Williams test and development driver Robert Kubica will take the place of Sergey Sirotkin during Friday's first free practice session ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Chief technical officer Paddy Lowe confirmed the Polish driver will be helping the team to try and understand the challenging FW41 around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya; this will be the first of his three scheduled FP1 sessions for the Grove-based outfit.
Lowe stated in 2017 the design concept of the car would change quite drastically from its predecessor, however, the changes have proven difficult to manage with numerous problems surfacing in the early part of the season causing the team to fall back from the midfield.
"We are bringing a reasonably significant upgrade to this race, but probably not different to most other teams," said Lowe.
"It’s going to be a busy weekend for us. We have Robert Kubica taking part in FP1 in place of Sergey; his first of three FP1 appearances this season.
"We have a busy Friday programme and it will be interesting to get Robert’s feedback on the car. Sergey has driven many laps on this track in pre-season testing so he won’t miss out too much."
Kubica will also be taking part in the two-day test at the circuit following the race with newly-signed junior driver Oliver Rowland.
Williams currently sits 10th in the Constructors' Championship with Lance Stroll only managing to secure four points for the team at the last race in Baku.
