Russell: The only people who give me hate are from Poland

The unpleasant situation stems from the fact the Russell, the reigning Formula 2 Champion, has lived up to his reputation as a highly talented driver in the 12 races he has contested in the top flight. In contrast, his teammate Robert Kubica, making a remarkable comeback despite debilitating injuries he suffered almost a decade ago as a result of a freak rally accident.

The Pole's tale is well told. He secured his second crack at F1 with Williams this season thanks to generous support from his homeland's PKN Orlen.

A woeful car produced at Grove, has hampered both drivers and has them anchored to the bottom of the timing screens in every session this season, the only contest Williams are in is between their two drivers.

Going into the summer break stats show that Russell was consistently quicker than his teammate in just about every session of a Grand Prix weekend.

This has prompted suggestions that Williams is dishing out better equipment to Russell, while Kubica does little to douse the flames of conspiracy despite the fact that he has tried his teammate's car, plus setups, but all to no avail as the Polish driver remains slower by a good margin.

And said as much when he lamented, "It’s as if we are eating two different dishes..."

Worth noting, at the Canadian Grand Prix, the team's reserve Nicolas Latifi did FP1 duty in Kubica's car for the first time. He ended the session slowest of all, 0.21 of a second shy of Russell's best effort in the sister car.

In comparison, during FP2 that afternoon, Kubica - in a car he is only too familiar with - was also bottom of the timing sheets 0.25 of a second shy of Russell. For Latifi it was his first outing in the FW42, an all-new cockpit for his 90 minutes behind the wheel.

Some argue that Kubica, once a shooting star of F1, simply does not have it for the top flight any more. The dream ending on that fateful day during the Ronde di Andora rally.

However in Poland, the sentiment is very different, many believe their driver is getting a bad deal from Williams and do not appear to be shy to spew venom in the world's social media colosseum with Russell target of the poison.

He told Motorsport Network, “It’s a little bit hurtful that 50% of the comments on my posts are hate from Polish supporters, whereas the other 50% is complete support for me. I mean, I do truly only care about the view from inside what Williams think of me, what Mercedes think of me. But you also want to be respected from outside.

“I’ve not come across anyone who’s disrespecting me, or giving any hate to me, who are not from Poland. So, I appreciate the situation and I can only hope one day I have fans as passionate as his.”

Ironically, it was Kubica who scored the only point (so far) for his beleaguered team thanks to the 30-second penalties imposed on both Alfa Romeo drivers Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi at the incident-packed German Grand Prix.

But the true picture is that his younger teammate is an in-demand driver with a future in the sport, delivering with what he has at his disposal while maturing rapidly in the spotlight of the world stage. He is up there with Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris as F1's stars of the future.

Kubica, on the other hand, won't be signed by another team on the strength of his performances in the dozen races he has contested since his comeback, or on merit for that matter. Without the cash there would be no seat for Poland's finest.

Russell has Mercedes backing and has won the hearts and minds of the Williams factory and faithful, suggesting a long association with the team.

The 21-year-old judged himself after his 12 races as a rookie, “I think I’ve done a very good job at some events, and not done such a good job at other events. But, every experience I wouldn’t change at all because from those bad events I also learned a huge amount.

“I’ve had people ask me, knowing what I know now and if I could do the first 10 races again: what would you change? I wouldn’t change anything because you need those experiences to improve as a person in life, and as a driver," he added.

Brutal but honest, Russell's shares are soaring, while Kubica's are in freefall but don't tell that to Polish fans...

https://www.grandprix247.com/2019/08/12/journos-predict-kubica-to-lose-f1-seat-due-to-third-rate-car/