Renault Managing Director Cyril Abiteboul says Robert Kubica “delivered well” during his recent test in a 2017-spec Formula 1 car at the Hungaroring.
Kubica, 32, was afforded a day in Renault’s R.S.17 at the Hungaroring earlier this month, after previous private runs in a 2012 car at Valencia and Paul Ricard, as he evaluates the possibility of making a comeback.
Kubica completed 142 laps of the Hungarian Grand Prix venue and finished fourth quickest on the day, following short and longer runs on various compounds.
The Pole commented afterwards that he was “happy, but not 100 per cent happy” with his running and that he was looking at his situation “very, very realistically”.
Ahead of this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, Abiteboul briefly reflected on Kubica's outing in Renault's 2017 car, as the manufacturer strives to move up the midfield order in Formula 1.
“It would be impossible not to mention Robert Kubica’s test outing in the R.S.17 at the Hungaroring test, which was a very productive day from all involved,” Abiteboul said.
“Robert’s journey back to an official Formula 1 test session is an incredible story and he delivered well on the day.
“He followed Test Driver Nicholas Latifi at the test, with both drivers contributing to our development of the car.
“Both Nico [Hülkenberg] and Jolyon [Palmer] should benefit from the progress made at the test when they hit the track at Spa.”
Renault currently holds eighth place in this year’s Constructors’ Championship.
