Robert Kubica has put his chances of competing in Formula 1 as “80 to 90 per cent”, after he followed up his private test with a demonstration at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Kubica’s F1 career came to a halt in early 2011 when he sustained serious arm injuries in a rally crash, but the Pole returned to action in a private session in Valencia last month.
Kubica completed 115 laps of the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in a 2012-spec E20 and was pleased with his progress, indicating that he would like to explore the possibility of a return.
Kubica sampled the E20 once more for a series of runs up the Goodwood Hillclimb, and expanded further on his current situation, insisting that he only wants to return if he is "100 per cent sure" he is able to perform to the highest level.
Nonetheless, he believes his recent run at Valencia removed "80 per cent" of the doubts that were lingering in his mind.
“This may sound strange, but I’m not an 18-year-old rookie who wants to get to F1 at any cost,” he told Auto Express.
“I want to be in F1 if I’m 100 per cent sure I’m capable of doing the job. This is the target I would like to achieve.
“For me there are still a few steps to be done and I will see how I react. But when you get rid of 80 per cent of the doubts you had in one day, it really does give you a fantastic feeling. This is what happened in Valencia.
“I cannot step straight into racing F1. I won’t do it. It’d be crazy. If someone called me and asked me to race next week, I wouldn’t do it.
“It’s not because I don’t feel I’m capable of doing it; I just feel that I cannot rush.
“It would be a difficult call to say no, of course, but after the accident I worked a lot on my mental comfort, my mental zone, and these months have been the happiest months of my past six years.
“So I will like to let them go as long as possible, and jumping in too early would bring high risk that things could go wrong.”
On returning to the sport, Kubica said: “If you asked me how much I was realistically thinking that coming back to F1 was possible [before the test], I would have put myself up to 10 or maximum 20 per cent chance.
“Because the clock is running – not just the classification, but also getting older. F1 is going so fast that some people forget – not everyone, but some.
“[After the test] because I’m very realistic, and I’m keeping my feet on the ground, I’d put it [a comeback] at 80 or 90 per cent.”
Renault have planned a second test for Kubica later this year, but haven't confirmed any specific details, such as a date, location or car.
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