi almost going down cliff face in the Canary Islands Rally... [sigh...] I really miss Kubi in F1...