There are no "obvious roadblocks" stopping Robert Kubica from making a full-time return to Formula 1, according to Renault's Cyril Abiteboul.
The Polish driver hasn't competed in the sport since his rallying accident in 2011, but earlier this year he took part in a test with the Renault team to measure the limitations he might have when driving an F1 car.
Having completed 115 laps of Valencia's Ricardo Tormo Circuit during the test, Kubica himself declared he was now seeking a comeback, whilst Renault were left encouraged by what they saw – enough to schedule a second test which took place this week at Paul Ricard.
Speaking on Friday at Silverstone, Abiteboul admitted that he saw no reason why Kubica couldn't make a return to F1, but said it wasn't a conversation for the present time.
"I don’t want to say yes or no," he replied when asked if the latest test showed Kubica was ready. "It is not like a test that you are passing as an exam. But we have not seen any obvious roadblocks."
Abiteboul was however cautious, reminding everyone that driving a 2012 car versus a 2017 car – which is a lot more physically demanding – is very different.
"Testing in this circumstance and testing in a modern car are something completely different," he said.
"Again, this situation is complex – we are not doing it for PR purposes even though we see it is creating a lot of media expectation and focus. That is not what we are doing, we care so much for Robert than this.
"What I can tell you is he is still quick, he is still very consistent and more importantly he has this energy and this drive, this enthusiasm that he has always had."
He added: "It is too early to talk about next steps, I don’t want to add to speculation. Right now, the focus is on getting the most out of the overall line-up and package we have. Then we will think about 2018 in due course, which is not now."
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